9 November
Luang Prabang
MARK: 10am. Oh what I would give to have another Lao Lao now… NOT!!!!! Woke up with a just a slight hangover. Boon was coming at 11am to pick us up so we dressed quickly and headed out to murder a couple eggs, which turned out to be a 3 egg omelet with bacon, cheese, onion and tomato inside… (It's making me hungry right now just writing about it!)… Feeling half-human again, we headed back to meet Boon who was waiting for us talking to another Tuk Tuk driver with a 4 other foreigners also wanting to go to the waterfalls in his Tuk Tuk. Boon promptly told us he was having engine trouble (cough... bullsh!t.. cough… cough) and could we go with his friend in his Tuk Tuk for the same price. Sure no problem we said - it really was no problem. We didn't care how we got there as long as it wasn't more expensive. Spent the ride chatting to a Kiwi chap who had just come in from Nepal and he told us all about traveling around India… sounds pretty hectic and way tougher than Laos or Thailand so far… After a 45min ride we arrived at the waterfalls.

Kouang Si waterfall is a series of multi-level falls and crystal clear blue pools. It starts with a 60m fall before spilling into a series of pools. A recent landslide has changed the landscape somewhat but apparently it shouldn't take long for nature to set things right again. At the entrance on the right there is a bear sanctuary which is home to Asiatic Black Bears which were rescued from poachers when they were cubs. Apparently bears are captured and placed in small cages where they endure painful lives undergoing procedures to extract bear bile, which has helpful medical uses.

Walking past the bear sanctuary we came to the first pool which you can swim in. It was like something out of a fantasy movie. An amazing blue pool opened up in front of us with a waterfall coming in from the left and then running out the right into another pool. People (not too many) were swimming and swinging on a rope from a tree over the pool… we quickly took our shirts off and plunged into the cold clear water. We had found paradise! My hangover quickly disappeared as the cool water re-hydrated me. We had 3 hours to explore this paradise and we strolled from pool to pool and chilled out in the cool mist from the cascading falls of the topmost waterfall. After one last swim we headed back to the Tuk Tuk for the ride back into town.

Kim started to feel pretty bad on the way home and we both just thought her hangover was starting to kick in… as hers always do… they get worse and worse as the day goes on. We got home and chilled for a little while before heading out for a pizza (Kim) and steak (me) and 2 cokes. Kim still isn't feeling much better (flu?) so off to bed.