We had another lazy day in Luang Prabang. We spent it strolling at a snail’s pace with no plan on where we were going. We’d run into a few things that seemed worthwhile, so we’d just do them.

We woke up to a celebration outside our villa. Tables were setup quite early and lots of Laotians arrived to party the day away. There was lots of live music, from traditional laotian music to stuff that almost sounded like Asian metal, it was quite entertaining watching the people come and go all day long. Our front stoop became a scooter parking lot.

There is a bamboo bridge that the locals have made that crossed the Nam Khan river, you pay 5000kip and you can walk across a bridge that looks a lot sturdier than it is. Apparently it was moving because I weigh too much.

We then ran into the steps of Mount Phousi, which is a temple 350 feet above Luang Prabang. I lost count of how many steps we had to climb to get there, but it was somewhere around 300. Once you’re at the top you get a great view of the Mekong River and Nam Khan River intersecting as well as a birds eye view of Luang Prabang.

On your way up, there are various Buddha displays built into the hillside. There’s even one in a cave that you can climb into.

We ate at a couple of pretty good restaurants, the one for dinner was called 3 Nagas and it was owned by a French woman, so the food was a French and Laotian fusion and it was quite good.

I may have said it before, but this is one of the best places I’ve been to for people watching. There is such an eclectic mix of people, from backpackers to the wealthy Parisians. One thing I have noticed is the sheer volume of Chinese tourists, I don’t remember that from the last time I was here. There must be a new middle to upper-middle class emerging in China and there’s more of them travelling.

We walked the night market again, there’s always something new to see. Caellum tried a smoothie from the fresh fruit stand and we of course ate some more Khanom Khrok treats.

Today, we woke up early to head to Kuang Si falls and the Free The Bears park. I tried to get everyone up early so we could be there as soon as the doors open. Luang Prabang tour companies head there at around 9AM, and we want to be out of there by 9:15. We left at 7:30 and made our way to the falls.

The Kuang Si Falls, sometimes spelled Kuang Xi or known as Tat Kuang Si Waterfalls, is a three tier waterfallabout 29 kilometres (18 mi) south of Luang Prabang. These waterfalls are a favourite side trip for tourists in Luang Prabang. The falls begin in shallow pools atop a steep hillside. These lead to the main fall with a 60 metres (200 ft)cascade

We made it to the falls at about 8AM, and there was only a handful of people there. We were able to get a great view of the cascading water. I didn’t bring a tripod with me on this trip, so I had to make do with plopping our backpack down on the ground or in the water to steady the camera for the wanted longer shutter speeds. We could have been there a bit earlier if photography was on the agenda, as soon as the sun comes above the treeline, the water becomes too dappled with sunlight and most photo opportunities of the water are gone.

The Free The Bears rescue is located right beside the waterfall. Most of the bears on the premises have been saved from alternative medicine facilities that cater to a certain market that I won’t name. One of the products that they farm from the bears is bile. The bears are put in small cages for their entire life and their bile extracted and packaged for healing properties that don’t exist. Once the bear no longer produces bile, it is killed. There are a lot of farms around Asia, and in some places this practice is legal.

Unlike the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand, we can’t go pet and feed the bears. 🙂

We’ll see what the rest of the day has in store for us. I think a massage is in order to be honest.

We’re eating at the “best” French restaurant in Laung Prabang tonight, so I’m very much looking forward to that.