Elephants and Amazing Luang Prabang
2012 Program Itinerary
Day 1 (Tuesday):
Prepare for a world-class trip on Singapore Airlines. Prior to your departure, you will have received your pre-departure packet, which will include your Rustic T-shirts, airline tickets, and important contact information.
Once you arrive at your international departure city, our Flight Liaison will help you get checked in to your international flight. Working with our Flight Liaison will be your Flight Leader, who will escort you all the way to Southeast Asia. Once you’re checked in, feel free to relax and get acquainted with your new friends before boarding your flight to Asia.
Day 2 (Wednesday):
Today is lost as you cross the international dateline. Fear not – you will get this time back on your way home.
Day 3 (Thursday):
Sabai Dee, and Welcome to Laos. Tonight’s itinerary will be simple – just a little dinner and a whole lot of rest for the big day tomorrow. Sleep well, and we’ll see you in the morning!
Day 4 (Friday):
After a much needed night's rest and a great Laos breakfast, you will board a 40-minute flight to Luang Prabang, the gem of Laos, where ancient temples, colonial architecture, a rich history, and unmatched beauty have earned the entire town UNESCO World Heritage Site status. VIP vans will take you to the elephant camp, which is situated next to a small village just fifteen minutes away from town.
Once you arrive at the camp, you will meet the entire staff – including the elephants – and then the senior camp staff will give you a hearty welcome and introduction to the plan for the week.
Your first order of business will be to look the part – everyone will receive a custom mahout (or elephant trainer) suit. Once you are comfortable in your fashionable new attire, you will be assigned to an elephant. Depending on the size of the group, there will be between one to three students assigned to each elephant. The first things you will need to learn will be the basic mahout commands and how to interpret and communicate with these amazing animals. Before you know it, you'll be riding your elephant into the jungle, learning its personality, and communicating with it – it’s all part of your new job as a mahout.
In the evening, you will settle in to jungle life, with plenty of time to relax and share stories with your new friends around the campfire or take a dip in the river.
Day 5 (Saturday):
The morning is truly a special time in the rainforest of Northern Laos. The birds bring the forest to life and the sun cuts bright rays through the fresh morning air. Rising very early, you'll head deep into the forest to retrieve your elephant from its sleeping area. Once your elephant is fed and cared for, you will head back to the camp for a satisfying breakfast of your own.
After you are well fed, your training will continue as you learn how to understand and communicate with your elephant. Around noon it will be time to relax in the shade for a while and enjoy a delicious Lao-style lunch.
Next will be time to practice and take a quick test of the skills you’ve learned so far. Basic commands, mounting and dismounting, and riding the elephant will all be included.
Elephants are jungle animals and that’s where they prefer to spend the night. You’ll hop atop your elephant and head into the jungle with the mahouts to find a suitable place for your elephant to eat wild vegetation and sleep for the night. Heading back to the camp on jungle paths, you’ll arrive in time to take a swim, relax with your friends and get ready for dinner. In the evenings, you are invited to help the kitchen staff and learn some Lao cooking skills while preparing delicious fresh meals with locally grown tropical fruit and rice.
Evening activities will include movies, songs, games, and time to relax and get to know your new friends.
Day 6 (Sunday):
Rising early, you will once again retrieve your elephant from the forest and return to the river for its morning bath. Then, after breakfast, you will use the skills you learned yesterday to load up your elephant with everything you will need for a day in the jungle. Then climb aboard and head toward the jungle camp, which is about an hour’s ride away.
Once you reach the camp, you will give your elephants a chance to rest while you enjoy a picnic lunch surrounded by beautiful dense mountains and jungle. Many people don't realize that being a mahout is a life-long career. Although they don't make much money and it is not a glamorous profession, mahouts are essential for the survival of elephants in the world today, and they are very respected in Lao culture.
You'll learn about the special relationship that develops between the mahout and the elephant, the tools and skills involved, and how they communicate with one another. You will have gone a long way in developing your own relationship with your elephant by the time you return it back to the elephant camp in the afternoon.
Finally, it’s time to saddle up and head back to your room for a quick shower, before you depart for a city tour of famous Luang Prabang. This town has one of the highest concentration of Buddhist temples of any place in Southeast Asia, and it is just teeming with monks strolling down the streets in their bright orange robes. Get a chance to explore the side streets and back roads of this incredible UNESCO World Heritage site before grabbing a bite to eat at the night market. After dinner you’ll be able to roam the famous night market and barter with the locals over locally made handicrafts and souvenirs.
