Yesterday was the second day of my tour schedule in Luang Prabang, and it’s a day to travel some 30kms to the Kwang Si Waterfalls.
On the way we stop at a Hmong village – a real village, so no real dress up national costumes in sight, but a few stalls selling the handicrafts they make. These villages have been resettled by the Government (this one 12 years ago) from way up in the mountains. In the bad old days, their income was from growing opium. Once that stopped, they needed to move down the mountain to survive. This settlement had 60 families, and as they all live together in family units, it means just 60 tumbledown bamboo huts – they must be freezing in the winter as there are large gaps in the walls and ceilings. We are invited into one – I attach a pic, but not sure it does justice to the awfulness of it all. But apparently, so the party line goes, they are all very happy to have been re settled – now they have water (see the pic of the 3 tanks….), power (but no sign of any things that could actually be plugged in – dishwasher, hairdryer, flat screen cinema system for example – makes you realise just how spoiled we all are). There is also a school and access to medical care. Additionally, they don’t have to haul up any necessary supplies halfway up a mountain when they are needed. The women sew handicrafts and the men work in the fields. New rice terraces have been made, and at this time of year they are the same startling emerald green as the amazing ones we saw in Vietnam. I’m not one for handicrafts, but ended up buying a small hand embroidered bag, with scenes of agriculture on, very clever and detailed, but no idea what I’ll use it for. And then there were the children, beseeching me with their big brown eyes to buy yet another two hand embroidered bracelets, one from each child. No way could I resist. You can see these two salespeople in the picture, and I bet you couldn’t have resisted either! In the background is their very young Mum, who apparently now has five children, including a tiny baby asleep in a hammock just behind her that was brushing in the dust.
We then drive on through the beautiful countryside to the waterfalls. A leisurely stroll through a community village with rather bad wood carvings takes us to the gates of the National Park. Just inside the gates is the Black Asian Bear rescue centre – these big black bears look more threatening than your average teddy! Up until seven years ago they also had a tiger rescue centre – just the one tiger, but after his demise that was it for tigers in Laos. And this lack of animals here in the wild is not the result of poaching as it is in so many other countries, it’s a result of the American bombing in the 60’s and 70’s when they were trying to stop the “Communist threat”. Laos is the most bombed country in the world, even more so than Cambodia which surprised me. There is still a huge issue with unexploded landmines here too.
After the bears, a slow wend up the hill to reach the falls through the forest. Every so often there are pools, where the amazingly clear blue water from limestone rocks collects, and you can swim. They even provide dinky little changing rooms. Some people more hardy than me were braving the cold water, but I didn’t need a cooling dip - the shady forest was a really pleasant temperature. All in all a delightful few hours, and time to relax this afternoon on the terrace upstairs in the hotel that I seem to have made my own (no one else seems to use it). Writing the blog and catching up with email and banking – domestic duties are never done!
And today, my last day in Luang Prabang this time, was spent wandering around the town, checking out yet more shops, enjoying yet more coffee and pastries and generally chillin’ which is the very best thing to do here to just soak up the atmosphere.
On the way we stop at a Hmong village – a real village, so no real dress up national costumes in sight, but a few stalls selling the handicrafts they make. These villages have been resettled by the Government (this one 12 years ago) from way up in the mountains. In the bad old days, their income was from growing opium. Once that stopped, they needed to move down the mountain to survive. This settlement had 60 families, and as they all live together in family units, it means just 60 tumbledown bamboo huts – they must be freezing in the winter as there are large gaps in the walls and ceilings. We are invited into one – I attach a pic, but not sure it does justice to the awfulness of it all. But apparently, so the party line goes, they are all very happy to have been re settled – now they have water (see the pic of the 3 tanks….), power (but no sign of any things that could actually be plugged in – dishwasher, hairdryer, flat screen cinema system for example – makes you realise just how spoiled we all are). There is also a school and access to medical care. Additionally, they don’t have to haul up any necessary supplies halfway up a mountain when they are needed. The women sew handicrafts and the men work in the fields. New rice terraces have been made, and at this time of year they are the same startling emerald green as the amazing ones we saw in Vietnam. I’m not one for handicrafts, but ended up buying a small hand embroidered bag, with scenes of agriculture on, very clever and detailed, but no idea what I’ll use it for. And then there were the children, beseeching me with their big brown eyes to buy yet another two hand embroidered bracelets, one from each child. No way could I resist. You can see these two salespeople in the picture, and I bet you couldn’t have resisted either! In the background is their very young Mum, who apparently now has five children, including a tiny baby asleep in a hammock just behind her that was brushing in the dust.
We then drive on through the beautiful countryside to the waterfalls. A leisurely stroll through a community village with rather bad wood carvings takes us to the gates of the National Park. Just inside the gates is the Black Asian Bear rescue centre – these big black bears look more threatening than your average teddy! Up until seven years ago they also had a tiger rescue centre – just the one tiger, but after his demise that was it for tigers in Laos. And this lack of animals here in the wild is not the result of poaching as it is in so many other countries, it’s a result of the American bombing in the 60’s and 70’s when they were trying to stop the “Communist threat”. Laos is the most bombed country in the world, even more so than Cambodia which surprised me. There is still a huge issue with unexploded landmines here too.
After the bears, a slow wend up the hill to reach the falls through the forest. Every so often there are pools, where the amazingly clear blue water from limestone rocks collects, and you can swim. They even provide dinky little changing rooms. Some people more hardy than me were braving the cold water, but I didn’t need a cooling dip - the shady forest was a really pleasant temperature. All in all a delightful few hours, and time to relax this afternoon on the terrace upstairs in the hotel that I seem to have made my own (no one else seems to use it). Writing the blog and catching up with email and banking – domestic duties are never done!
And today, my last day in Luang Prabang this time, was spent wandering around the town, checking out yet more shops, enjoying yet more coffee and pastries and generally chillin’ which is the very best thing to do here to just soak up the atmosphere.
