Kuang Si Falls, Luang Prabang, Laos

So we finally made it out to the waterfalls that we had wanted to get to with Earl and Joy. And they were stunning! We started at the bottom - a series of small, but wide waterfalls with large pools that you could swim in - or jump in, like Martin did! We then made our way up to the top and the upper falls were huge- very high and very impressive! The colour of the water was amazing - a cloudy aquamarine colour- almost like glacier water, but there aren't any glaciers around here! So we don't know why it was that colour!

The rest of our time we wandered around town, including exploring the Palace, and climbing the 400 steps up the hill to a gold monument or 'stupa' for great views over town. Luang Prabang used to be the old capital and has a very nice feeling about it. There's a definite French influence here: Laos used to be a French colony in the late 19th century when they were 'rescued' from the Thais. So there's lots of baguettes, french bakeries and somewhat delapidated old french-colonial style buildings. My favourite feature was the night market where all the vendors set up shop on grass mats and try and sell you the same stuff - pillow cases, handmade umbrellas, silk scarves, embroidered bags etc etc. We got to recognise a few of the locals. The Lao people are really lovely, and it's nice to see kids so happy and 'smiley'. * Mush