Luang Prabang- Kuang Si waterfalls

Morning started well with the man from last night apologising and us getting an upgrade with our rooms , winning !

Everywhere you walk in Luang Prabang you get asked if you want a ride to the waterfalls . We decided not to get a ride but pay a lot more to hike there instead 😂

The ride to the start of the trek was so bumpy that my watch gave me 3000 steps .  We started with a tour of a Hmong village , their day of celebration is coming up where a large number of weddings take place . Heard about a tradition where a woman can be kidnapped and if able to be kept for a week she has to be married to the man even if she didn’t want to , hoping it is still not continued . 

We walked through rubber and teak plantations. The kids got to see first hand what we learnt about rubber plantations in school , the cutting of the trees and collection of the sap . 

Next was the sunny and hot part of the walk , luckily we had a guide ,Tom Phet (Tom Cruise as he calls himself) to to keep us entertained. We overtook a group of adults which kept the kids motivated to keep going faster and after that it became shady and beautiful so was much easier . 

We stopped at the most beautiful lunch spot , the water was so serene and clear . It appeared green due to the weeds underneath which are eaten by the locals . There was swing over the water and a tightrope to keep the kids happy .

Just after lunch we spotted a snake on the way , supposed to be good luck ( not as per Jeevan ) .

We ended at around 12km at the springs at the start of the falls . The kids jumped into the pools of water on the top as it had a swing . It was freezing and they had fish nibbling their feet but we still had to force them to get out so we could see the actual waterfall. The walk down was the most treacherous part of the walk ( a man behind was clutching the sides for dear life ) also a man came next to me and did a non apologetic loud fart ! 

The waterfalls were gorgeous . There are tiers of blue green water pools , they actually look exactly like the photos on the website .

We were allowed to swim in the lower most pool . Savik did quite a few jumps from one of the branches of a tree , braver child than me .

We ended by walking through a sanctuary where we spotted a sunbear, moonbear and a wild cat.

While waiting for our ride back , sent Savik to bargain for some pineapple not actually expecting him to manage . He came back with the pineapple and a marriage proposal, the lady wanted him to marry her daughter ! It had him running away from there quite fast . 

Tired but very happy with the day !