Lao Stars, Boats & Thai Elephants, Oh My!

Hola Familia, Amiga & Amigos!

We've departed Laos (*sigh*) and are back in beautiful Thailand again; it was quite the journey!! I can't remember when I posted last, but I believe it was about Vang Vieng so I suppose I'll start up again from there :)

Headed to Luang Prabang, situated on the Mekong River, for a few days. Did a day trip to "Kuang Sii" Waterfalls, touted as the best in Loas and they certainly didn't disappoint. The waterfalls went foreverrrr through lush jungles, with little pools for swimming in along the way. We hiked up to the top-most waterfall and had a picnic style lunch with some good friends we've made in the group. Took a frigid dip in the crystal blue waters and spent some time watching the "Moon Bears" play and forage for hidden food in the Bear Refuge that was on site. They're pretty small bears, black in colour with a white crest along their chests (hence the name). They used to inhabit all of Laos but over the years, Chinese immigrants (so we were told) have been capturing them and keeping them horribly confined to collect their bile for medicinal purposes... Now the people of Lao have to, sadly, put the bears they find in sanctuaries just to make sure they stay safe from bear hunting, but on the bright side, their numbers are going up because of it.

I woke up at 5am our last day in Luang Prabang to pay alms to the monks of the city. They walk the streets every morning at sunrise and the people buy sticky rice, fruits and sweets to give to them as Lao monks are not allowed to have any of their own possessions. It was a very peaceful experience (minus the flashes of the Chinese tourists cameras) and the people believe that you will be blessed when you give the monks offerings; definitely worth the early morning.

The next two days were spent floating peacefully down the Mekong river on a slow boat... although it actually went pretty fast. We had two full days on the boat so we passed the time playing cards, chatting, reading and tanning on the huge communal bed. Was a really cool way to see a bit more of the countryside and life along the Mekong (which acts as the border between Lao and Thailand). We had a great local guide name Duoh who taught us alot about the Lao Culture and runs his own tours if anyone's interested in going one day :) Stopped at a cave along the river that contains over 6,000 Buddha's dating back to the 16th century.

The towns we stayed in the nights we were on the boat were very small, remote jungle villages where the stars were so bright at night, it looked like you could reach up and grab one.