On the second day we explored the idea of several trips - up the river to see a cave with lots of Buddhas in it, to elephant sanctuaries and 'ethical' elephant riding. I love elephants and have a really strong desire to spend time with them as they fascinate me, this is one of the only opportunities I have ever had, and ele riding, bathing and walking was on the menu everywhere. Despite really wanting to spend time with the elephants there was no real way to see who was ethical and who was not. I am vehemently opposed to elephant riding due to the way they are trained with bull hooks and tied to trees.
"Nature's great masterpiece, an elephant; the only harmless great thing." - John Donne
[Unless there is a drought and you have a swimming pool. or are driving through a reserve with a car full of ranges]
There are two ways to work with animals - love and fear, breaking them and using fear may get results, but nothing is worth crushing an animals soul for.
"Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver." - Barbara de Angelis
"When you encourage others, you in the process are encouraged because you're making a commitment and difference in that person's life. Encouragement really does make a difference." - Zig Ziglar
Some sanctuaries had rescued eles who could be ridden - again how were they trained in the first place - this leads back to in some way contributing to this practice. There were also some sanctuaries where you could go bathe rescued eles, which seemed more appealing, but in the end we couldn't be sure who was who and what was ethical, so gave it a skip. On a side note, its really hard when you want to support a local economy and good initiatives but don't know who is good and who is conning you from the info received at a tour agents.
We wanted to see the waterfalls and this trip had a bear sanctuary to walk through first. We asked a lot of questions and got a good explanation of the bear sanctuary and felt comfortable to go, so we headed to town early to the travel agency where we had booked the one day trip through the bear sanctuary to the waterfalls at Kuang Xi
We waited a while and one of the foreign tourists we were also with was expecting the bus to go bang on time, eventually he started to get pretty irrate with the tour company who were only saying 'you wait', rather than explaining why the trip was late and we would get longer at the waterfall. We managed to calm it all down and get some info and eventually the bus arrived.
The bus ride took around an hour and was pretty windy and twisty, so we arrived feeling pretty sickly, but the falls were stunning. First we walked through the bear sanctuary though...
Animal enrichment - as the bear search and 'forage' for their foods.
The bears largely looked well and in a reasonable space. Only one seemed to be suffering from stress and pacing, but it was unclear if that was from its current or previous circumstances.
Next we hit the waterfalls and pools which had milky blue water and were very beautiful...
"The point is that when I see a sunset or a waterfall or something, for a split second it's so great, because for a little bit I'm out of my brain, and it's got nothing to do with me. I'm not trying to figure it out, you know what I mean? And I wonder if I can somehow find a way to maintain that mind stillness." - Chris Evans
Loads of people were taking a dip too!
"Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked." - Warren Buffett
There were lots of big and mini falls and sections to swim or paddle in.
Mum decided not to swim and I wasn't feeling too well so also missed out, which was a shame as I love swimming in falls, the sea or any open water.
"Swimming is normal for me. I'm relaxed. I'm comfortable, and I know my surroundings. It's my home." - Michael Phelps
“There is a waterfall in every dream. Cool and crystal clear, it falls gently on the sleeper, cleansing the mind and soothing the soul.” ― Virginia Alison
This section here was right at the very top and you could walk all the way to the base of the falls. Stunning.
"I love the sounds and the power of pounding water, whether it is the waves or a waterfall." - Mike May
All too soon we headed back through the bears and onto the mini bus back to the center of Luang Prabang.
"I'm a bear of very little brain and long words bother me" - AA Milne.
We had a morning in Luang Prabang left before heading back to Siem Reap and spent this relaxing and seeing some final sights...
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