Laos is so incredibly different - and if you ever plan on being a cow, be one here instead of in Cambodia. It's green, lush, quiet and unspeakably gorgeous. We got in yesterday and toured the little town of Luang Prabang. There is a lot more French influence here and it's got kind of a Caribbean resort feel, but definitely not fancy in any way. We found the energy to hike up Mount Phou Si for the sunset pictured here, which was definitely worth it. You can see the whole town. Tons of beautiful vegetation with bright white and gold temples peaking out everywhere. Dinner at Laos' version of posh - 3 nagas - where we had our first fruity cocktails of the trip. Mine was thick with dill, but I had filled up on some ridiculous rice cake apps and dried water buffalo. You heard me. God must have known I was in serious need of a break from the heat, because today was much cooler (please know that is an INCREDIBLY relative term) as we took a 2 hour boat ride down the Mekong to Kuang Si waterfalls. Along the way, we had the rare chance to see true local life, with no tourist display agenda. Fishing, naked children playing, and leisurely boat rides. Water buffalo roam the shore, and we spotted some goats running - FAST - up and down the steep rocks. The boat drops you off in a little village where you wait for a tuk tuk - in this case a pickup truck - to drive you up to the falls. The falls are in a quiet, really clean and well kept park that is breath-taking. We were exited to get in the water, but had no clue just how excited until we actually got it. It was FREEZING. I would still be in that waterfall if I had my way. We were joined by a wonderful South African/Canadian couple (Canadian residents) with children our age. He is a university president who left South Africa illegally in the 60's
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