Wednesday 30 April 2014

Kuang Si Falls


Best day ever! 

Lots more moto fun with Remy and Jonas. We headed about an hour out of town to a place called Kuang Si Falls. It was utterly incredible. Think I found the definition of heaven.

There's a bear sanctuary as you enter, where they have a range of Asian Black Bears.




Then it's on to the waterfalls: a sequence of falls and pools which are the most incredible bright blue, where you can swim and splash about 'til your heart's content. I've never seen anything like it. Hope I'm reincarnated as a water sprite here.








I had my second 'moment' here. I love standing beneath waterfalls with the water drumming so hard in your ears that you can't hear anything. If you press your forehead to the rock, you can keep breathing whilst completely submerged. I started humming into the rock, resonating sound whilst the water roared in my ears. Stayed that way for a long time, by whole body buzzing with not a thought in my head. In the midst of such noise was the most intense silence I've ever known. When I finally swam away, it was as though I had been completely cleansed, leaving a deep sense of stillness and peace.

Looking back, there was a bit of a three-stage transformation going on. Struggling and wrestling with emotions at the Vietnamese Temple, awakening at Wat Tham Phou Si, and peaceful emptiness at Kuang Si.

These sensations never last, you can't hold on to them and say 'from this point on I am calm,' but those small moments leave a footprint, and for that moment they are the most sacred of experiences. If we are lucky, our lives will be filled with little moments.

Meanwhile, back at the bench, Jonas was chillaxing beneath a shady tree, and Remy was exploring the rocks.





We left Jonas sleeping and decided to continue up the river, past a little waterwheel, to see where it led.







(click to enlarge)

There was a giant waterfall at the top. It dwarfed everyone standing next to it. There was nothing for it but to climb to the top! So, once again, I found myself following Remy up a very, very steep hillside. There weren't exactly 'steps' this time, more sort of mud and rocks. It put me to shame. Even when I was fit, back when I was scrabbling about Scotland with Paul last year, I was still nowhere near as fit as these guys. Remy is my age, but there isn't an ounce of fat on him. Halfway up the hill we were overtaken by a couple of European blokes who were walking up like it was an escalator! Backpacking seems like a valid alternative to joining a gym.

I didn't take any photos from the top as you had to wade through a pool across extremely slippy rocks, and I was worried I might drop my camera, but I will include some at some point, once Remy uploads his photos (which may be a while, internet being what it is).

It was completely worth it, and I almost died of relief when I saw people bathing at the top. After washing off the sweat, we looked around then began our descent down the other side of the waterfall, which was much easier going with a flight of stairs.

Bridge leading to the assent.
Waterfall from the bridge.
It looked so easy - but then the steps vanished and
turned into a steep, rocky climb.

This makes a change! Following Remy down steps.

The descent.


Secluded waterfall part-way down.



Steps and waterfall combine.


Kuang Si is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. We got to the bottom absolutely knackered and promptly threw ourselves back in the pools to cool down, with the foot-nibbling fishies and the little scuttling crabs. There were quite a few tourists there of every nationality, but it didn't feel crowded. I am so grateful to have met Remy, taking a moto meant that we got to spend the entire day there exploring and swimming, rather than rushing round with a tour guide.

Jonas had already headed home by the time we got back down, as he was still suffering from his cold, so we grabbed some food at the market before starting the journey home. On the way we saw this incredible cyclist. We overtook him going uphill, then he overtook us and managed to completely out race us for about a mile or more! I took a brief clip but I'd maxed out my memory card so it's only short. I gave him a big round of applause when we eventually overtook. He was truly impressive.



Tomorrow I head for home, but there's plenty of fun to be had between now and then. I feel utterly rejuvenated.

Tuesday 29 April 2014

Luang Prabang


Up early with Remy to grab a tuk tuk to the bus station for the 8:30am north to Luang Prabang. Another minivan, this time only costing 100,000 (£7.50) for a journey about an hour longer than the six hours it took to get to Phonsavan. I think if I had been on my own, there's a fifty-fifty chance I would just have taken a flight home from the Plain of Jars rather than face another ride like that, but it's slightly more bearable when you're travelling with friends, and Martine & Ruairí said it was definitely a place to see if I could.

Remy and I were up and out in time to go to the market to stock up on biscuits and water for the journey. All along the street there were people selling greens, huge mushrooms, and what looked like dead squirrels, and possibly a cat or a fox? They were there when we went into the market, but the police were moving them along as we left. You do see some incredible things, but the one that I found a little disturbing was the sale of pigs in baskets. The baskets are made of wicker, and hugged the pig's contour, leaving no room to move. People can carry them home like handbags, but the pigs did not sound happy about it.

Pigs in Baskets
Jonas arrived as we were preparing to leave, and jumped on board just in time.

I found this journey fairly tough, spending most of it with my legs braced against the side of the van with my arms wrapped around the headrest to try to minimise the rocking sensation. I felt a little green around the gills at one point: seasick on dry land. 

Remy helped take my mind off it with an impromptu French lesson. I can now say 'I am very lazy' and 'shut your mouth you animal!' - I'm practically fluent. In return, I taught him the quintessentially British phrase 'shove it up your arse.'  

