I decided last night that I wanted to hit up Kuang Si waterfalls again the next day. Except, I rented a motorbike to get there and I left early so I could be the first at the secret falls. I just checked my calendar to see what time “early” was and I only left at 10am. Not very early. But nonetheless, I was the only one at the secret falls when I got there about an hour later. Success!

I spent 4 hours hiking and swimming in the falls. I loved it. It was nice to get a sweat from hiking, and then cooling down by jumping into the refreshing, and super cold water. I often said I wasn’t a beach guy, but looking at how much I enjoy other bodies of water, maybe I just don’t like salt water. Or the smell of the ocean, cause it reminds me of seafood. And let’s be honest, seafood are just giant insects. Bleck.

In the afternoon, I went back down and had lunch outside the falls. Afterwards, it was back to Luang Prabang to explore the city. I spent a couple hours zooming around just exploring different parts of the city and eventually got back to the hostel to rest.

In the evening, I had some dinner, went shopping for some gifts at the Night Market, and then went out to Lao Lao Gardens to get some drinks with fellow travelers. I cannot recall any of their names, how I met them, or where any of them were from. All I remember was that there was a pool table and some of the guys were just shooting around. Later on, some locals came by and challenged them to a game. The locals whopped their ass and then didn’t let them play again. It turns out that these guys played for money and no one in our group wanted to lose any. Night ended around midnight and off to bed I went.

Luang Prabang is awesome because Kuang Si waterfalls are awesome because waterfalls are awesome because nature is awesome.

I knew I liked waterfalls, but today I discovered that I love waterfalls. Kuang Si waterfalls are beautiful and you should definitely visit before climate change (or tourists, like me) somehow ruins the place. The water is so, so blue due to the limestone it flows over. Be careful though, cause it’s only blue when the water is calmer, meaning don’t go during monsoon season. (I leave out the exact monsoon season months because I believe more and more of climate change’s impact.) I took tons of pictures, but honestly, it does not do it justice.

When I think of things I’m scared of, the 3 that pop to mind all the time are heights, spiders, and the dark. On this hike up to the waterfall, I ran into all three. Heights is shown above. The spider I almost ran into. It was minding its own business in the middle of its web, and I almost walked right into it. I almost died. But the thing that was probably the MOST scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life is voluntarily going into a cave.

When I visited other caves as a young child, there was always a guide plus lights that illuminated the path you were walking on. Also, you were always with other people, so it’s hard to be scared. I was expecting more of the same when I read about a cave a short hike from the waterfall.

When I got there, I was met by one man who sold me a ticket and a tiny flashlight. I wasn’t quite sure what the flashlight was for until I got to the mouth of the cave. There were no lights, no guide, and no other people.

I had told myself earlier during the trip that I’d do anything that I immediately thought “no fucking way”. This was definitely one of those moments. I recorded this all on my gopro. Below are some cuts.

That was the highlight of the day. I’m not sure if I’d do that again but I can tell you that I’m not as afraid of the dark in my home anymore.