From riding an elephant to hitchhiking in rural Laos

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Getting up early on Monday morning wasnt that difficult at all, since we went to bed at about 10 PM. Our destination was Bang Tang Beng, a village close to Kiet Ngong (pronounced Kiet Nyan), where the elephants awaited us. The first challenge for us and the trip organizer was how to squeeze 13 people and 11 big rucksacks/suitcases into a 12-seater mini bus. We experienced it takes about 20 minutes, a pinch of creativity and some people willing to put up with a feeling of being a sardinne in too tight a can.
Oh, almost forgot to mention. Prior to entering the bus, I bought 20 bananas again at the same shop as 3 days ago. This time for even less, $0.40!
The mini bus was soon heading for Pakse, the capital of Champasak province in southern Laos. The trip was meant to take 2.5 hours, but me and Andrej had to get off a bit earlier, since we were going to Bang Tang Beng. Everything was going well, until about 1.5 hour into the ride a thick white smoke started coming out of the exhaust. Breakdown. Keep smilling Joe, keep smilling. Luckily for us, about 5 minutes later a local sangthaew (a pick-up truck converted into a people carrier with benches to sit at the back) came by and picked us up.
15 minutes after that we were dropped off in Bang Tang Beng, a small village on the way to Pakse. We saw a pick-up truck 15 m away and agreed with the driver, who normally only spoke Lao, to take us to Kiet Ngong, the elephant village 8 km away. The Suay people have been living and working with the elephants for hundreds of years. Back in the old days, when there were more elephants than today, every Suay boy who turned 2 was given a young elephant. While growing up, the elephant and the boy developed a special bond that enabled them to live and work together. Today, the elephants dont work anymore, but make money for living by taking tourists on different treks. Our elephant, Makhmot, took us on top of Phu Asa, a holly mountain (actually more a hill than a mountain). We loved the ride, though we thought Makhmot would be a bit faster. We stepped off him after an hour and half.
Since Kiet Ngong is a village of only a few hundred, if that, people, there isnt much traffic between it and Bang Tang Beng. Because a local tuk tuk driver wanted to overcharge us, we decided to walk. 8 km at 12 AM, 30+ degrees and no shade. With a 15 kg backpack. Get excited! Fortunately, after about 2 km, we stopped the first vehicle wanting to pass us, coming from another village. It was a small pick-up taking locals to Bang Tang Beng and they took us with them for free. Believe it or not, that was the first service on this trip we received for free. You gotta love communism! (Laos has been a communist country since 1975 revolution). To get to Pakse, we stopped a mini bus going through Bang Tang Beng. This time, it didnt break down...

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