Way to flow: A lazy river trip in Laos
If I could only sweat around my toenails I'd hotfoot it down to the river as fast as my sturdy thighs could take me, too. And if four hours sleep a night, most of that standing up, was all I could snatch, I guarantee I'd be far tetchier about it as well. Crouched beneath a searing sun on top of the elephant's neck, knees bent and feet dangling behind her leathery ears, we lumbered down the sandy track.

We'd been up at 6am to fetch the elephants from the forest, tramping through the head-high, rustling grass. Tethered with long chains throughout the woods - if they're too close together the elephants play all night and keep the hotel guests awake - their bulky frames emerged in the misty half-light through the trees.

The mahouts, small and wiry, their heads hidden in the folds of woolly Balaclavas to ward off the pre-dawn chill, untied their charges, sprang up on to the elephants' backs and, with a series of soft commands, directed them down to the water for the first dip of the day. Balancing on the broad, wrinkled backs, the mahouts washed the dust of the forest from their animals' flanks, as the elephants plunged head-first into the muddy waters, rolling from side to side.

Independent, UK