Stalking The Elephant Kings
by Christopher Kremmer
by Christopher Kremmer
While Stalking the Elephant Kings was published nearly 20 years ago, it remains a fascinating and fun general introduction to Laos — and sadly there aren’t too many of those.
Specifically though, the book follows Kremer as he sets off in search of Laos’ lost royal family, a 600-year-old dynasty that ended when the landlocked country was horrifically sucked into the Cold War. This is the kind of travel memoir we love, as it successfully illuminates little examined parts of history with colourful reportage.
While Laos has quickly changed since the late 1990s, it’s interesting to read how some things have stayed just the same. As he seeks to find out what happened to the last of the royals, Kremer heads out of Luang Prabang, the former royal capital and now UNESCO World Heritage listed town, to act as detective. He takes in the Plain of Jars, the caves of Vieng Xai and the southern provinces collecting evidence.
The book has been updated and republished as Bamboo Palace, so it would make sense to snap up that one instead (we haven’t read the updated version)
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