We'd seen posters advertising Elephant Festival around Luang Prabang and decided that we really wanted to go. We'd passed on tubing in Vang Vieng and thought that spending three days photographing and admiring elephants dressed in silk costumes was a great alternative and more our kind of thing. From the posters we'd seen the festival promised to deliver 100 elephants, all competing for the prestigious title of “Elephant of the Year”. Elephant processions, elephant bathing, mahout demonstrations, ancient Baci ceremony, traditional Monk blessings, live performances from Lao and foreign artists, night markets, fun fairs and much, much more. Thinking there might be a rush of tourists heading to the event we got up early to make sure we were on the first bus to Sayaboury where the festival is held. We were two of about 6
... read more