Waterfall relief

 The famous Koung Si falls beckoned us as a way to escape the heat.  We asked at the desk and they recommended hiring  a driver in a van rather than taking a tuktuk.  It was a little more expensive but still very reasonable, and I'm glad we did.  The road was curvy and bumpy, and it rained on the way home.  The driver was so nice- he pointed out his house and daughter as we went by, and told us a lot about the fields and animals we were passing.  It took about 45 minutes to get there.

 

At the falls you pay an entry fee and then walk through a small reserve for Asiatic bears before arriving at the bottom of the falls.  The bears are hairy.  

You start at the bottom pool of the falls and the work your way up the path to the left of there river.  A few spots had areas for swimming. Several people were setting up to sell food for the day.  We decided to go all the way to the biggest fall first, before the rest of the tourists arrived.  Julie wanted to climb all the way up. I did not- my stomach was a little off and the van ride hadn't helped.  I hung out at the bottom while she climbed the stairs up.  It took about an hour until she got back.  We then decided to swim. The water was so cool and refreshing.  I loved it.  We sat on the edge of one of the falls for while just enjoying the feeling of not sweating.  

We shared a snack - granola for me, Julie tried sweet basil lays (they were pretty gross) and then talked to some girls from England who were also there.  It was great people watching overall.  Lots of Laotian families had come up for the day since it was a weekend.  They had elaborate picnics spread out on tables.  Once we got really hungry we went back down to the street outside the falls, where we had skewers of delicious chicken and ice cream bars for lunch.  Julie bought a sticky rice basket from one of the shops and then we headed back.  It started to pour on the way home, so we hung out at the hotel until it stopped and then headed up for dinner and more marketing.

We meant to go to the View Khmer Kong restaurant for dinner, but accidentally went to the one next door, called LPB food.  It was good and the view was beautiful.  The sun set across the river behind the mountains.  I tried Beerlao, which was not terrible.  It's a light lager.  

Overall the drive through the countryside great fun. We saw more of how the locals live, some of the farming including growing sticky rice and bananas, and several large waterbuffalo. There were also little kids playing soccer in the rain- including a naked boy who was very shocked to see a car come around the corner! It's such a beautiful country.