Elephant domestication has a long history in southeast asia. We tried out elephant transport on a trek in northern Thailand. Not the fastest or most comfortable way to get around, but it was cool to get up close to the giant beasts. I felt bad for our mount though, with the two of us on a seat and our guide sitting on her head. Better than a poaching I suppose. Momma elephant had her baby walking beside her the whole time.
All of the pictures of my southeast Asian trek on this site were taken with a Nokia Lumina 920 Windows phone. No filters or other mods were used; I’m happy with the camera and picture quality. It’s a sturdy, durable phone that has stood up well to over 5 weeks of travel.
Mui Ne is a mellow beach town on the South China Sea about 4-5 hours from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). We hired a driver for a 3am night flight out of the city to avoid traffic, and spent the first night at Novella resort, a more upscale option. We intended to stay just 1 night but couldn’t pull ourselves away, and our accommodations got progressively cheaper each night until we ended up in a backpacker hostel. Kite surfing is a huge draw in Mui Ne.
