It's 17:44pm Monday, which makes it a few days since my last entry... I've been coming to grips with Laos, Luang Prabang and sorting my mood swings out. - I'm still up and down and getting a little uncomforable and annoyed with people around me. Biting my tongue- moody thing!

Anyway, this current place is very nice and today on reflection, has been a really good one. Luang Probang: A 60% monk area and then naturally, conservative offers so many things to do like the cool night markets which sell some amazingly tempting crafts and bits which I'm refraining from buying as I know I'll splash out and buy the lot! (My backpack and me can only take so much :D). There's also the famous 'p**** mountain (or atleast that's how I heard it from Kim: really conservative sounding) which is a mountain that overlooks the Mekong and so has a good viewing point for some riverside landscape- perfect to see at sunset (or so we thought).

When we arrived yesterday, we treked up the mountain at dusk with that same idea in mind. We were all hoping to watch the sun set but instead all we got was a panoramic of grey cloud and an awkward show of dead-looking cats- literally malnurished, decaying shells which couldn't move- it was tragic, good bit of exercise though!

Onto today's activities...

Most of the group paid to go to the monk-run elephant sancturary where we each got the chance to ride the mammals through jungle and bath them! Mine and Pip specific tour guide and elephant handler wasn't fluent in English but according to him, our self-named elephant Elliott, was the biggest and the oldest male elephant of the herd being 61 years of age, cute!

Me and Pippa were partners throughout the whole tour and sat on the attatched seat feeding Elliott bananas and stroking his old wrinkly skin. I read somewhere that the flapping of elephants ears is an expression of excitement and joy so it was good to know our old Elli was synced to how we felt when we took turns riding bare back on his neck and head (sounds harsher than it actually it). It was fun but scary!

For the elephant bathing, we had a new elephant: a less impressive one age and size wise. Me, Pippa and Hannah ventured together and it was hilarious! Thankfully, our elephant didn't aggressively toss us into the water and dunk us under like Marcus and Jason's naughty nelly did. I didn't care to swim in the water where one of the animals had not long before took a blatent poo in... My pictures of those moments though are both incredible.

I also went for a massage this afternoon. A sports massage, which appears to have worked quite well so far. I'm relaxed, showered and now resting on my bed back at the hotel. I'm not sure I'm bothering with a meal out tonight as we're on the road again at 6am- boat stay and village home stay coming up- Although, the mosquito bites have certainly increased and I've still not found a place to buy some new spray. glad I've got my Malarone Malaria tablets atleast! I can't wait for the village stay!