Bears and Butterflies

Luang Prabang, Laos -- Day 3

Hi, it’s Dex. Today, after another great breakfast at the guesthouse, we left to go to the waterfalls. We got into the first tuk tuk we saw, and the driver, Singh, offered me the front seat, which I took.  He told me some neat things such as he likes fishing and sports.  About half way there, we passed the village where he lived, a really small place on the banks of the Mekong.

When we got to the falls, we got a great roasted chicken leg at a food stall.  It was so good, we immediately got another.  The Lonely Planet had explained that we would walk though a bear rescue center, but we didn’t actually think we’d see bears but we did.  There were big pens with obstacle courses and food scattered around.  They were all Moon Bears, completely black except for a small white patch of fur on their chest and with a big fluffy mane.  One of the cages was at eye level with a wire mesh.  When I peered in, a little bear stood on his hind legs and stared right at me.  

When we finally got to the waterfalls, they were beautiful. The water was light blue with awesome stepped pools.  The only problem was that it was a little cold for swimming.  After some walking around, we headed to the top of the falls for some pretty views.  It was a hard, steep, slippery climb and we had to use some vines to help pull ourselves up.  

Right at the top, we saw a huge spider the size of my hand.  Then we saw the swing over the river that we had heard about.  Mom got in first to test how deep the water was.  Since it was ok, Kylie and Dad swung in and eventually Mom did to.  I was worried that the water was too cold, but finally decided it was better to be cold than be left out.  I was really glad I did it.

When we got to the bottom and left the park, we got more chicken skewers.  Our tuk tuk driver, who had been waiting the whole time, took us next to the butterfly park, which had some really pretty butterflies and orchids. There was even a free foot massage, provided by a bunch of little fish that nibbled and bumped your toes.  

Fish foot "massage"

My favorite part though, was the caterpillar and chrysalis room.  The butterfly has to lay its eggs on the perfect plant so both the caterpillar and chrysalis blend in.  The caterpillars use camouflage tricks like being the same color and shape as the leaves or looking exactly like bird poop.  The chrysalis on the other hand were shiny to keep the birds away.  They were very beautiful and some looked just like glass or marbles.  

Later that night, after dinner, we saw a movie called Chiang, one of the last silent films and the first movie about the Laos.  It was about a family that lived in the jungle in the 1920’s when it was still common to see wild animals.  Back then, there were two deaths a week from tigers.  The family had to grow crops, make traps, and protect themselves from leopards and tigers. In the movie, right before harvest, their water buffalo was killed by a tiger and the crops were trampled by elephants. To fight back, they made and set traps to catch the leopards and tigers. One day they caught a baby elephant (or chiang), which they tied up to one of the stilts of their house.  He cried so much, the mama elephant found him. The family just got out of the house before the mama pushed it down. After spending a long night in the jungle, they made it to the village, only for it to be trampled by a herd of elephants. Once again traps needed to be set. Half the men built a huge pen (krawl) while the other half chased them into the trap. When everything was ready, they captured a huge number of elephants, which they were able to train. By the time it was harvest again, the family had an elephant to help. Overall, we liked the movie, even though the sound effects were not very good -- just people going “grrr” or “roar.”  You could do it too.

Chiang, playing on outside screen

Bucket of hot coals for warmth

After the movie, we took a quick walk through the night market.  We saw many things we liked, but only got one -- a hat for me to replace the one left on the bus in Thailand.  Like the hat says, I love Laos.