On 3 December 2015, my alarm woke me at 4 a.m. Hurrying out of bed, I dressed in a blue silk Lao sinh and a white blouse I had bought the day before specifically for this occasion. I placed a blue scarf woven in a traditional pattern over one shoulder and headed out to meet Neng, the Hmong man who had migrated from the countryside to work and study in Luang Prabang. Neng worked as a guesthouse receptionist and night guard when not studying for his college degree. Neng had been told that he must wake up early as he was being designated by Ek, his employer and my landlord, as Ek's representative in the city's National Day celebration parade rehearsal, taking place in the Luang Prabang stadium that morning. National Day is actually 2 December but in Luang Prabang the celebrations of the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) were combined with the twentieth anniversary of Luang Prabang becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This celebration was to culminate in street parades and other festivities, including the arrival of the procession termed the Elephant Caravan, which was due to arrive in Luang Prabang from Sayaboury.

The previous day, I had found myself sitting outside a rather westernized café facing the main square in Luang Prabang, which I understood was to be the focal point of the celebrations. National Day is a public holiday in Laos, but details of exactly what would happen were very sketchy.