Elephant Ride: We traveled to a small hotel and restaurant on the banks of the Xe Set River, where there were two elephants happily eating bananas in the front of the resort, so we looked into taking an elephant ride. The price was reasonable, and we decided to go. The first part of the journey took us upstream from the hotel and across the river.
Lao Village: Atop Moun, our 56-year-old elephant, we passed through some of the villagers gardens, where many types of vegetables were growing. We then headed into the village, typical of the small villages around Laos. You can see some of the smaller, simpler bamboo huts as well as more modern wood sided houses with concrete pillars. The village has kept one of its traditional house located in the center of the village.
Laos has many rivers cutting through its mountainous regions. There are already quite a few hydroelectric dams built with plans to build more, giving Laos an abundance of electricity. All of the lowland villages are wired for electricity with plenty left for export, mainly to Thailand. Many villages have moved down from the mountains, but there are still some in the higher regions that choose to do without electricity and stay put.
The Lao villagers escape the heat of the day by congregating under the massive tree accompanying their traditional hut in the center of the village, or by making the short trip to the river near their homes. It must have been lunch time as we made our way back across the river near where the kids were swimming, because they filled up their water jugs in the river and started heading home before we made it to the other side.
Tad Set: On the way back down to the resort we got a better view of the upper set of falls that sit on the river. Just before we reached the end of the ride, the handler asked me if I wanted to drive. I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity, so he jumped off and I slid forward onto the shoulders of the animal and headed down to the platform where we dismounted.
We walked the short trail back to the resort and had some lunch, overlooking the river, where a group of kids were jumping off a rock at the edge of the river and into a pool of water.
Tad Lo: The lower set of falls at this sight were located a short way downstream from the resort. There are several other resorts located here which rent guest houses overlooking the falls.