Luang Prabang - Saturday 27 April
I have one more day in Luang Prabang before heading off to Cambodia. There are so many things to do here but after yesterdays exertions with Topi, I decide to have a leisurely day at the Kuang Si waterfalls which are about 30kms south of the town. I am told they are quite spectacular.
At the entrance to the Falls there is a large (low fenced !) enclosure where 4 Asian Black Bears have been rescued.
These Bears are also known as "moon " bears because they have a distinctive white crescent moon shape on their chests.
Asian black bears have apparently been kept in captivity where bile is extracted from them for Chinese (mainly) traditional medicines.
So, now we can add Bear bile to a list of Shark fins, Elephant tusks, Rhino horns, Whale meat, and God knows what else our Oriental friends feel justified to selfishly pillage from our planet !
We need every little piece of exposure of these disgusting activities, even the Old Geezers Blog !
These bears at least are now safe and enjoying a beautiful environment.
Kuang Si is on the upper Khan river and consists of a cascade of several waterfalls with beautiful rock pools.
The walk up through the forest to the upper falls is breathtaking.
There is no point in my trying to describe it with words so I will take the easy way out and just show you a succession of photographs.
The photographs just cannot do justice to the beauty of this walk.
It's a long climb to the top but well worth the effort.
After yesterdays exertions with the elephants it's really nice just to walk around taking all this in.
Strange thing though, both in Thailand and now here in Laos, I can hear birdsong all the time but they rarely show themselves !
Also, many beautiful butterflies of all shapes sizes and colours but ... they just will not stay still long enough for me to photograph !
After leaving Kuang Si we move on to Hmong for a taste of life in a Lao village.
These villagers are making straw roof tiles for thatching.
They also have smallholdings where fruit and some vegetables are grown.
These are then sold by the roadside or by a long walk to the nearest market.
These people do manage to make a living.
They have clothes, they are not starving
..... and they have a roof over their heads.
But without education future generations cannot progress.
There is no school in the village and so these children will never go to school !
The parents don't have transport to take their children to the nearest school and even if they did, they couldn't afford the time away from their fields or the costs of schooling.
So although they seem happy enough, without education there will never be an opportunity to improve their situation.
So although they seem happy enough, without education there will never be an opportunity to improve their situation.
We don't have any choice in where we are born or who we are born to .....
..... " There but for the grace of God go I ", so we should count our blessings.
This is my last day in Laos, I'm off to have a look at Siem Reap in Cambodia tomorrow
