November 2009: A Journey Through Laos, the Land of Lost Elephants
A Hidden Paradise in Southeast Asia
Among the countries of Southeast Asia, Laos stands uniquely blessed with extensive forests sprawling across its mountainous landscape. As one of the region’s least developed nations, Laos lacks major urban centers, allowing it to preserve traditional ways of life that have remained largely unchanged for generations. The country is home to numerous hill tribes, each with distinctive customs and traditional clothing, though these cultures are swiftly being reshaped by modern global influences.
Challenges Facing Laos Today
Environmental and Wildlife Threats
Like much of Southeast Asia, Laos is confronting severe challenges from habitat destruction and the loss of wildlife. Pressures from neighboring high-population nations have accelerated deforestation and intensified poaching to alarming levels.
Legacy of War
Compounding its struggles, Laos bears the tragic legacy of being among the most heavily bombed countries in history. During the Vietnam War, the mountainous regions of Laos served as a refuge for the Viet Cong, prompting relentless bombing campaigns by the United States. Many unexploded bombs remain scattered throughout the country, posing deadly risks to civilians even today.
The Sad Decline of the Elephant
Until the early 1900s, Laos was famously known as the Land of a Million Elephants, a testament to its once-abundant wild elephant populations. Today, only around 800 elephants survive, nearly half of which are domesticated and used for logging or tourism. The few remaining wild elephants are under constant threat from poachers equipped with AK-47 rifles, hunting them relentlessly for ivory.
My Quest to Encounter Laos’s Wild Elephants
Driven by the desire to witness these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat, I journeyed to Laos with a clear goal: to spend a night in an elephant watchtower overlooking a clay lick—a mineral-rich site frequented by wild elephants under the cover of darkness. This is the story of my unforgettable four-day journey through the heart of Laos.
Location of Laos
First Impressions of Vientiane
To reach Laos, I flew from Bangkok to Vientiane, a small yet pleasant city on the Mekong River. As soon as I landed, I knew I liked it. Life moved at a slower, more relaxed pace, and there was an abundance of nature. The people were friendly, and many Laotian women still wore the beautiful phaa sin—a traditional wrap-around skirt.
Exploring Vientiane
Vientiane had a charm of its own, with beautiful Buddhist temples within walking distance and a variety of interesting bars and eateries serving great food. The country had a thriving backpacker scene, but it didn’t feel overly touristy—except when I traveled to Vang Vieng.
Mekong River
Buddhist Temple in Vientienne
Buddha
Wooden Buddha temple
Buddhist Temple Dragon
Flag of current communist government in laos
Laos woman at market
Disappointment in Vang Vieng
I took a bus to Vang Vieng, where I stayed in a guesthouse overlooking the river and mountain valley. The surrounding landscape was beautiful, but the town itself was overrun with backpackers who seemed more interested in partying than in adventure or culture.
Party Culture vs. Authentic Experiences
Bamboo bars lined the streets, filled with dreadlocked travelers in elephant pants, their mushroom-induced glazed expressions fixed on box television sets mounted in the corner of every bar playing endless reruns of Friends. This wasn’t why I came. I came for the caves and the natural scenery.
Vang Vieng Landscapes
Vang Vieng Landscapes
Swimming Hole Vang Vieng
Red Ant Invasion
Vang Vieng wild caves
Me in the Vang Vieng wild caves
cave Spider
Cave Temple
Visiting the Hmong Village
The countryside around Vang Vieng was stunning, and I especially enjoyed hiking and exploring its caves. I organized a caving trip into some of the wild mountain caves and hired a motor taxi to take me into the countryside to visit a Hmong village and observe their way of life. I also found the bamboo-thatched villages of the Hmong community fascinating. Many Hmong were forcibly relocated by the Laotian government from their ancestral homes deep in the mountains to areas where they could be more easily monitored. The communist government viewed them as traitors for aiding the Americans and resisting the regime during the 1960s and ’70s. As a result, many Hmong were imprisoned, tortured, or executed, while others fled as refugees, eventually resettling in the United States. The Hmong people had aided the American military during the Vietnam War and consequently faced heavy persecution, forcing many to flee Laos as refugees.
Growing up in Minneapolis, my hometown, I went to school with many Hmong refugees who had resettled in Minnesota. Visiting their ancestral homeland added a deeper, more personal perspective to my journey. However, overall, Vang Vieng was not a highlight for me—it was a stark example of how unchecked tourism can erode a culture.
Hmong Village
Hmong Village
Hmong Village
Hmong Village
Ecotourism and Conservation in Banma
The highlight of my trip was traveling across southwestern Laos by public transport to stay in the small village of Banma. The villagers had organized a grassroots ecotourism initiative, hoping to attract visitors to their elephant watchtower—an hour’s hike into the forest. The tower overlooked a clay lick where wild elephants would come to consume the mineral-rich soil, a vital supplement to their diet. The proceeds from this venture were shared among the community, with a portion dedicated to protecting the elephants and their habitat.
A Tragic Setback
Tragically, just weeks before my arrival, poachers from outside the community armed with AK-47s had waited in the night for the elephants to arrive at the clay lick. When they did, the poachers opened fire, killing several. Since then, the surviving elephants had not returned. Elephants have remarkable memories and do not easily forget trauma.
A Night of Reflection
Despite this, I still spent the night in the watchtower, sleeping in my tent, hoping against the odds that the elephants might return—that we might hear them moving below in the darkness. But the forest remained silent. The next morning, I hiked through the national park with a community guide, reflecting on the fragility of conservation efforts and the deep challenges faced by both the villagers and the wildlife they were trying to protect.
Buddhist Temple in a rural village
Elephant watch tower I stayed the night in
Elephant watch tower I stayed the night in
A Heartbreaking Departure
I returned to Vientiane and spent one last night there before flying back to Bangkok, planning to continue my journey to Myanmar. Normally, airport departures are uneventful, but this one will always stand out in my mind.
An Unforgettable Encounter
While sitting on a bench outside Vientiane’s small airport, a Laotian mother and her young daughter approached me. The mother, speaking in limited English, started a conversation while her daughter, who couldn’t have been more than five years old, sat quietly beside her. Initially, I thought she was just being friendly or perhaps trying to sell something. But I quickly realized this was a desperate plea from a struggling family.
The mother began begging me to take her daughter back to my country for a better life. Initially, I smiled politely, assuming she wasn’t serious. But as she repeated her plea, her desperation became painfully evident. Of course, I refused, but the encounter left me deeply shaken. It was heartbreaking to witness a mother’s willingness to part with her child out of sheer desperation, and it raised serious concerns about what might happen if she ever made the same plea to the wrong person—someone who could exploit the situation and put her daughter at risk.