Postcard from the funnest sounding place ever…
Luang Prabang, Laos
By Frida
Hi readers! I hope you’re all well and ready for an adventure!
Today, we rode on a train through the jungle… and through some more jungle… and then, through some more jungle. You won’t believe it, but I even thought I spotted a tiger (or should I say, “stripped” a tiger?)
We’re in the country of Laos, in a little town called… (are you ready for it?)… Luang Prabang. [Lew-ang Pra-bang] I love saying it with a cool accent. Three times loud!
Luang Prabang… Luang Prabang… Luang Prabang!
Sooo fun!
The little town is in the north of Laos, close to the border of China. Can you find it on a map?
It’s suuuper hot here, being a tropical jungle and all. So yesterday we decided to go for a swim… in a waterfall, of course. Here’s a picture of the Kuang Si Falls, about an hour drive from Luang Prabang.
Getting into the water felt… terrifying! One, the water was quite cold (and I’m a warm water kinda gal, like mommy). Two, there were these giant biting fish! Ok, so they were actually tiny, but they would nibble on your feet. Come to think of it, they were quite ticklish!
After the waterfall, we walked a trail through the jungle and came across a sanctuary of moon bears. Luckily, they’re herbivores, which basically means they’re vegetarians. (Dad’s Note: Herbivora is derived from Latin herba 'small plant, herb' and vora, from vorare 'to eat, devour') They were super duper cute and were my favorite animal for the rest of the day.
Now that we were cooled off, we were ready for our next jungle adventure… which was to ride on… not a car… not a train… not a plane…
… but an ELEPHANT! (I wish that rhymed. Umm. Elephane?)
Mommy and I rode together and daddy had an elephant all to himself. To get onto this ginormous animal, which are taller than you might think, we had to climb up a tower and then onto her giant shoulders. Don’t worry, the elephant weighed enough to break a scale, so we were like a fly on her huge back.
I loved riding on these graceful creatures. They are so peaceful and calm. When they walk, you can hardly hear them and their feet are soft and gentle. We saw a herd of water buffalo, including one newborn (so cuuute!) and walked along the banks of the Mekong River.
It was nice and calm all the way up there, on top of such a gentle giant. I liked daydreaming, looking off into the jungle and imagining all the other animals out there.
After a long day of adventure, I was looking forward to dinner. We went to a Mongolian bbq restaurant, which was really fun because I got to burn a bunch of zucchini. (Whoops!)
We’ll write again from the next stop…
Cheers,
Frida
P.S. I had something to write here, but I totally forgot. See you next time!
P.S.S. I remembered: PAPERMAKING! When we made paper in the traditional Laotian style - with mulberry bark - it was really, really wet and squashy, like a zen garden. It was so much fun and you got to design it with different colors. I totally recommend it.
