The next couple of days in Luang Prabang are pretty fulfilling.
We spend the morning of Day 115 walking around the city and taking care of some business. In the afternoon we join Stephanie and Michael and get a Tuk Tuk to take us to the beautiful multi-tiered waterfall, Tat Kuang Si. Along the way, we see an actual working elephant at the side of the road. We’re all pretty excited, especially Stephanie and Michael because it is their first elephant of their trip.
We have a great time walking the tiers and swimming in the aquamarine water. The waterfall has a collection of different “swimming pools” – some of them are just shallow enough to sit in, while others are deep enough to dive into from a rope swing, and all of them are packed with people enjoying the break from the heat. Laos is a land-locked country, so the swimming opportunities aren’t as readily available.
Eric insists we swim in the top pool to prevent what he refers to as the “trickle-down effect” – if someone were to pee in the water, it would travel down from pool to pool… being at the top prevents this.
The four of us meet up with our South African friends Philip & Renee and go out for a lovely dinner to celebrate Philip’s birthday. The meal is great, but the atmosphere is amazing – the restaurant overlooks the Nam Khan River. At the end of the evening, we are sad to say farewell to Stephanie and Michael as they continue their journey south.
The next morning, Eric and I wake up bright and early, visit “our crepe lady” on the main strip for breakfast and then make our way to Big Brother Mouse.
“Big Brother Mouse” is a not-for-profit organization that raises money for education in Laos. It also promotes learning English, so every day there is a two-hour practice session where English-speaking tourists are invited to come and converse with locals to help them practice their English.
Both Eric and I find ourselves talking with about 3 young men each, all at once. The session is very rewarding for both of us and we have a lot of fun. I am amazed at the conversations I find myself having – I’m asked to explain tenses, why words are spelt the same but have multiple meanings, etc. – it just reiterates how confusing English is. We finish off helping a young man proofread an essay he’s written for school – all-in-all a very fulfilling day. We leave flying high from the wonderful experience.
www.bigbrothermouse.com
We grab a lunch of sticky rice & papaya salad and then check out Wat Phousi before heading in separate directions. Eric heads “home” to complete some writing and I head off to check out a photography exhibit and do some sketching.
We meet up for dinner and then do some shopping at the night market. Tonight’s our last night in Luang Prabang, so there are some purchases that must take place.
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