And to top that off, yesterday we ventured to Tad Sae Waterfalls - in one word, amazing! There are three tiers of falls, with limestone rocks serving as stairs which extend farther and farther up the lush, green mountainside. Located right off the Mekong River, we took a small boat there for about 1$. However, the motor didn't work and instead, the man and his small son paddled the short distance to the falls! At the falls, you can swim, jump, dive and sit lazily in these waterfalls. Clearly, the only way to really experience the falls is to jump right in!
Naturally, upon first entering the falls, I stepped right into a hole and banged my knee up on the rocks, but that didn't stop me or any of us from jumping in again and again! There was also an elephant camp right at the falls, so we also got up close and personal with the mammoth beasts. Their trunks are so powerful...one starting sniffing my shirt, and he almost sucked my t-shirt right in! Lauren, Or and Matuez were the perfect company to spend the day lounging in the water, eating local cuisine at the little restaurant and hiking up the mountainside to some caves and exploring the forest, which was crazy with mosquitos. I had literally six or seven bites in the span of about five minutes.
After our lovely day at the falls, our tuk-tuk brought us back to the city, dropping us at Phu Si - a Buddhist temple which sits perfectly on a hill overlooking the valley that is Luang Prabang. What a sight! It was completely worth the 470 steps to get up to the top - nothing like hiking up to a temple to realize still how out of shape you are! The views were spectacular with golden temples gleaming in the distance, green mountains all around, the city dangling at your feet and of course, the Mekong River winding its way through the valley! Even though Luang Prabang is quite touristy, I now know why that is - who wouldn't want to see this view?
Meeting all these people from around the world has been fabulous! One of the most interesting parts of the day was the tuk-tuk ride back, talking to Or about his experience spending three years in the Israeli army. He's only 23 years old and has seen more than his fair share of danger in his country. Yet, he is so humble and mature, saying what he has experienced is nothing like the violence going on in other parts of the world like Myanmar and Iraq. He is an absolute gem.
It's funny because after meeting all these people, I have realized we all have two things in common. One, we are all in Luang Prabang (no surprise there). And two, every one of us is traveling the world in an attempt to - in some way, shape or form - try to find themselves. Some are trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives, others are traveling to get far away from home, while some need to do all of the above. In other words, we are all one big cliche :)
After the amazing views of the city, our little group of travelers were starving, to say the least! My stomach is on the road to recovery, so one would think I should still take it easy and eat simple foods. Instead, we went out for Indian. Probably the worst decision one should make in a situation like that, haha! However, my Channa Masala (chickpeas in a slightly spicy sauce) were delicious, and you simply cannot beat Indian Nan (flatbread)!
Today, the rest of the group headed off to another waterfall, but I have decided to bum around Luang Prabang since we are leaving tonight, and I feel like I haven't seen much of the actual city. Plus, I only have 90,000 kip (about 9$) left, and there are no ATMS in Luang Prabang, so I have to budget accordingly! So, it will be nice to have a solo expedition and explore this cute little town before we head off to Vang Vieng, another cute little town later tonight! Here I go!
1 comment:
Laos is amazing place where u can find time for your self, you can meet new people from all around the world( some of them, think they are always right :) , go to this beautiful water falls or just eating all day and read ing a book.
hello from Laos
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