Day 7 (Monday):
This morning you’ll have a chance to view local Lao culture the traditional way – by bike! Today you will take your time and really get to know how life in Laos works. You’ll bike through several rural village areas, dodging water buffalo along the way. We’ll stop early and often to say hello to the smiling villagers and sample some of the tasty treats, including tasty exotic fruits. Eating with locals is an important traveling tradition, so today you’ll be eating your lunch in a local village with some of the residents. You can taste their food, talk about your favorite Western dishes back home, and maybe even muster the bravery to try some fried insects – a local favorite.
After lunch in the village, you’ll hop in a kayak for a trip down the winding Nam Khong River. A large part of life in Laos is derived from the river, this fact will be obvious as soon as you start your journey. Fisherman cast their nets off the riverbank, excited children plunge from rocks into the chilly waters, and women paddle boats to their villages carrying vegetables for the day. This area is also a wonderful place to view the incredible landscape of Laos. Have a race to the finish, or just simply relax while the river carries you downstream through areas where life has remained almost completely unchanged by outside influences.
Day 8 (Tuesday):
After waking up and eating breakfast this morning, you’ll hop on a boat and take a cruise down the Mekong River to the Pak Ou caves. These ancient Buddhist caves date back almost 60 decades, and over that time, travelers have left more than 4,000 Buddha images in the area. On the way back we can stop in a few of the local villages and see how they make a living along the river as well as what they like to eat and drink.
After grabbing lunch in town, you’ll head to the beautiful waterfalls of Kouangxi, just outside of Luang Prabang. These falls are famous for their bright aqua color, beautiful surroundings, and their Asian Black Bear sanctuary situated just before the river. Jump from the falls or lunge off the rope swing into this majestic blue lagoon. Then hike up a bit further and gaze at even bigger falls near the top of the mountain. It will be a great way to wrap up the afternoon.
After you get dried off and back in the vans, you’ll drive to Phousi mountain and walk up the hundreds of steps to the beautiful mountain top temple. Up here you’ll have an amazing view of the whole city and be able to view an amazing sunset over the Mekong River. Then walk down the steps of the temple to the foot of the night market. Here you’ll have one last chance to purchase souvenirs to take back home with you as gifts for friends and family.
Day 9 (Wednesday):
Make sure to eat a big breakfast today because you have a long, adventurous walk ahead of you! Today we will trek to a very remote hill tribe village never visited by foreigners. You’ll be hiking past young children riding water buffalo across the river and local villagers carrying supplies and crops on their heads. This trail is only visited by Rustic Pathways students, so don’t expect to see any tourists. Eat a picnic lunch on top of the mountain while enjoying the beautiful mountain views. Once you get to the village you’ll realize how remote this place really is. Spend some time laughing with the villagers and learning about their way of life while practicing the few Lao words you’ve picked up. Then finish your trek by swimming in a beautiful waterfall before you are picked up by van and driven back to town.
Returning to town, sit back and enjoy a traditional Lao massage in downtown Luang Prabang. Spend one final goodbye dinner with your group in town before heading back to the bungalow.
Day 10 (Thursday):
This morning, you will wake up, grab a quick breakfast, and head to the airport to catch your flight home or join your next program. Once you have finished your programs, you will meet up with your Flight Leader and head home aboard our escorted group flight. Whatever is next for you, we hope that you always keep the warm memories of your elephant with you. Thanks for helping their cause – they hope to see you again in the future!
An Important Note about Schedule Changes:
Rustic Pathways reserves the right to change, alter, or amend the daily itinerary for this trip at any time. Changes can be made for various reasons including changes in flight or program schedules, changes in the schedules of various external tours incorporated in our trips, the addition of new activities into a trip, or the substitution of an old activity for a new activity. The itinerary shown here provides a good outline of the anticipated daily schedule for this program. As with any travel program, some changes may occur.
Three Days with Elephants in the Hills Outside of Luang Prabang
You will learn the necessary skills to be a mahout, or elephant caretaker, and as each day passes you will come to know these gentle creatures a little better. Elephants are quite smart and playful, and you will soon see that each one has its own distinct personality and way of engaging with people. 
The Cool Cultures of Luang Prabang
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity