The day began groggily as some of us sipped on coffee to wake us up for the adventurous day ahead. Upon arriving at the elephant reserve, half of us unsteadily sat on the elephants as the other half fed them their morning snacks. According to the manager of the reserve, elephants eat for up to 20 hours a day! After parading around on the elephants and providing them with lots of attention, we headed off to get something to eat.
Following lunch, we headed up a small hill to discover the ABPC (Asian Bear Protection Centre) and the breath-taking three tiered waterfalls. Unfortunately we could not swim in the glistening water; nevertheless we stood on the bridge where the large waterfall sprayed water droplets across our faces.
Our next destination was the Mong Hill Tribe village, here we learnt about how they lived and about their personal lives. After speaking to two women, we learnt that one got married at the age of 15 and had her first child at the age of 16, which is her age currently. The next woman explained how she got married to her husband whom she met at school and they currently just had their 3rd child. She is 25 years old and her husband is 35. Amongst the village, there seemed to be less elderly and more youth. It has been proven that Laotian men live up the age of 64 and women live up to the age of 67.
Once again we visited the Laos night market and explored the isles of colourful shops lined up in front of the Royal Palace where we had previously visited. The night ended with hype about the great race that will be taking place tomorrow, going to sleep now to prepare for our last day in Laos. See you all soon…
Written by ACDC (Anita Condello & Daniel Choi)
