Chilled out people, the mighty Mekong, and some breath taking waterfalls

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Note to self, eat before taking malaria pills

Waking up early as per what seems to be normal right now, I went for a run, came back showered and packed, all before Adrian got out of bed. Knowing I was flying into Laos in a bit I decided to take my malaria pill before heading down for breakfast. Needless to say I will never do that again. By the time I go down and ordered I was already running back up the stairs, and getting that pill out of me again. After about 30 mins sat in front of the toilet I moved to the bed, leaving Adrian to finish up all the last minute errands, including mailing all my post cards... By the time we made it to the airport again I was beginning to feel human again. We got checked alright then had to pay a 25 Us departure fee we weren't told about, then got on the other side only to be told our 1 hour 18 minute was delayed 2 hours 40 minutes. By the time we finally get to Laos we are more that ecstatic after the wait, but not that happy when I am told about the 42 dollar visa fee, yikes. Canada is the most expensive country, why unknown. Most country range from 30-35 dollars with Afghanistan coming in at a close second at 40 dollars. The visa guy was almost shocked when I didn't ask why, having worked in customer service I can only imagine every conversation he has with Canadians.

Waking up to clouds we decided to take the day and exploring town leaving the waterfall for later. First we check out a small temple close to our guest house, which was beautiful but swarming with booth and stuff for sale. Next was Phousi hill, which has a fabulous Stupa at the top. Half way up there is an amazing view point where you can see most of Luang Prabang, as well as what is believed to be Buddha's footprint. This is where you pay, and continue on to the Stupa, Adrian had already been here before so decides to wait for me. So after climbing a million more stairs ( on my sore legs) I am finally there and it was so worth the climb. The view and the Stupa are both amazing. I somehow get stuck in this group of tourists and start following them down. About half way down I start to realize this is not the way I came up but from how small the area is I figure they must connect. So I follow it all the way to the road then deciding I have no idea where I am, I have to trek back up all the stairs and down the otherside. By the time I reach Adrian I am laughing by butt off, telling him I pulled a Kelsey! After relaying the story to him all he had to say was "ooops I thought I told you there were two sides." So we headed into town for more exploring, including another temple and the market. Finally when ended down at the Mekong riverside. We walk around then found someone offering a sunset boat ride and settled on that. Great find that was, we got sit on the bow of the boat as it cruised the Might Mekong River, amazing. Children playing on the river banks dropped everything to way at us. Once the sun had set we up heading back into town to see the Night Market, I kept hearing about. And it lived up to it's name, the main street had been shut down and tents had been set up along it. They were selling everything you can think of, silk scarf, beautiful paintings, tons of jewelry and even slippers. After spending a small fortune we retired to bed.



Waking up this morning to clouds again we decided to head to the Kouang Si waterfall anyway. And wow is all I have to say! Amazing waterfalls cascading into their own aqua coloured pools, picturesque. We start with a tour through the Asiatic Bear conservation, which was neat. You can see the bear moving about and chilling in hammocks😊 The look pretty similar to out black bears but a bit cuter! After dipping my foot in to the first swimming spot we came across I immediately claim I wasn't going in. But by the next swimming spot sporting a rope swing and a huge aqua pool I was fully tempted. Adrian chickened out so he got to play photographer as I braved the slippery trunk and the rope swing to a refreshing reward. After that the journey continued onward and all of seemed to be more stunning than the next. After taking my photos than I know what to do with it was time head back. Time for dinner and to get ready for my next journey.

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