After food we went to hire a bike as we wanted to see some waterfalls and caves. Unfortunately, the price was double what we paid in Vang Vieng but it still would have been cheaper than a tuk tuk and we would have the ability to take our time and stop when we wanted. On the road (this bike wasn't as good as Nagini) we travelled over 30 kilometres east to a cave called Pak Ou. The last 11 kilometres was down a bumpy track which meant it took us a little longer to get there but Matt drove well.
When at the cave we parked up and had to get a boat across the river to the entrance. There are two parts to Pak Ou: the upper cave and lower cave. The upper was obviously up many steps (my leg muscles are getting stronger again) but we felt it wasn't that amazing. There was a big metal gate built into the entrance which was different and interesting but inside it was quite small and just like a temple with shrines and many Buddha statues. The lower cave was a little cooler although smaller. It had many levels and over 4000 Buddha statues were placed in various locations.
Back with the bike we drove towards Luang Prabang but stopped at a market on the side of the road for lunch. Not knowing what we were getting we both pointed to a picture of something that looked like noodles. It was delicious! More like tagliatelle than noodles, it was mixed with carrot and spring onion and tomato and bits of sausage (obviously not good British sausages) and coated in some nice salty sauce. We were well impressed.
To reach Kuang Si waterfall we had to go back to Luang Prabang and head west for another 30 kilometres. The scenery was rather nice so the long journey didn't bother us too much. The bike had a maximum speed of 60 kilometres an hour so we couldn't go very fast. We parked up at the waterfall and headed along a road leading to the top. Before climbing even further we checked out some of the fall which was so blue! Probably the bluest water I've seen so far. We trekked up to the top of the fall which was incredibly tiring. My legs felt like jelly. It was quite tranquil above though, only a few people were there and you had to walk across shallow water and stones with little handle bars made of bamboo for support. A man that obviously worked there told us we could swim in a deep section but we felt a bit weary as no one else was. Matt went in first and thoroughly enjoyed himself. I'd cooled down when it was my turn so I was barely in for 30 seconds; it was pretty cold. There were lots of little fish swimming around me when I was in the water. Matt assured me they wouldn't touch me but they kept hitting my feet. I discovered they were those fish used in the fish spas; apparently I need to go for one of them.
We couldn't see much of a view as trees blocked it but as we headed down we walked along beside the fall. Further on down there was an area that lots of people were swimming in. There were various signs that said no swimming but everyone else was ignoring them so we had another quick dip and stuck our heads under a little mini waterfall. There were designated swimming areas not far from there but not many people were using them. I'm not sure why.
Back in Luang Prabang, after a quick detour through a rice making village which didn't have anything exciting in it, we dropped off the bike at the hostel as it was too late to take it back to the shop (we'd have to return it in the morning). It was nearly 7 at this point so we found a barbecue place for some food (yes, barbecue again, but I'm sure everyone in England will be having it every night at the moment). This was a different barbecue though. There was a hole in the middle of the table which they placed a big bucket with a burning coal fire in. On that they put a weird metal domed cooking contraption which we poured soup into the outer section and meat and seafood were placed on the middle domed section. Obviously I cooked the meat, over cooking the chicken slightly as I wanted to make sure it was okay to eat but perfectly cooking the prawns. Matt was in charge of soup which he added noodles and greens and bean sprouts and egg to. We were also given some deep fried aubergine which was delicious. Everything was pretty good and it was an interesting way to eat so I thoroughly enjoyed myself. After food we stopped for a fruit shake before heading back to the hostel. I chose an orio and banana shake which was pretty good. The guy that made it gave me an extra half a cup for some reason, saying he wanted me to try them both out. I swear they tasted exactly the same but I wasn't going to complain.
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