LAOS - Luang Prabang - Part 2

The next day we woke up at a decent time to eat breakfast at the hostel. It was complimentary and we got eggs and a baguette. The usual. We all planned that day to take a tuk-tuk together and visit a beautiful waterfall a little outside the town. So Anise met up with a German guy and his friends that morning and she went with them for an adventure. Meanwhile, Jordan, the 2 guys, and Mirtha, and Anamiek took a tiny little car to go find the waterfall. The driving was crazy as usual but for some reason, Jordan was getting a little antsy about the driver and thought that he was trying to rip us off or rob us since he stopped on the side of the road to talk to his friend. The fumes from the cars passing were really bad but Luckily I had my mask from Thailand. During the ride, Mirtha needed a smoke and I actually took a little drag just to ease my nerves as well. Mirtha then realized that she wanted to sew her jean shorts because there was a huge hole in the crotch, but she didn’t know how to sew, so I offered myself to help her out and sew her jeans back together. She was wearing a bathing suit underneath so she just took her shorts off and gave them to me and I used her sewing supplies to stitch back together the fabric. It was nice to pass the time in the car because it was a long curvy road. The sky was very cloudy and brown, a lot of crops burning during this time of year, so it wasn’t the prettiest views I must say. But if it were a nice day I could see the valley beyond the town would be a magnificent sight to see. We finally arrived at a little parking lot were other cars that looked like we were waiting as their passengers explored the area. Jordan once again was very skeptical that the car would wait for us there as we explored but I assured her it most likely would. I thought it was strange that Jordan had been traveling for 3 years and still was nervous in these situations, while I, on the other hand, was totally relaxed about it. We hopped off the back of the truck and walked through the tiny village that mostly consisted of restaurants and street vendors. We walked up to this big gate with the name of the park reserve. We continued on down a path leading into the forest and finally came to the first part which turned out to be a bear sanctuary, nothing like we expected to see here in northern Laos. Apparently, they have a lot of bears in the area… In the enclosures, there were about 20 tiny black bears, and a good handful had a few limbs missing. As I read the signs next to the windows it turns out that the bears had lost the limbs from stepping of the US bombs that were left behind during the war. After taking a few pictures we moved on to walk further into the forest to find the waterfalls and water springs. The noise of a large crowd started getting louder and I saw in the distance a lot of tourist in bathing suits surrounding all the watering hole. I didn’t quite expect this either. I thought it wouldn’t be as crowded and it would be more preserved. It was a bit cold out during this time due to the cloud cover so we all decided to maybe walk around first and see what else there was to see and then jump in the water before we left. We walked further up the path and discovered the huge waterfall that was obviously the main attraction. It was magnificent. The colors of the rock and waterfall complemented each other perfectly. An old lady came up to us and told us the story of the bulging rock underneath the waterfall. The story has it that a long time ago an old man saved a baby deer from a bear by hiding it under the bulging rock from some time. Not sure if it was true or not, but hey, don’t ask me. We snapped a few pics together and individually and then I decided to look for an adventure because surely I wanted to do something more than just take pictures in front of a waterfall. I left the group for a little bit to try and find a way up to the top of the waterfall, and I sure did. To the left was a sign pointing to a trail up the mountain to discover more caves and the source of the waterfall. I told the group to come to join me since we had a whole day to stay here. We started to climb the very steep, muddy, and slippery slope. A few ropes were there to help us but most of the time we had to use our hands for support. I was leading the group because my whole trip I had been hiking and keeping my endurance up, while others not so much. They were huffing and puffing the whole way up and I had to stop multiple times. But each stop came with a great view of the valley and forest below. Once we got to the top of the big climb there were 2 signs pointing in opposite directions. One was towards some caves and the other was for a restaurant, so I urged the group towards the caves and lied that it would loop back to the restaurant. Since we were on top of the mountain at this time it was smooth sailing and flat ground, thank god. Jordan, Anamika, and the boys were behind me and Mirtha for this little bit which was nice because I had one of the best talks with her. I think I shared my entire life struggles with her and all my hardships. She did as well. At one point I think we both cried. It was a long walk through the thick forest and we never ran into one person. At last, we came to a little opening in the forest were a lady and her child was sitting at a wooden desk in front of a trail leading up the mountain. Ahead of them was a cave that we could pay to enter. We all took a short break to drink some water and while I got everyone headlamps and ticket the lady offered us free bags of homemade sweet potato chips and a bundle of baby bananas. So sweet of her! The little girl help leads us up to the cave entrance where we ducked our heads and climbed down this broken wooden ladder. It was hot, dark, and wet once inside. The air was so humid and it felt like a steam room. I led the way again because I was so excited to see what was inside. Jordan was very scared of the dark so I kept hearing her screeches in the back. About halfway into the cave, I came across a little buddha shrine with incense lit and golden Buddha in a bundle praying. The cave got bigger and smaller in parts and was made of all clay. Towards the end, it just came to a stop and we turned back. It was about 40 meters deep and quite expansive I must say. And the great thing was that there was no one else there! Once we got back out of the cave we said thank you to the lady and continued on the path that led to a bar. There were a few locals hanging around and they all seemed to be full of themselves as they looked down on us from the porch. Two of the men came down to greet us and try to sell us beer. Once we refused the offered us a game to play in order to get a free beer. The task was to cross the river nearby on a long broken tree limb. I must admit it looked