Saturday 23th June - Luang Prabang
The gang met up early, well early in Lao terms, had some breakfast and off we trundled to the waterfall. An hours tuk-tuk ride and 25Kms south of the city brought us there. And we were not disappointed. The waterfall is set over a number of tiers. The top part is a large waterfall and pretty stunning to look at. Since it is a limestone waterfall, the water has a gorgeous light blue colour to it and just looks stunning.
A short walk up to the top of the water fall, via a path next to it, give some really nice views down over the area. Back down the bottom of that walk you get to the first swimming area, and dipping into that water was like heaven on earth. The water was just on the chilly side, but it was the perfect temperature for the heat we were in. The water here also had the great blue colour to it, but it was still pretty mirky and you don’t get to see very far under it, so that means that you are not sure what you are standing on... and the bottom changes a lot There are tree roots and rocks to contend with, so you find yourself walking very carefully checking out what is ahead! And when you swim, you try to swim with one arm out in front of you to make sure you don’t swim into anything! All very funny. There are also some deep sections that you can jump into from a small height.
After spending a good couple of hours at the various swimming areas we headed back down to the bottom where there is a rescued Indochinese tiger (the last count says there is only about 1200 of them left in the world... a sickening thought) and some bears. We saw 3 dear cubs playing in their enclosure, which I am happy to say is pretty big. These were pretty awesome sights to see. I don’t think I have ever seen a real tiger up close and after 4 months of wanting to see a bear in Whistler, I finally got my wish here! They were so cute.
In the evening we headed back to the Hive Bar and found our fan assisted table again. We were acting on limited numbers tonight. Only me, John, Laura and Eddy made it out, but it was fun. A few Vodka Oranges later and we were starting to feel quite happy. The cocktails are served with bamboo straws, which, to us are pretty cool! So every drink we managed to steal our straws! We moved to a table outside, which is a much nicer environment to drunk in, and the Laura and Renata turned up again and came over to join us.
I was planning on another easy day tomorrow as I felt tonight was going to turn into a bit of a large one! But the girls said they were heading off to the caves in the morning and I had heard mention of them before, so I said I would join them.
At midnight when the bar closed, the girls decided to head on to the bowling alley for a couple more drinks and I was happy to accompany them. All of my group who had made it out weren’t up for it, so it was just the 3 of us. Finding a tuk-tuk at midnight is pretty easy! The majority of the bar was heading that way, so we all jump in and set off on our way. One thing I noticed here was just how often you get offered Opium in Laos. Almost everywhere you go it is there to be bought!
We got to the bowling alley and it really was a bowling alley. There were about 10 lanes and LOTS of people! So many that we didn’t get to play a game, so we had a couple more large Beerlaos to keep us entertained. It is a really weird atmosphere every one standing around this bowling alley drinking, when in any other country we would be in a club right now. A very bizarre experience. And way too many westerners for my likening!
The girls and I got a tuk-tuk back to the guest house and we got a couple of beers and sat by the river for a while. This was nice. I like these girls, they are fun. We went back to their room for a bit and then I headed back to my guesthouse at about 3am. We had agreed to meet at 9, but I seriously doubt they will be up when I get there!
After the caves tomorrow I plan to find out about White Water Rafting for Monday, so that I can leave on Tuesday morning for Vang Vieng and the tubing it is so famous for.