Cloudburst on the Mekong

A great day even though things don't always go as planned. We had the same excellent guide as yesterday who took us through the countryside to the Kuang Si waterfalls. But first we stopped in a Hmong village and learned about their lives which haven't changed in hundreds of years (grinding corn with a millstone, hunting wild pigs with cross bows, spinning thread from flax etc). We mentioned that there were Hmong communities in California and our host said, "Oh yeah. Fresno!" with more enthusiasm than Fresno generally elicits.

The Kuang Si waterfalls were extensive and quite beautiful, but a dip in the enticing swimming pools was quickly marred by multitudes of tiny fish slithering next to us. The guide said they were harmless and just giving us a kiss, but we decided to leave that experience. to the other tourists.

We had a nice lunch overlooking the Mekong at an elephant camp, which provides a refuge for elephants as well as black bears. From there, we were to board a boat to cross the river to visit the Pak Ou caves containing 14th-century Buddhist paintings, but a sudden and ferocious storm set in. Amidst hail and lightening and an unrelenting downpour, we got soaked, trees blew over, and some fearful folks hid under the dining tables, so the cave trip had to be aborted.

Tomorrow we leave Luang Prabang wishing we had more time here. Overnight tomorrow in Bangkok and then an early flight the next day to Bhutan, whose government measures Gross Domestic Happiness. And don't we all need a good dose of that these days?Read more