After a short plane ride to Luang Prabang it was time to explore northern Laos. After my friend Brian and I woke up on the first morning we decided it would be pertinent to get all the tourist crap out of the way in one day. I consulted a travel agent who convinced us to sign up for the Buddhist cave exploration and waterfall one-day package. Sounded like a good deal to me!
I have to admit that I have, (on occasion,) been led astray while travelling and gotten ripped off since I'm willing to always give the benefit of the doubt. This was one of those occasions. For two hours I was scheduled to "explore" two caves that are about as big as your average backyard. The Lonely Planet guide book claims this is an interesting site because there are broken Buddha images that date all the way back to the 3rd century. The Lonely Planet guide book is full of shit. Who the hell wants to spend an hour in a van getting dragged out to the middle of nowhere and then having to pay a ferryman an extra $2 to cart across a river and stare at some broken pieces of wood for another bloody two hours? To top it off, all the way along the path up to the second cave are little children trying to get you to buy a live bird off them. These little birds come in cages that our about the size of your average camera case, the idea being that upon purchasing the bird you let it free and it's supposed to be all mystical. Let me see if I've got this straight. The Buddha religion that believes in love, peace and respect for all living things condones trapping wild animals in tiny cages just so some tourist MIGHT feel better about themselves for letting it go at an unspecified date in the future? Something wasn't right here and I think it was me standing in that stupid cave.
Thankfully the afternoon went much better. All around the Luang Prabang area there are massive waterfalls that for about a dollar a day you are free to explore at your leisure. And wouldn't you know it? Guess who was on my van ride out to Kouang Si? My friends Emily and Paloma that I met in Vietnam!
'Twas a happy reunion!
The waterfalls are beautiful, the water actually cascades down through several pools and you can do everything from just hiking around to rope swings!
Of course the girls we were with preferred to rub mud and clay all over themselves. "No, no" they said. "You don't understand! If this were a spa back home we'd be paying hundreds of dollars!" Hey, whatever helps you sleep at night.
After we swam around for awhile we decided to make the climb up to the top of the waterfall.
The hike was pretty intense, especially since we were all wearing flip flops and forgot that when you mix together dirt and water you get mud. And mud is slippery. And waterfalls aren't usually located around sites that are really flat. Okay, so we didn't think this one through all that carefully!
We were rewarded with a spectacular view at the top however!
This is a view of the first tier of the waterfall from the very top.
I forget how it started but we were making fun of this stupid sign that said "Danger No Entry" that was right over top of the falls and I think Brian dared me to get a picture next to it.
Some of you might think this was stupid, childish, dangerous and immature. But just for once please try and look at it from my perspective...........I was DARED!!!!
On the way down we found a really cool plateau and stopped for a few photo ops.
Ooooohhhhhhh!!........
AAAaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!..........
Having had an excellent day, in the end we decided to climb up to the top of Mount Phusi where a Wat provides a view of the entire city.
On the way to the night market, we spotted a crowd and curiosity got the best of us so we wandered over. Turns out Botchi Ball is HUGE in Laos, it's no Koob or anything but hey anything that bridges the cultural divide is okay by me! Especially since the game's pretty easy to get right away!
This is a picture of the night market. To be honest it kind of freaked me out! After Vietnam and Cambodia I was pretty used to being manhandled bordering on assault by the locals who would do just about anything to get you to pay attention to their stall. It was so quiet here you could actually here crickets!
Brian and I.
After a couple of buckets at one of the local bars, we realized that the city was about to shut down. Weird as it may seem, most bars in SEA close around midnight with the exception being nightclubs, bowling alley's and those bars that can afford to pay off the cops. Since none of the bars could afford the ticket and we didn't feel like going clubbing that really left only one option!
The girls were a little tired but they still managed a few sets!
That's nice..............
On the way home from the bowling alley there wasn't enough room for all of us in the Tuk-Tuk so a few of us opted to ride on the roof.
"Tuk-tuk" surfing is now a major sport that is taking over norther Laos. Define stupid: Standing up on a vehicle that couldn't possibly pass even the most basic safety standards as it's travelling in excess of 50km's an hour while wasted. Smart move Will.......smart move. Love you mommy! ; ) xo
