Day 15 -Drip drip drop, roar, flutter

Walk around Luang Prabang for more than two seconds and tonnes of tuk-tuk drivers will ask if you want to go to the waterfalls.
And they mean only one: Kuang Si.
After booking with our hostel a mini van (much cheaper and convenient way to travel) we headed off
We passed through small towns, past schools, rice fields, and mountains in the distance.There was a simple, unspoiled beauty to it.
We first stopped at The Bear Rescue Centre which is a short walk from the waterfall. Asiatic black bears, or moon bears, are an endangered species and all being protected and looked after.
The bears were adorable and couldn’t help fall in love.
We bought a t-shirt as the funds from the waterfall do not go to the sanctuary and they rely on donations.




After ogling at bears for long enough we headed upwards to the waterfall. Kuang Si is a giant waterfall that flows through limestone-rich jungle and empties out into a series of three gently cascading pools and they were glorious.
Surrounded in jungle with beautiful shafts of light entering different sections and bouncing off the glitter water. It was simply stunning. The rush and sound of the water was so peaceful, we couldn’t wait to get in but we wanted to make sure we saw it all so hiked up straight to the top. After a few selfies, obvs, we decided to jump in. By jump I mean careful tread in, panic that it’s a little chilly, pause, continue, pause then just scream as you plunge in.









After enjoying the water we decided to wander down the markets and roads in the area to a butterfly park. I have done a lot of butterfly parks previously but really wanted to do this one as all the butterfly’s in Laos seem to be massivvvve. So thought it would be fantastic to see a range of them in a park and learn a bit more.
It’s a very small park but fits a lot in! They have beautiful gardens outside the butterfly tent to attract the wild butterflies and the waterfalls continue to cascade through the park as well. As we entered the tent and armed with our butterfly knowledge of a sheet we came across butterflies large and small. One particular keen butterfly decided to pay me a visit.




Also within the butterfly tent was a natural pool from the waterfall with the fish that give you a pedicure. After they nibbled out feet for a while we headed back to our mini van to make the 1 hour journey back home.


Grub
As we were walking back from the mini van we just happened to bump into Tom! ( dirt biking guy) he just so happened popped to Luang Prabang for tyres for some of his bikes. As Kasi, the town he is from, is very remote they don’t have a lot of what he needs so the 4 hour journey to this location is his best bet. Luang Prabang is a very small place however we were still a little taken back to bump into someone we knew as we could of just as easy missed each other at the junction.
We decided to meet up later at this restaurant we were planning to go to from his previous recommendations called Atsalin. It isn’t a restaurant that is much to look at from the outside but I can totally see why he recommended this place. The food was *drools* I had what he mentioned he has had every time, pork with sticky rice, veg and egg. The sauce was to die for, sweet but with a hint of spice, and the meat so tender. They came out with broth to drink/ pour over the rice for even more flavour. Mmmmmmmmmm. Also this place is super cheap which also helps with our travels!

Ta ta x (check the next post for the special addition of beard watch…)
