Laos: Luang Prabang – Feeding, Riding, & Bathing Elephants

There are about 3-4 elephant camps around Luang Prabang were tourists can socialize with elephants. Some allow riding but some are phasing that activity out (not because it’s a great things to do but because non-riding animal-caring westerners pay more for camps that don’t allow riding). Most elephants used to work in logging, and the elephant camps just buy them out and offer them a much better conservation existence. Anyway, it was about half an hour of feeding elephants including a 7-month old baby taking sugar cane sticks from your hand. Then, a short ride down to the Mekong River, where elephants enjoy some splashing in the cool waters after a hot day.