A stormy morning view from our guesthouse (A Tee Guesthouse)
Kuang Si waterfall
Moon bears at Kuang Si Sanctuary
Stunning!
My favourite yoga location
Water buffalo calves being fed
Just like a cow (apparently)
Feeding them napier grass
Anything goes
Wat Xieng Thong
So I wanted two days on a slow boat down the Mekong River to journey here from Thailand but Pete wanted to fly from Chiang Mai. At $80 for a direct 1 hour flight, Pete won! Luang Prabang’s centre is on a peninsula surrounded by the Mekong River and has many Chinese (only a 9 hour drive from the border) and French tourists. The French have also left a legacy of great bread (we may have had a baguette or two). There are many wats to explore, a Budda on a mountain overlooking the town and a royal palace to explore (sorry no photos allowed). I have been doing yoga daily at 7.30am at a class held on a sundeck at Utopia which overlooks the Mekong River and is surrounded by coconut trees – what a serene way to start the day!
Yesterday we went to a waterfall (Kuang Si) which had many limestone terraces and pools to swim in, and lots of cooling water – yeah! On the way we went to an Austalian supported (Free the Bears) bear sanctuary which has rescued Sun and Moon bears which are captured and kept in cages so the bile from their gallbladder could be extracted and sold. #howcanpeoplebesocruel. The bears were so cute. There was one bear with only 3 legs (I guess it had been injured in a bear trap) but it had adjusted well and could climb just as well as the others. I wish the informative signs were in Chinese (as well as Lao and English) as there would be a chance of educating the younger generation. The Chinese do seem to have a different outlook on animals. We have seen children kicking out at cats and tormenting geese. The adults were buying small bamboo cages containing tiny birds to take up the mountain and release (supposedly for good luck). We watched one Chinese lady at the top trying to pull the small bird through a small hole in the cage just by its leg. I had to turn away after I saw her pull out a handful of feathers and then have another go. The poor birds! I accept that the Lao people are wrong for capturing and selling the birds but if the tourists didn’t buy them – the practice would soon stop.
On a more positive note, on the way home we visited Lao Buffalo Dairy on the way back that has been started over the last 3 years by some Australian expats looking for a different way of life. They realised that no one in Lao milked the water buffalo and decided to set up business. They rent local’s water buffalo, vaccinate and worm then and then use the milk to produce mozzarella and ricotta cheese and ice cream. They are also helping the locals improve the breading and survival rate of the young calves. A happy ending to the day 😀
Our journey was made on another moped complete with a sexy/huge helmet. I decided to go two up with Pete as his off road skills are much better than mine. Halfway to the falls we came across a young American backpacker who’d just crashed on gravel. She had just grazes but the bike looked pretty scratched – wonder how much that would cost her? Ten minutes later her and her boyfriend overlook us flying round a blind bend. No sense, no feeling? Then we stopped to let a herd of water buffalo cross the road with the farmer, just as the last one crossed a moped with two foreigners went charging round the corner and past us. I’m not sure they even slowed to consider why we were stopped. Every day we must see 10-15 backpackers with plasters/bandages/scars from mopeds. They need to go to off-road skills school before leaving home and be cautious of what might be round the next corner!
Tonight we are doing an overnight bus to Vientiane – let’s see how restful that is on the twisty bumpy windy roads.
