Have you ever visited a five-level waterfall in a small city in the center of Laos? I don’t think so! But I have. It was the most amazing experience.
So first you hike in past a big bear rescue center in the forest. Here, sun bears and moon bears, are rescued from smugglers and tight cages to big enclosures with tons of toys. There is also a small shop that gives all the profit to the Free The Bears foundation. I considered buying something on the way back. We continued and soon we got to the waterfall.
Bear resting in a hammock
Kuang Si Waterfall
There are five layers of waterfalls in the river plus the huge 100-foot one. The others were around 10 feet high but this one was huge. It was not as big as Multnomah falls, but still big. The other waterfalls were the perfect height and depth for jumping, so I did that two times. Also, there are some limestone deposits so the rock over the falls has become a cool almost-stalactite shape.
The family under a waterfall
We played around in the third layer which had the perfect jumping waterfall and an awesome rope swing.
Here is a table of how many times we each swung:
|
Person |
# of Swings, Jumps |
|
Kathrin |
0,1 |
|
Nathan |
2,2 |
|
Lorenzo |
1,2 |
|
Elio |
0,3 |
I was surprised at how many times we all did a jump or swing.
The water was warm and there was a lot of people. After we played for an hour and a half, we finally decided to go explore farther up the trail. That is where we saw all the other layers of good places to swim, and the biggest waterfall.
Then we headed back, while I was still deciding about getting a bear thing or not. My mom said I should get a Free The Bears T-shirt. It said Free The Bears on one side and had a bear’s footprint and with the words Laos Conservation center. I decided “Okay” because it was a cool souvenir and it donated some money to the Free The Bears foundation.
We had taken a tuk-tuk (a couple of benches hooked up to a motorcycle) there. It was a pretty long ride (an hour each way) and tuk-tuks are very fun, just because you never take one and they are very different than a car. I would recommend riding in a tuk-tuk over a mini-van.
Overall, I loved the swimming, bear rescue center, and long, bumpy tuk-tuk ride. It was a fantastic place to visit.
What a fun story, Enzo! Beautiful photos too. I would have loved to see the bears.I’m glad you bought your t-shirt. Please show it to me when we see you.
Hugs,
omi
Thanks for reading! We are at Elephant Camp today and soon I will post a Elephant Camp post. See you soon at the Krabi Airport, Thailand!
Thank you for the great tips before we went to see the falls ourselves! You’re all so brave to have jumped off the swing so many times – my sister and I were a little too scared, maybe next time! The waterfalls were definitely one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been. Also, I think it was a very good idea getting a souvenir from the Free the Bears foundation – the t-shirt will be a great reminder of the fun you had and at the same time you donated to a very worthy cause! Have you seen any other waterfalls on your travels that you would recommend?
I’m sorry this joke is less on topic – I don’t actually know any waterfall jokes!
Q: What do you get if you cross a skunk with a bear?
A: Winnie the Pooh!