The Waterfalls of Kuang Si Are Spectacular

Sometime it's just better to let it come to you, as opposed to preparing in-depth for something.

When it's us on a trip to a place where we don't feel the need to take a tour (primarily that describes Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and, of course, the US), I end up overplanning.  And it works.  I focus on lots of details, putting together itineraries and lists of things to do).  It's a great way to prepare for the trip.

On trips to areas where we would only do it with a tour group (such as Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and, well, the juries still out on handling South America), I tend to trust the tour operator, whether it is Inspirato, Nat Geo, Lindblad, Odysseys, and now G Adventures, I tend to prefer to be surprised.

After visiting the three tier waterfalls of Kuang Si, a spectacular falls about 18-19 miles from Luang Prabang, it's a more beautiful place than we expected.  I'm glad I didn't look the falls up on Al Gore's internet -- it's a far more stunning sight than I expected.

We started up the trail from the parking lot, where I came across a most beautiful red flower, then three bear houses for rescue Asian bears (and multiple bears).  We were closer than expected to the top of the trail, so it's not far at all.  When the top falls burst into view, I was blown away.  

Blown away by the incredible turquoise waters, the three tiers of cascading waters, and the bi-colored limestone rock seen through the gushing water.  They are beautiful beyond words, which is why there is both a twenty second video well worth watching and a post with pictures that follow this post.

I guess I was expecting a typical waterfall, which are beautiful, but got something I'd never seen before.

It's called a travertine waterfall, as the limestone creates a milky-white color as the mineral-rich water flows.  The main falls feature a 200 foot drop, followed by a couple more, smaller falls in which swimming is allowed.

One quarter of the 12 of us went swimming in the pool below one of the lower falls.  I had planned to go, but three factors deterred me.  The air temperature was in the mid-50s, I forgot my water shoes, and the sky was gray instead of sunny.  Since I didn't want to be wet and cold, with sore feet from the rocks, after the swim, I passed.

Watching the fun the four swimmers (Vale, Becky, Vicki, and Ron) had, I certainly regretted my decision.  However, it afforded me the ability to take good photos of them (see two posts below).   

Carol and I headed back to the parking lot, where there was a street food vendor.  First we grabbed a water for her and a beer for me.  A smaller than pint sized little girl came up, asking for the money with the most perfect English.  She was cute, and Carol was smitten with her.

Then we got a couple of skewers of grilled pork belly, cooked by the mom right in front of us.  Let me tell you, I came to pork belly not more than ten years ago, but it's amazing.  This was simply the best pork belly I've ever had, eating street food (parking lot food), sitting at a picnic table with a cold Beerlaos and wolfing down a fabulous meal of pork belly.

Carol fed some of her pork belly to a nursing female dog who knew just how to beg for food.  I was too selfish to share.  And it was all perfect.

As I was writing this, I had reason to check Twitter quickly.  I ran across a tweet (edited for brevity) by an account called Mambo Italiano, dedicated to highlighting all of Italy.  It fits right here:

"Do you know what 'Blue Mind' means? It's a term indicating the positive and calming effect of being close to the blue water on our minds. Associated with a sense of relaxation, tranquility, mental clarity, serenity and well-being."

That's a good description of the impact of the turquois blue waterfalls of Kuang Si.