And so began an indulgent bout of casual racism, which proved entertaining for many hours to come. An arrogant Frenchman and the sunburned descendant of a lobster (I think he won that one).

Almost five hours in and we finally stopped for a toilet and food break at a café by the roadside. The view was beautiful, but I wasn't fully in the mood to appreciate it. Still, it gives some idea of the type of landscape we were travelling through.



(click to enlarge)


When we finally landed, we went looking for the backpackers' hostel. I had no intention of checking into a dorm after a journey like that, but I did want to make sure I found a place nearby so that we could all explore together. As it was, all of the hostels were booked, and the upper end hotels were very expensive by comparison. Then we stumbled across the Suan Keo Guest House, a stone's throw from the river. The proprietor spoke very little English, but she had three rooms upstairs, all opposite each other. Very clean, with incredibly soft mattresses! Quite a surprise after the rock solid tables we'd been sleeping on in Vang Vieng and PonSav. I opted for a little luxury, taking the one with air conditioning for an extra 10,000 (70p).

We crawled into our rooms for a shower and a nap, no one feeling much like talking after the crazy bus ordeal. But it wasn't long before we were back on form and ready to explore the town.

Luang Prabang is absolutely delightful. It's extremely pretty, with a long stretch of cafés and bars along the riverbank. We also stumbled upon a small temple that was ornately decorated. The town is a strange mixture of Lao, French and Chinese influences.












Rice Cakes Drying



We sat by the river with a beer and watched the sun set, then headed inland towards the night market, which is absolutely stunning. It's like a giant Asian bazaar full of beautiful handcrafts: scarfs, bowls, bags, shoes and street food. Every large town seems to have a night market and a morning market, sometimes they're in the same place, sometimes in different places. Luang Prabang was certainly a spectacle to behold.



We finally adjourned to the most amazing bar on the main strip, called the Lao Lao Garden, for food and more beer. It was utterly fantastic. The whole place is decked out in fairy lights like a magical wonderland, all the tables lit with candles. The perfect place to unwind.


Menu: Before you read on, all menu items are 'Falang safe'
meaning 'safe for tourists.'
Useful advice for travellers.

I returned the next morning with Remy for breakfast (pancake with honey and jam, and a large mug of coffee), before adjourning to the internet café over the road to catch up on some work.


Lao Keyboard

Jonas had come down with a bad cold, so stayed in bed to recover whilst Remy and I took another turn around the town. There's a sort of peninsula on the Mekong, with two bamboo bridges connecting it. Luang Prabang is famed for its monks. Every morning, at around 6am, hundreds of them walk through the town collecting alms from the people. If you google image it, you'll see some impressive pictures but in recent years the monks have been voicing concern at the number of tourists coming to photograph this ritual, and their behaviour.

I heard a story from R that the monks had threatened not to continue the practise because of this, to which the local council reputedly said words to the effect of 'this is what brings in the tourism, which is good for our economy. If you stop, we'll employ actors to dress up as monks instead,' at which point the monks apparently begrudgingly agreed to keep going. Whether it's true or not, it raises some interesting questions about the growth of tourism and how you manage that alongside local traditions and beliefs. It's certainly true that the antics of many western tourists along the main party strip were quite out of kilter with a country that values modesty and polite behaviour.

There are certainly a lot of monks in Laung Prabang. I remember how excited I was to see my first one at Bangkok airport, and how I had to resist the urge to photograph him. I couldn't resist a couple of sneaky snaps here though. They really are quite beautiful to see in their bright orange robes.




We continued along a little. We wanted to cross the bamboo bridge, but you had to pay before 6pm, so we decided against it, instead finding a little path down to the water's edge where we paddled and took photographs.




(click to enlarge)
A little further down we found locals playing the French game of pétanque. They were happy for us to watch and take photos. They were extremely accurate, and had obviously been playing a lot.



We walked for a long time, stopping for food and ice-cream at a riverside bar on the way back. 



By the evening, Jonas was feeling a bit better, and joined us in a walk back through town to the Wat Tham Phou Si. Wat is the name for a temple, and this one sits at the top of a very steep hill, with a large golden stupa at the top. People gather there in the evening to watch the sun set over the river. However, in order to get there, you need to climb a lot of steps. Nowhere near as many steps as it took to get to the Plain of Jars quarry, but still a lot of steps.









I had a bit of a 'moment' at the top. The first of two. I arrived sweaty and tired, and flumped down on the steps with Remy and Jonas to watch the mountains change colour, surrounded by tourists of every nationality.

It was quite a cloudy sunset, but I just felt completely overwhelmed - in a really good way. When I felt overwhelmed at the Vietnamese temple with Martine, it felt sad and uncomfortable, but this felt uncomfortable and exciting. Like I have been thinking too hard over the past few years about certain things, looking too hard for something, and in so doing I've missed all the other opportunities round me. Being there, at the top of that hill, with two beautiful blokes who have travelled so far, I suddenly felt this odd mixture of relief and intense realisation. It's hard to explain, so I won't try to, but it was interesting, and a little disturbing, and I felt a bit like crying, but didn't. It would have been nice to have sat there for a little while longer, but eventually the sun went down and it was time to go in search of sustenance. 

I'm very glad I climbed that flight of steps. It was a unique and unusual moment.