Plunging Pools, Rocky Rides, and the Capitol!

Click this photo to view the full photo album!

Instead of wasting daylight hours and money on a hostel, we decided to spend one more full day in Luang Prabang and take an overnight bus to Vientiane. It ended up being a good choice. We met Elvina, Guillaume, and Matt for a leisurely breakfast. Afterwards we decided to all go up and check out the Kuang Si waterfall that all the tuktuk drivers had been badgering us about. Matt had rented a motorbike, so he went on ahead while the four of us bartered with a driver. We got the price down, but then got stuck waiting nearly an hour while he tried to get more passengers. We threatened to leave, but he kept promising just "5 more minutes." Finally, we helped him convince another French couple to hop on, and away we went.

It was a 45 minute drive to the waterfall, and it was obviously a hopping tourist spot. We found Matt, who had waited for us, then headed along the path. The first area of note was a bear rescue compound, filled with Malaysian sun bears and Asiatic black bears (called moon bears, it seemed). We also ran into our four German boys. Small place, Laos.

The waterfall was actually just as gorgeous as promised. Tier upon tier of luminescent blue water flowed down the mountain, creating serene pools along the way. A rope swing hung over one such pool, and Matt and Caz took full advantage of it. After passing the smaller falls, we came upon the main event: water plunging down a towering cliff. Despite our soreness from the kayaking and trekking, we couldn't resist climbing to the top. It was steep and slippery, and we took a few wrong turns through the squishy mud, but we ended up wading through the rock basins just at the lip of the giant falls. It was pretty fantastic.

We headed back down to grab our tuktuk and a few bags of fried bananas. We bid goodbye to Matt, then to Elvina and Guillaume when we arrived back in town. Then we did some interneting and last minute market shopping before heading to the bus station.

We've been on a lot of buses this trip. They've been crowded, and they've been bumpy, but this bus in Laos definitely took the cake. It was too dark to see just how awful the roads looked, but we could feel every bump in the 12 hour ride to the Laotian capital. We were pretty happy to stumble off at 7:30am, butts sore, legs bruised, and eyes bloodshot. The station we were let off was about 8 km outside of central Vientiane, and we had a hard time bargaining with the tuktuk drivers. They just refused to budge, and we eventually had to give in and pay up. Once in the city, we quickly found a travel agency, booked a ride to the airport that evening, and stored our bags for the day.

We went for a bit of sightseeing, hitting up the oldest temple in Vientiane, Wat Sisaket; Patuxai or Victory Monument, a replica of the Arc de Triomphe; and a statue of a guy whose name we weren't quite sure about. It was hardly even midday at this point, and we were feeling quite zombie-like, so we found a bit of shade in a park on the Mekong and had an afternoon snooze. Feeling much better after that, we found a restaurant with wifi and had our last Laotian meal. At 5 we caught our ride to the airport to fly to Hanoi.

By the way, in case anyone is wondering, flying to Hanoi was the best decision we have made this entire trip. Always fly between Laos and Vietnam. Trust us.

Hanging with the Hmong

Click this photo to view the full photo album!

Our first day in Luang Prabang was pretty relaxed. We had breakfast with Matt and his traveling buddies, then shopped around town with Elvina and Guilluame for a trek. We ended up going with a company called White Elephant that promised a genuine village experience and kayaking to boot. Caz and I arranged a flight to Hanoi for the coming Monday. Then we went temple hopping with Elvina and Stina, followed by a wander around the night market. Luang Prabang lends itself to a slow pace, and we fully embraced it.

The next day, the four trekkers headed out into the jungle. Joined by Barney and Sandra, a couple from London, we were led by two guides named Thong (pronounced 'tong') and Shaolee. The first day started with an easygoing hike through the midlands. We crossed creek after creek and passed fields of hops and rice, passing hill people along the way. We had plenty of food, and it was quite pleasant to amble through bamboo groves and harvested terraces.

We reached the first Hmong village in the afternoon. It was a small place, comprised of only 30-someodd families. There were animals and children all over the place. Everywhere you looked were fat, snuffling pigs and bobbing chickens and kids in states of half-dress. Thong, a Hmong himself, taught us a little about these highland people, and then we were allowed to wander. We took pictures of the kids, who found it endlessly entertaining; they would stand perfectly still and solemn while the shots were taken, then giggle and shriek when showed the photos. We bought some handmade bracelets to support their school, and then it was goodbye to continue our trek.

The second half of the hike was quite a bit harder, as it was mostly uphill. Even Thong, the more experienced of our guides, had to call for a break. We reached the next Hmong village about an hour or so after the first. This one was a bit bigger with 50 families. We got a tour of the old shaman's house and watched a younger shaman bless a sick man's home. Then we were shown to the house were we'd be staying, a simple affair of raised platforms with blankets and mosquito netting. Left to our own devices until dinner, we all split up and checked out the village. Caz and I took pictures of the many animals and watched the kids play all sorts of games. While trying to interact with one small girl, I ended up playing Pictionary in the dirt with a handful of kids, which led to them teaching me the names of body parts in Hmong. Even some of the older ladies joined in, although it was clear by all the laughter that my pronunciation was atrocious.

Back at our homestay, Shaolee started us a fire. It was a hit with the kids as well, and we all huddled around it to stave off the chilly mountain wind. Girls as young as five were carrying their younger siblings on their pack, showing immense strength and care. Little boys wearing no pants shrugged off the cold like it was a warm spring day. They were really tough, these children. They were shy with us at first, but by the end of the night we were exchanging vocabulary lessons and fart noises like old friends.

In the dark kitchen of the homestay, lit only by the fire they cooked over, our guides made us an amazing dinner. We ate our fill and more, then rejoined the fire. The kids put us to shame when they were still bursting with energy when we all crashed at 9pm. Our hosts were incredibly gracious and made us lovely beds, but sleep was still piecemeal, broken by the surprisingly cold temperature, crowing roosters, and the early motions of the village.

We were ready to move by 8am the next morning, after a delicious breakfast again supplied by our guides. We said goodbye ("she jee dua") and thank you ("ua jao") to the village and headed off. Our next stop wasn't far off: it was the Khmu area of the same village. The Khmu speak a different language, build different houses, and come from a different background from the Hmong, but they live together amiably. We quickly learned hello in Khmu ("smile luh"), only to be confused when we were told that a few families of Hmong also lived in this section (so it was "your jong" for them!). 

After a quick tour of the Khmu village, we trekked back down to the road to meet the driver. Then it was a 20 minute ride to the river for the kayaking part of the journey. It was my first kayaking experience, but luckily I had Captain Caz to lead the way! She directed me with skill and ease, and we cut smoothly through the water with out trouble. We didn't even flip when we hit the rapids! (Can't say the same for Elvina and Guillaume though; sorry Frenchies!) The scenery was stunning: green mountains towered on either side of us, and the river curved gracefully around rocks and trees. It felt pretty amazing to be a part of it.

The ride was full of fun detours. We had a few splash wars, Sandra and Barney got boarded and flipped by a gang of Laotian kids, and we stopped on the side of the river to see a gold panning operation. By the time we reached our destination, my arms were ready to fall off and be left behind. It was great fun, an amazing experience, and a much needed workout, though, and definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far.

We all took a much needed rest after we got back into town, then met up in the evening for a drink at Utopia to toast our awesome trekking experience. Ua jao, Thong and Shaolee!