Sa Ba Dee (Hello in Laos)
So the last couple of days have been a whirlwind of site seeing and waterfalls. I've been hanging out with 2 Canadian girls that I met on the boat, and then today hung out with 4 more Brits.
Yesterday, the day was spent wandering the town. Luang Prabang is one of Laos two World Heritage Sites (for more information on UNESCO and World Heritage Sites). The town received that designation based on its historical architecture and temples. There are a lot of them around. So there was much wandering around. Had a talk with a monk. Saw kids playing in the river. It was interesting but nothing too exciting.
Luang Prabang is a very quiet touristy town. It's a bit more expensive and more upscale then the rest of the country. There is a lot of french style food and it's definitely nice to have a good baguette in the morning! The night market is also pretty calm and laid back. A lot of cool looking stuff, but it doesn't have the hustle and bustle of the one in Chiang Mai. That is definitely a good thing.
This morning, we woke up early to see the monks receive their morning alms. Monks eat twice a day: breakfast and lunch. They are not allowed to eat after 12pm. They are also not allowed to buy food or cook their own food. Each morning, the towns people cook food and bring it to the street where the monks walk down with pots. The locals then put rice and other food or money into their pots. This happens every day of the week. It's actually really cool to watch. It was much cooler in Huay Xia though. Here, it seemed more like a tourist attraction with women selling us food (at inflated prices) to give to the monks.
Afterwards, we grabbed some breakfast, then met some friends to head to Kuang Si waterfalls. Even in the dry season, this waterfall makes it onto the list of best waterfalls that I've seen in the world. The water was a lime blue. There were about 4 levels to the falls.
The first was much lower meandering falls. In one pool, there was a rope swing and a falls that you can jump off of. (see the pictures) Then you hiked up a bit to hit the main falls. From there, you could hang out at the bottom, the middle, or the top. Each spot looked different, but was amazing. The two pictures I posted are of the bottom and the top.
At the top there was a pool where you could jump of falls (5-7 meters) and hang out at the edge and look down the waterfall. There were about 20 of us hanging out up there talking, swimming, and jumping off the falls.
I've never swam in a falls like this one. It was just huge and beautiful. I can't imagine what it will look like in the rainy season. Well, I can since I saw the postcards, but still.
Tomorrow, I head on a bus south to Vang Viang. Vang Viang is a backpacker town with lots of outdoorsy stuff to do. I have some plans and ideas that could fill the next 3 months, but I still need to hammer them out a bit. They could involve organic farms, gibbons, scuba diving, and traveling to spots little visited by backpackers. I'll let you know more as soon as I know more.
As for how I'm feeling, I'm doing really well. Much better then a week ago. I'd be doing better if it weren't for the dozens of little bites on my feet that itch like crazy. The only thing that really helps them is to put socks on. Of course, if you put socks on, your feet get hot. So you're damned if you do, and damned if you don't.
Well, that's all for now.
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