"The Best Waterfall I've Ever Been to in my Life"

The title of this post was written to me by my first ever travel partner and BFF, Amanda. I knew after I read it that we had to go to Kwangsi Waterfall in Luang Prabang. She wasn't one to recommend anything lame, even in the vaguest of ways so I knew this would be legit.

We rented a motorbike and rode out to the falls. After our first motorbike rental in Laos, which was a piece of sh*# and the roads were worse, I was a little nervous. What we ended up with was one of the best days of our whole trip.

The motorbike was immaculate and brand new and the road the probably the best maintained road in all of Laos. I think we saw maybe one pothole (this is a big deal, I swear!). Here's some of the gorgeous scenery we passes on the way. It was about 27km from the city to the falls, all of it stunning.

Once we got there, we were surprised with bears! Yes, BEARS! There is a bear sanctuary in the waterfall park and it's quite fun to watch them lumber around and relax in their enclosure. You can also watch them being fed around 12:30pm.

Then there's the actual falls, which only get better and better as you hike up to the grand finale. No more words, just enjoy the photos! :)

A Day in Vang Vieng, Laos

All the van drivers in Vientiane will tell you the bus takes 5-6 hours to get to Vang Vieng and they can get you there in 3. Well, they probably can get you there in 3 since the bus really only takes 4 hours. We paid 40,000 kip for the bus, which is about $5. The van drivers wanted to charge nearly twice that. Ten dollars might not seem like a lot, but in this country it really is.

We got into Vang Vieng on a sunny afternoon in complete awe of the nearby mountains that seemed to rise straight up out of the ground. The backdrop of this tiny river town is stunning. 

You might have heard about the river tubing saga of Vang Vieng. It's reached some major news outlets in 2012. River tubing was a huge cash cow in Vang Vieng. Tourists came here to rent an inner tube and float down the river stopping at the various bars along the riverbank for alcohol, weed, and mushrooms. It was a great party that was always poppin' and raking in the dough for the owners. However, there is tragedy in this tale. When you put together a river and massively intoxicated people, you get danger. Many people got hurt and even lost their lives in the river. In 2011, 27 people died in Vang Vieng and even more were taken straight to Vientiane, skipping the tiny hospital in Vang Vieng. Something had to be done. The government finally stepped in and closed all the bars along the river. The main attraction of the city has been squashed. You can still rent inner tubes and float down but not as many people do it these days.

We decided to skip tubing altogether and visit some other nearby attractions. First we went to the Blue Lagoon and Poukham Cave (also spelled, Tam Pu Kam). This seems to be the popular new hangout since the river tubing is slowing down. There's a cool cave to explore, a blue river to swim in and swing into, a grassy area with huts to chill at, bathrooms, and a bar. Well worth the 10,000 kip entry fee. 

Reclining Buddha in the cave

cave rock stacks

Blue Lagoon

hang out spot

Next we rode the Eastern Loop and went to Geng Nyui waterfall (also spelled Kaeng Nyui). The northern part of the loop is beautiful and passes through some small villages, which are very interesting. But the roads are absolutely terrible. I would never go on it with a scooter. Ours was no match for that stoney, steep road. If you want to go to the waterfall, I suggest you take the road closer to town and come back that way too.

old, scary bridge

a view from the scary road

The waterfall itself was ensconced in thick, green jungle. It's a short hike back to the falls, which were really more like a trickle when we were there since it was the heart of the dry season. Even tamed, the place was beautiful. I was reminded of Fern Canyon, a very cool spot in northern California that I used to visit with my mom and brother. They filmed part of Jurassic Park there. 

 

Finally, we rode back to Vang Vieng to eat some very good pizza and relax.

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane is delightfully small and filled with charm. This is where France meets Asia. The small streets are lined with international restaurants, little boutiques with chic souvenirs, and tuk tuks. Baguettes are seen at every market and the buildings are decidedly European.

The relaxed atmosphere and tastes of home make this an ideal place to kick back and plan your adventures into Laos.

We stopped here for one night and loved walking through the small downtown. We stopped for cafe au lait and tea at a French bakery, where I tried to decipher La Monde, the French newspaper. We ate delicious Italian food and drank fancy cocktails near a huge glittering fountain. Then the next day, we got on an old tumbledown bus and made our way to Vang Vieng.

From Chiang Mai to Vientiane

From Chiang Mai to Vientiane is quite a trek. First we took an overnight bus from Chiang Mai to Udon Thani, a city in Thailand near the Friendship Bridge, which leads to Laos over the Mekong River. We didn't have a bed on this overnight bus and it seemed like none of the overnight buses on this route did. We paid 666 Baht per person.

Once we got to Udon Thani, we took another bus to Nong Khai, which is the tiny boarder town right next to Laos. We were worried at first because none of the buses said Nong Khai on them. Thankfully, there was a Thai lady who spoke English and lives in Vientiane at the bus station. She helped us and told us what to do. On the side of the bus we took it said it was going to Sakon Nakhon, but it stops first at Nong Khai.

From the Nong Khai bus station, we took a tuk tuk to the Friendship Bridge. This is the official boarder crossing over the Mekong River. There, we gave the Thai immigration officers our departure cards, and boarded a bus to take across the river and into Laos. There is only one bus and it costs 15 Baht. It's a simple process.

As we crossed the bridge, I saw the flags along the bridge change from Thailand's white, blue, and red stripes to Laos' national flag.

At Laos immigration, first we went up to window number 2 to get the paperwork to fill out in line. As Americans, we got two forms. Then we waited in line for window 1 and filled out our forms. At window 1, we gave them our forms, passports, photos (1 each), and money. We paid 1500 Baht each. After that, we stepped to the right to wait at window three to get our passports back with our Laos visa stuck inside it.