very doable but I knew that it probably was very difficult. The boys and Mirtha decided to try it out after we all convinced them. One of the local guys walked across it twice to show that it was possible, and then we did it again with a beer can balance in his head, just to taunt us… The first up were the boys and they failed miserably. They fell in within 2 steps onto the limb. You only had 2 tries to walk across and if you fail to make it to the other side you have to buy a beer, but if you make it you get a free beer! Up next was Mirtha and she made it further but fell in the deepest part of the river with all her clothes on so she got soaked from head to toe. Afterward, the whole gang tried to persuade me to do it because I was the athletic and flexible one, but I refused knowing I would ultimately be defeated… Then the group had to buy beers since we all failed and then turned back to go find the water source of the big waterfall. We took the same trail back to where it split and then found a short walk to a huge lake above the waterfall. It was very pretty up here with a great view and the roots of the trees snaked into the turquoise water like some scene in Avatar. We crossed a very old wooden pathway built over the falls to get to the other side. We made sure to only cross one person at a time otherwise it would have broke and then we would have gone over the falls! After we crossed we took a steep pathway down to the bottom of the waterfall. All in all this hike was over 3 hours long and was exhausting. We were hot and sticky and now ready to jump into the natural pools below we saw upon the first arrival. We ran down and dropped our trousers to cool off. It took me and the other girls a while to hop in since it was very cold. It was so refreshing and nice. The boys were playing with their go pros when all the sudden I felt a huge mouth on my knee, then my foot, then again on my thigh. Yes. There were biting fish in here. I didn’t know if it was my mind playing tricks on me or there were some hungry fishies snacking on my skin. When the other girls started yelling something is biting them then I started to get creeped out too! We all swam to a rock in the middle of the pool so just our feet were dangling in the water. They weren’t dangerous fishes but it just felt odd. There were 2 old Chinese men swimming in what seemed to be men’s swimsuits from the 1920s that were staring at us and taking photos. One of them would get out of the water and the other would “swim by” us to make it seem he was with us. It was funny to see them attempt this multiple times. After a while, we just gave in and started posing with them. Peace signs of course. Once the chill of the water reached our bones we got out and dried off to head back to the car. Walking on the trail we were all content on the days' triumphs. Such a big adventure and we were all hungry for a snack back in the village. We sat down at a restaurant on the side of the street to order a quick stir fry rice. I got sweet and sour vegetables which were very tasty. I also bought some papaya to snack on back at the hostel. We drove back and I took another few drags of Mirtha's cigaret. The drive back was so nice as the sun was setting over the jungle. The steam of the rainforest made the sunlight stream into rays. As our truck pulled up to the hostel, there was a tuk-tuk parked in front and out came Domien! I ran out and gave him a hug and was so happy to see him again. As he checked in we all hopped in the pool to wash off the clay and dirt. I ran into the guy from Alaska again and he rented a bike that day for his own little adventure. We all met up to try and decide what to do for the night. Each person kind of had a different idea so we separated into groups and we mostly all wanted to go to this bar called “Utopia” and that was the main tourist bar to go to in this town. Once the decision was made we all walked to the night market to get some dinner first. Domien came with us and his Scottish firmed Ali that he met on the 2-day boat trip joined. We walked to the place we saw the night before with the huge buffet for only like $1 all you can eat. Domien and Ali went crazy with it. Considering they were 6’5” they needed it. Afterward we walked all the way to the end of the market where there was a street vendor selling pineapple smoothies with rum in it. Everyone got one to share and I had a few sips but I knew if I had a whole one that I would most likely wake up facedown in a ditch because it was so strong. We then had to wait for the others in the group to catch up which they eventually did. Then I used my phone with the sim card in it to guide us to the bar. We found it down this very weird alley. Once we were there we all got a table and sat down. We met a brother and sister from Europe which they seemed to be very close for a brother and sister. But they were interesting. Our group wasn’t as wild as the other tourists there that were getting super drunk and rowdy. After sitting awhile and a few beers in Mirtha, me, and the boys asked the bar for a ball so we could play in the volleyball courts that were within the bar grounds. I played a few rounds but to be honest I hate volleyball because it hurts my forearms. After we threw back a few more drinks at the lounge and decided to go find the bowling alley. Word has it that this place was the only nightlife in the town. Outside the bar, there were a bunch of tuk-tuks asking the drunk tourists if they want weed or drugs or a ride to the bowling alley. Then our group split into 2, some wanted to continue the night and others wanted to go back and sleep. I was team sleep but with not much persuading I switch to team bowling. We all hopped in and I was with Anamiek in the idea that we would go check it out and leave early. Once we arrived there were a lot of people there already bowling. Our group got a lane and started. The boys bought me a blue wine cooler from the bar which wasted like a sugar bomb laced with vodka. I drank it anyway so I could gain confidence in my bowling skills. After a few trials, I left of boredom to go see what was up outside the building. Outside I found Mirtha smoking with some new fellas and a nearby archery course. I was so stoked. Archery! I’ve never tried it but being drunk in a foreign country seemed to be the right time to do it. So I bought a few rounds and learned how to shoot a bow and arrow! Wasn’t too hard, but I made the red target 2 times! Anamika came up to me after a while and asked me if I wanted to go back to the hostel. I agreed because I was getting tired and bored. We found our own truck taxi back with some Spanish boys and they were begging me to come to join their hostel them but I had no interest. Adios muchachos! Back at the hostel Anamika and I had the same room that was quiet and peaceful. I slept like a baby.