There are a lot of activities you can book from Luang Prabang in northern Laos. As I planned to do a multi-day hill tribe trek across the border in Thailand, I decided to opt for a mountain biking excursion, which included my first elephant ride.
By the time my guide and I reached the waterfalls, and ate lunch, it had started to rain. Needless to say, the rest of the way back to town, which included 10 km on the mountain bike, was less than pleasant.
Mountain biking in northern Laos
Leaving the bikes behind, we take a boat upriver
Ominous clouds foreshadow future rains
Here comes the next elephant
My boat wasn't the safest looking vessel, but at least I didn't have to bail water out!
Welcome to TAD SAE Waterfall
Elephants are bathed at the waterfalls
A rickety bridge across the falls
A giant spider hangs around in its web
Soaking wet and saddle sore back in Luang Prabang
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Categories: Adventures, Laos, Photos
Post tags: Asia, blogsherpa, boat, elephant, Laos, luang-prabang, mountain biking, Photos, river, southeast asia
12 Comments
Wow, it looks stunning. Not so keen on the enormous spider. Heading through that area later this year so would love to see more of this.
Love the picture of the boat! haha
Thanks Shaun. Check out the posts under the Countries/Laos category – I spent 18 days in the country in '08.
Anny – I couldn't believe those boats could stay afloat when they were barely above the water!
That looks amazing. The waterfall looks like a tropical version of Huanglong in China. How long was the whole bike ride?
The whole bike ride part of the trip was about 18-20km, which is the most I think I've ever ridden in such a short time. There were some big hills on the paved road, and plenty of mud on the unpaved part.
I better get in better biking shape for that then. Most I've done is probably 5 miles…and it's pretty flat around here.
I wasn't the fittest person either, but I don't think that matters much unless you intend to do a prolonged bike tour (where you're riding that much for several days or weeks at a time).
Dave- what did it cost do this tour on bike? I bet in Laos it was super cheap. Loving the story telling and photos man, great work and nice post!
Troy – I don't recall offhand, however it was probably around $30 for the full day tour.
Hi, I have been all through Thailand and Cambodia and taking a look at these photos has made my mind up to finally visit Laos, thank you for tempting me into yet another trip…. I can hear my credit card screaming already…
Hi, I have been all through Thailand and Cambodia and taking a look at these photos has made my mind up to finally visit Laos, thank you for tempting me into yet another trip…. I can hear my credit card screaming already…