Kuang Si Falls, Luang Prabang

Breakfast of champions!  My favorite cappucino, a mixed smoothie,
Allan's Laotian coffe, and the best breakfast sandwiches around.
All for the whopping price of $10 USD

Today was our first real adventure.  Seriously, this post has it all: Boat rides, snakes, interesting half naked pictures and random truck rides in the Laotian bush.

One of the first places on our list to see was the Kuang Si Falls.  We had no idea how to get there or what it would cost so after a quick breakie, we sought out a "ride" to the falls.

Our waiting area or the ferry terminals as known by the locals.  Yes, that's a ferry just coming in.

After agreeing on a price with our new friend, Jai, he tells us to "wait down there" and points to the Mekong Riverside aka the ferry terminal.  We, of course, pay him in advance and proceed to wait at the river's edge for about 10 minutes.

Then another 10 minutes go by.

See, at this point, I'm starting to think we've been dupped.  I make Allan climb the steep stairway back up to the street to hunt down Jai.  After speaking with Jai's friends up on the streetcorner, we find out that a "20 minute wait time is normal."

Allan comes back down to explain the situation to me and who swings around the corner, avoiding the river ferry, in a long boat???  None other than our Jai.  (Thank goodness because I was worried that we had another "tea situation" on our hands.)

So, couple things that come to mind at this point are:

1) I had no idea that we needed to take a boat to the falls
2) If we are going there by boat, how is EVERYONE ELSE getting there by Tuk-Tuk?

Our longboat for the day and the cutest little boy is making sure we don't drifft away

After pondering this for a few minutes, I board, along with Allan, by the prompting of our new friend, Jai.  By the way, his family (wife and son) were on board too and their son was adorable.

Transport boats.  They live on their boat as well.

Anyway, the journey was gorgeous.  The Mekong, though extremely brown and dirty, is very peaceful and has a very rapid current.  We were lucky that our boat was going downstream to get to the falls.

After about an hour ride, we pull into a little inlet with a very steep cliff.  I start to get excited.  "YAY, we're here!  The falls are just up ahead" I think to myself.

But no, that's not it at all.

The little village.  Complete with an outdoor pool table

Jai, our friend, explains that this is as far as he can go by boat.  He walks us up through the jungle to a small remote village.  He starts walking around town yelling at someone, anyone, to give us a ride to the falls.  He finds a man who was more than happy to take us the 13 km to the falls and wait for us there as well, to return us safely to Jai.  So, after a nice push start to get the truck running, we are off, with a man we don't know, in an area we've never heard of before and down a non-paved highway with HUGE potholes.  The only rule on this highway is drive on the right.  Our new friend was weaving in and out of traffic, narrowly missing cliffsides and barriers, honking at little children walking down the street.  It was the ride of a lifetime, to say the least.

Oh, and we past three snakes.  One, we believe, was the King Cobra.

Allan's hungry

We arrive at the falls, and after a quick snack of pork and chicken satay skewers, we enter one of the most gorgeous spots we've ever been to.





The falls are huge.  Each level you walk up has a new waterfall to explore and a new

swimming spot.  The jungle surrounds the falls making it completely picturesque and the mist given off by the falls keeps all the walking traffic nice and cool.  Honestly, it's breathtaking.

After spending the afternoon wandering around snapping pictures to our heart's content, Allan decides to use the HUGE rope swing at one of the swimming spots.

Allan is Tarzan, swinging from jungle vines

Have I ever mentioned that he's crazy???  Anyway, kuddos to him for doing it twice BUT you can bet any amount of money that I wasn't jumping off that tree with only a flimsy vine intended to keep me from plunging to a watery death below.  Not a chance!

Finishing the adventure with a coconut, as per usual

We found a different, less crowded spot, for swimming afterwards.  Though the water was extremely cold, like brutal cold, it was relaxing, peaceful and beautifully serene.  Well worth the journey getting there.