Day 15: Paradise Found

Day 15

Today I'm in: Luang Prabang, Laos

I woke up to rain and thunder this morning in Luang Prabang.  The good news was that the heat from the day before had broken and the temperature was much more comfortable.  The bad news was that the roads looked really slick, which put an end to my plan of renting another scooter.  The combination of inclement weather and unfamiliar roads didn't seem like the smartest thing to take a chance on.

Instead, I got some breakfast at the cafe next to my hotel, and while there, overheard a group of four Canadian tourists discuss visiting the Kuang Si waterfalls, which I wanted to visit.  I asked if they'd consider sharing a tuk-tuk (dropping the price to a very manageable 30,000 kip or $3.40 for each of us) and they happily agreed.  So we found ourselves bouncing along in the back of a tuk-tuk, navigating the twisting roads through the hills to Kuang Si. 

And it was definitely worth the trip.  Although there is one large, pretty impressive waterfall at the top of the park (pictured at right alongside the shirtless and out-of-shape author) the real attraction at Kuang Si is the series of pools and smaller waterfalls that run for almost half a mile beyond the main falls.  The water is cool but not too cold, and minerals in the limestone cliffs give the water a really vibrant aquamarine color, almost like a backyard swimming pool.  

I've been to a fair number of waterfalls and swimming holes in my life, but this was by far the most beautiful and interesting one I've seen.  The Canadians and I kept commenting that it almost didn't seem real - the water was too blue, the jungle too perfect, the ground too clean, the people too friendly.  It was almost like Disney carved a little swimming complex into the midst of the Laotian forest.  I kept expecting someone in a Mickey costume to come wandering around one of the corners.  

You can climb up and down many of the waterfalls - it's a bit slick but generally easy going - and a few of the pools have natural water slides or rope swings attached to trees.  We spent a few hours exploring everything - I jumped off of one waterfall that, in retrospect, was a little higher than was probably wise - bobbing around in the water and getting our toes nibbled by the doctor fish (the same ones you see at fish spas) that live in some of the pools.  

We also climbed up the long flight of steps and then negotiated the tricky trail to the top of the main falls.  Once up there, we had a really nice view across the mountaintops, as well as a slightly frightening view down to the main pool.  You can see the edge of the falls at the bottom of the photo, although I was a little too skittish to go all the way to the edge and take a downward-facing shot.  It was slippery and there was no fence or any sort of guardrail.  

At the exit to the park there was a little rescue center set up for sun bears, which inhabit many of the mountainsides and forests around Luang Prabang.  The bears had all sorts of little swings and jungle gyms and even hammocks to play in.  This particular bear seems to have adapted to resort life pretty nicely. 

 I got back to Luang Prabang a happy man, and just in time to meet up for dinner with Nick and Anna - two of my classmates from Ross - as well as one of Anna's friends from Brazil.  We spent a bit of time looking through the night market on Sisavangvong Road before settling down for dinner and drinks at a restaurant where we could watch the parade of motorbikes and tourists enjoying the slightly-less-hot evening.

So yeah, this was a pretty great day.