The Rivers and the Lakes that You're Used To
I remember listening to TLC's 'Waterfalls' on my sister's walkman on a family camping trip in the BC interior [while sitting in the Marsha-mobile outside Terrace in the pouring rain] when we were both in our early teens; for some reason, the multi-tiered Kuang Xi waterfall, which I visited today, was the spitting image of the falls I had in my head when listening to that song, and seeing them for the first time brought the tune back into my head along with the good memories that went along with it. How's that for a sentimental moment?
The falls were definitely the highlight of my day, as the much talked-about Buddha caves an hour and a half by slow boat up the brown Mekong turned out to be not much more than a big hole in the rock with hundreds of Buddha statues scattered in various portions of the shallow cavern. I'm not doubting its historical significance, it's just that it didn't live up to its own expectations. Kuang Xi, however, exceeded them.
After a bumpy 40 minute bus ride from town and a steep 15, 000 kip entry fee (1.50), I reached the bottom of the falls along with the half a dozen other mini-busses and tuk tuks full of travelers my age also visiting at that particular hour. The sight of a few people sitting on the edge of the uppermost pool was enough to send me scampering up the steps that lead to each of the three different tiers, steps much like those on the Grouse Grind after a busy summer and a few hard days of rain followed by a few more days of intense heat. I reached the top a quick 20 minutes later and was more than eager to jump into the chilly pool overlooking the green valley laid out in front of it below.
Before my fellow North Vancouverites begin to worry that the Canyon and the Seymour River have slipped to second place in terms of the best place to swim and cliff jump, I'll reassure you that this one comes a close second as long as you leave the waterfall out of the equation. You'll see what I mean when you see the pictures.
I was going to go on at length about my thoughts on Buddhism in a Communist country that came up during my leisurely bike around town yesterday, but at this point I'm far too tired and am running out of kip, so those will have to wait for another day - likely one involving several cold Okanagan Pale Ales and a few good friends (both of which I miss quite a bit at this point).
As for my kip situation (Laotian currency), I made the mistake of not withdrawing enough Thai baht while in Bangkok and have run down to about three days worth of funds. That should be about enough to get me into Vietnam, where I'm hoping beyond all hope to find an ATM (none in Luang Prabang and likely neither in Phonsovanh). The other option is to find a business willing to do a cash advance via Visa, but that will have to wait until at least tomorrow. I'm sure I'll figure something out, but it's incredibly frustrating to have money in one's bank account but no way to access it. Such is life in the PDR Lao.
Phonsovanh, you say? Yes indeed. Tomorrow morning at 830am I'm off on a rear-end numbing nine hour bus journey eastwards to the slitghtly larger town of the same name where I'll sleep for the night before continuing eastwards another 4 hrs to the Vietnamese border near Nong Haet (good luck finding it on a map...). Apparently I have to wait 4 hrs at the border while they process my visa for a reason which I can't quite explain, and after that I'm not sure what shape I'll be in or where I'll end up staying for the night. Again, I will figure something out - there's no way I'll be the only foreigner at that border crossing...though I hear it's entirely possible.
The conclusion to this exciting story will come in my next post from somewhere near the Vietnamese border...maybe.
The falls were definitely the highlight of my day, as the much talked-about Buddha caves an hour and a half by slow boat up the brown Mekong turned out to be not much more than a big hole in the rock with hundreds of Buddha statues scattered in various portions of the shallow cavern. I'm not doubting its historical significance, it's just that it didn't live up to its own expectations. Kuang Xi, however, exceeded them.
After a bumpy 40 minute bus ride from town and a steep 15, 000 kip entry fee (1.50), I reached the bottom of the falls along with the half a dozen other mini-busses and tuk tuks full of travelers my age also visiting at that particular hour. The sight of a few people sitting on the edge of the uppermost pool was enough to send me scampering up the steps that lead to each of the three different tiers, steps much like those on the Grouse Grind after a busy summer and a few hard days of rain followed by a few more days of intense heat. I reached the top a quick 20 minutes later and was more than eager to jump into the chilly pool overlooking the green valley laid out in front of it below.
Before my fellow North Vancouverites begin to worry that the Canyon and the Seymour River have slipped to second place in terms of the best place to swim and cliff jump, I'll reassure you that this one comes a close second as long as you leave the waterfall out of the equation. You'll see what I mean when you see the pictures.
I was going to go on at length about my thoughts on Buddhism in a Communist country that came up during my leisurely bike around town yesterday, but at this point I'm far too tired and am running out of kip, so those will have to wait for another day - likely one involving several cold Okanagan Pale Ales and a few good friends (both of which I miss quite a bit at this point).
As for my kip situation (Laotian currency), I made the mistake of not withdrawing enough Thai baht while in Bangkok and have run down to about three days worth of funds. That should be about enough to get me into Vietnam, where I'm hoping beyond all hope to find an ATM (none in Luang Prabang and likely neither in Phonsovanh). The other option is to find a business willing to do a cash advance via Visa, but that will have to wait until at least tomorrow. I'm sure I'll figure something out, but it's incredibly frustrating to have money in one's bank account but no way to access it. Such is life in the PDR Lao.
Phonsovanh, you say? Yes indeed. Tomorrow morning at 830am I'm off on a rear-end numbing nine hour bus journey eastwards to the slitghtly larger town of the same name where I'll sleep for the night before continuing eastwards another 4 hrs to the Vietnamese border near Nong Haet (good luck finding it on a map...). Apparently I have to wait 4 hrs at the border while they process my visa for a reason which I can't quite explain, and after that I'm not sure what shape I'll be in or where I'll end up staying for the night. Again, I will figure something out - there's no way I'll be the only foreigner at that border crossing...though I hear it's entirely possible.
The conclusion to this exciting story will come in my next post from somewhere near the Vietnamese border...maybe.
posted by Per at 9:58 a.m.
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