Aboard the Gypsy, from Chiang Khong to Luang Prabang - Day 2

History tells us that Laos was once the land of a million elephants.Today, only around 700 remain, of which roughly 300 live in the wild.To protect them (and also to run a fairly lucrative business), numerous so-called “elephant protection” centres have sprung up in Laos, as in Thailand. Unfortunately, not all of them are reputable, and for most, “protection” is little more ...

A popular ceremony, the Baci, also known as Soukhouane, is performed at any time of year to bring good fortune to an individual, but is most often held around events that affect family life (birth, marriage, funerals, illness, travel…). The ceremony is intended to call back into the body one or more of the 32 spirits (or Khouanes) that, according to Lao belief, every human being ...

The morning begins quietly, in the soft light of Luang Prabang. As the city slowly wakes, away from hurried eyes, the morning market stretches discreetly through the lanes behind the Royal Palace. From dawn, the stalls fill with produce straight from the mountains or the nearby Mekong: hand-picked vegetables, fresh herbs, medicinal roots, fish still quivering, steaming rice cakes. ...