Next, we actually entered Laos. That first part was just to get our visas. We gave our passports to the immigration officer and got entry stamps.

From the Friendship Bridge, we took a bus into Vientiane that took about 45 minutes. It was green and white and only 25 Baht each (yes, you can pay with Baht).

Soon, we were strolling through the Vientiane's small city center and sipping on coffee in a lovely French style cafe.

Chiang Mai by Scooter

Now that we've returned from our Mae Hong Son loop trip, we don't want to let go of our scooter lifestyle. We've seen the freedom a scooter can bring and don't want to give it up until we get on that bus to head to Laos.

Since we're just using it to get around town and not to carry all our stuff as well, we downgraded to just one instead of two. This is more economical and is also really great for taking pictures and videos while zooming (not really zooming Mom, promise!) around the city.

Today we ate breakfast at our new favorite place (Nice Kitchen on Moonmuang Soi 6), got our teeth cleaned (for $20 each! a steal!), and then zipped about the city documenting as many streets and cool buildings/temples as we could. We got some really great videos but our netbook, named The Teeny Kiwi (it's green, it's small, it's so cute!) doesn't play HD videos. So you all are going to have to wait for the epic videos and enjoy these beautiful photos in the meantime.

Enjoy loves! 

the King!

jungle tree by the moat

a small street in Old Town

a temple's stupa

tuk tuk

driveway with the Thailand flag

you're never far from a temple in Chiang Mai's Old Town

someone likes color! :)

little shrine on an inside corner of the wall

Spencer driving, I'm playing photographer

typical street

Buddha store

boy in a "sidecar" near Chiang Mai University

very cool thatched building near Chiang Mai University

leafy building near Chiang Mai University

there we are!! :)

Our Mae Hong Son Loop

We did it. We made it and it only took eleven days, 865km (537 miles), and two scooters through the twisting roads of jungle filled northern Thailand. Words I could use to describe it seem to be too small to encompass the journey and the beauty we encountered.

our path on the Mae Hong Son Loop

We started the loop in Chiang Mai, where we rented two scooters from Tony's Big Bikes. Originally, we wanted motorbikes that were a bit bigger but since our packs were small, we were able to tuck them between our knees as we rode and didn't have to wear them on our backs. That was worth the slight downgrade in engine size.

Chiang Dao

Our first stop was Chiang Dao, which is technically a little outside the loop but well worth it. It's a beautiful little city with few tourists and lots of gorgeous scenery.

We stayed at Nature Home Guesthouse and it was perfection. Our little cottage was at the back of a great orchard filled with fruit trees, plumeria, and chickens with their baby chicks scampering around them. The couple who own the place don't speak English but communicating is easy and filled with smiles and laughter. They have to be the friendliest people we have met in Thailand so far. Also, they are excellent cooks!

Merry Christmas from the garden of Nature Home Guesthouse in Chiang Dao, Thailand

Pai

Pai is notorious on the Thailand backpacker trail. Everyone will tell you, "Go to Pai!" It's a great little city filled to the brim with tourists. I really think there were more tourists there than locals when we were there! Tourist levels aside, it's a beautiful valley and there are plenty of things to do. Divide your time between chillin' out in the small town and riding through the surrounding countryside on your rented motorbike. (Yes, you should definitely rent one while you're in Pai, if you don't have one already.)

somewhere in Pai

Pai Canyon

somewhere around Pai, near the elephant camps I think

Mor Paeng waterfall near Pai

Soppong

view along the way from Pai to Soppong

Next stop: Soppong, which also goes by the name Pang Mapha. There's not much to do here besides see some caves and relax, as the city is very small. We stayed at Cave Lodge, which was great. We had a view of the river from our room! In the morning, we saw villagers with baskets on their backs cross the river. (Who needs a trekking tour to see villagers?! :)

We got a map from the Lodge with lots of helpful information on it, including places to hike and things to do/see. Cave Lodge is also very near the most popular cave in the area, Tham Lod. We didn't actually make it into the cave, but we heard it was pretty cool. 

section of the river at Cave Lodge

Mae Hong Son

Mae Hong Son is a bigger sort of town. We stayed in an adequate little guesthouse near the lake for New Years Eve. The New Year of 2013 was celebrated at the temples next to the lake with paper lanterns floating into the night sky, rhythmic chanting leading up to midnight, and a fireworks show to end it all. It was beautiful.

Mae Hong Song -- see the two paper lanterns?

Khun Yuam

on the road from Mae Hong Son to Khun Yuam

On new year's day we went to Khun Yuam and stayed at the aptly titled guesthouse, Ban Farang, which basically means Foreigner Village. :) The gardens at the guesthouse were beautifully tended and we relaxed in them using the free wifi most of the day. It was nice and relaxing and we appreciated the down time.

Mae Sariang

By this time in our trip, we were mainly thinking about making it back to Chiang Mai. Maybe that's why we didn't even take one picture in this city(!). I actually liked this city a lot more than the previous three cities we'd been to. It is a small, yet interesting city that is easily walkable. Maybe we should have stayed an extra night. 

Anyway, here are some pictures we took on our longest leg of the trip, from Mae Sariang to Chiang Mai. 

It was the views and the actual riding of the scooters that was the most fun. I would find myself in complete awe of a view that just seemed to jump from behind a mountain as I carefully navigated a hairpin turn, while a truck with villagers sitting in the back closely passed me. It was an incredible, exhilarating, very beautiful journey and one I will remember always. I would do it again in a heartbeat.