Another madly busy day. Food preparation, then ‘Upstairs’ huff puff, 38 degrees and 45% humidity to feed and muck out the primates. Machete some grass for the newly arrived Muntjac and made 30 lollipops for the bears to fight over tomorrow. But today’s highlight was feeding the 74 adult crocodiles their once-a-week fish dinner. I…

This centre has 21 beautiful, healthy bears. They all have intense gazes, strong paws, long nails, good sets of teeth, glossy coats and a spring in their steps. A tribute to the constant, unwavering care and attention that they receive here. Below is today’s food. Day in, day out, 600 kilos of food get bought,…

5.54 am. The call of a Yellow-cheeked Gibbon. Quite haunting. Photo : Bo Pan : Unsplash. Laos but not this location. Gibbon picture Google.

When you get up at six o’clock in the morning you can be amazingly productive, but that doesn’t mean anything to 21 expectant bears, who eat so much between them that it takes you the first two hours of the day to prepare their food ( and the food for the primates, and they eat…

After a three-hour drive on the highway through central Laos, we, four volunteers, finally arrived at camp. First impressions: pretty swanky…really. Like a good campsite in the UK. There is an eco lodge with a swimming pool right next door to the camp that volunteers can use. As you enter the camp itself, you see…

Sunday. The end of week one and I am taking a prop Laos Airlines flight back to Vientiane where I will be collected and driven to the LCTW project. Initials for the Laos Conservation Trust for Wildlife. A timely reminder of the work to be done was the signage at customs (main shot) written in…

It is a busy day when you do a: 3-hour boat trip, climb up to two caves, visit a bear sanctuary, climb a 60 metre waterfall, feed elephants and have dinner on the banks of the Mekong. Now throw in 35 degrees and 81% humidity, and you start to wonder about yourself. One of my…

My new guide, Nom, is an interesting character who is teaching me more about Buddhism and the life of a monk. His story in short. His parents, unable to feed him and his sisters, gave him two options when he was seven years old: work in the rice fields or go to the monastery in…

I have a nephew who loves trains and this post is for him. I hope you enjoy Rob. Today was mainly a day of travel and orientation. A train would take me from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang, a centrally located town in northern Laos that is fully designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.…

Geographically, this place is stunning. Jagged tiers of rock towering above the wide Nam Song river, which is edged on one side with paddy fields. It is that perfect glossy image of Laos for the travel magazines and books. A few more pictures below. And our activities for the day… A gentle trek at low…