After the village visit, our tour group hopped into our very own longboat (no more cramped seating!) and headed towards the city of Vang Vieng. But before reaching there, we stopped here at the Pak Ou Caves.
At the junction of the Mekong and Ou Rivers, a cave exists in the rock cliffs (see the white portion in the upper photo). Our boat parked here and we climbed some steps into the cave.
They have flower arrangements you can purchase and give as an offering to the Buddha. Here I am, giving my offering.
(Note "bad hair day" bandanna, this is after no shower at the village!)
Buddhas, Buddhas, Buddhas
In addition to heaps of temples and Buddhas, you also see a lot of these around SE Asia.
Often they'll be in yards of homes, or I even saw a few in the parking lots of gas stations!
They are spirit houses. It's a miniature house or temple, usually on a pillar. These houses are intended to provide a shelter for spirits which could cause problems for people (residents of the house, customers of the business) if not appeased. People leave votive offerings to keep the spirits happy. Which is why very often you'll see half full bottles of water or juice by the spirit house.... people aren't littering, they're just keeping the spirits content!
The Buddha on the left, with left hand down and right hand up, is the "Pacifying the Relatives" pose. (I'm not joking!) The Buddha on the right, with both hands down, is in the "Calling for Rain" pose. Rain is needed for rice, Laos' main crop, to grow.
After the caves and Buddhas, we spent a night in the cruisey town of Vang Vieng. The best description of this town is "chillaxed". The main activity there is taking an inner tube and floating down the Nam Song river. There's several bars along the way with treacherous rope swings and slides, where people die every year. I decided to steer clear of the loads of alcohol and dangerous toys and just cruise on down with my British mates Vicky and Chris. We had a lovely float and escaped injury free. (Sadly no photos to show as my camera isn't waterproof!)
Next stop was Luang Prabang, another city along the Mekong River.
The must-see attraction here are the Kuang Si waterfalls. So as soon as we checked into our hotel, a bunch us hailed a tuk-tuk (basically a taxi/pickup truck w/seats in the cab) and off to the Falls we went!
(Tourmates L-->R Vicky, Lauren, Chris, Dave, Boxer, and Ash)
At the Waterfalls they also had a Black Bear Rescue Centre. The bears have been rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.
Now they get to sit around in treehouses and sleep in hammocks all day...
Or slow dance and growl at each other.... :)
Next up were the absolutely gorgeous Kuang Si Waterfalls! So refreshing, and great chance for a swim.
Boxer, Dave and I cooling off
Such a gorgeous cascading Falls....
And the mother of all waterfalls--- Probably the prettiest waterfall I've seen in my LIFE!
After our tuk-tuk ride back to town and the hotel, I strolled down the road to catch the sunset over the Mekong River.
When the sun goes down in Luang Prabang, it's time for the night markets! Heaps of beautiful fabrics, purses, clothing, you name it. And LOTS of foods to try! We hit up a vegetarian smorgasbord. All you can fit on one plate! For like, one US dollar :)
There are quite a few temples and monasteries in Luang Prabang. Another must-do activity here is to witness the ritual of morning alms by the monks. Each morning, the monks, dressed in their saffron robes, walk through the town collecting their nourishment from the townspeople for the day. This is the only food they are allowed to eat.
The alms start early (5:30ish, so we woke early, stood to the side to not intrude on this sacred event), and watched from afar.
Since we were up so early, Vicky and I decided to head for a little walk. Apparently the view is amazing from Phu Si Hill, in the middle of town. Plus, there's a temple at the top. We climbed over 300 steps (at 6AM, in the heat/humidity, ugh!) to get to the temple.
The view was worth it!
Later that morning we boarded our bus to continue our journey, this time on land, down through central Laos.
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