Day Sixteen - Kuang Si Waterfalls

The minivan pulled up outside our hotel at the crack of dawn (11:30) for our trip to the Kuang Si Waterfalls. It's a thirty or forty minute bumpy drive into the hills before arriving at the gates of the park.

A village has sprung up at the gates to feed and water the large numbers of tourists arriving at midday.  It was frustrating that we could not find a tour agency willing to schedule trips earlier in the day, as you feltl as if you were part of a rent-a-mob as you wound your way along the paths.  The local people also tend to visit at the weekends to take a picnic and play cards on the grassier spots.

Once through the gates, you are directed to a bear sanctuary, run by an Australian charity (link) with more than 20 Asiatic black bears, also known as Moon bears for their crescent markings.  The enclosures are adequately sized and a lot of thought goes into making their life in captivity comfortable and stimulating.  Most of the bears have been confiscated by the Lao government from poachers and traders intending to sell them onto the bile farms in neighbouring countries.

Bear relaxing in a hammock.

The trail continues from the bear rescue centre to the waterfalls which, it has to be said, are well worth the inconvenience of the crowds. First of all, you come to the bathing pools where if you have the cojones, you can brave the iced water.

Last time I went swimming in a tropical waterfall pool in India, I spent twenty-four hours in the bathroom, so this time I declared myself cojone-light.

For some of the younger visitors, the rope-swing from the tree overhanging the pool was irresistible. Others even younger were happy to paddle in the shallows.

Brothers

At the top of the trail, the largest of the waterfalls provides a spectacular finale to the trip.

On our way home, we stopped at a Hmong village, talking to the young children who were manning the first stalls. I'd lost my enthusiasm for shopping by this time and was quite content to wait for my fellow tourists to return, after what was described as a ten-minute stop. After ten minutes, the kids had badgered me into buying a few bracelets but there was still no sign of the others returning.

Eventually, Maggie came running towards me, shouting to tell me that the minivan was waiting for me a hundred metres down the road. Embarrassingly, I'd not realised that the path through the Hmong village took a semi-circular route. Red-faced, I rejoined the trip.