Another good day...
Last night Frank decided it would be a good idea to buy a box of wine. So obviously this morning when I woke up I felt pretty terrible.
At 11:30 AM, after eating a baguette with two eggs, we climbed into a saganthaw (a small truck with two benches in the bed) and made our way to the local waterfall... It was just what I needed.
Included in the park is a bear sanctuary. Laos currently has a ton of problems with the export of rare (and thus endangered) species, and the purpose of this facility is to educate the public and try to protect the local exotic wildlife. They had at least 5 small Sun Bears (as opposed to a Grizzly Bear). We then walked up on a dirt path to the waterfall, which was beautiful.
Between the waterfall and the reservation facility there are a number of small pools where one can swim in the stream. One pool features a nice waterfall (maybe ten feet high) to jump off of, and in front of that they built a rope swing. A mass of people gathered around this pool anticipating:
A) you would be really good and do a cool flip or dive,
B) you would try to be really cool but mess up and hit the water with a loud painful slap, or
C) you would make a complete ass out of yourself.
Trust me it was a pressure cooker. After several jumps somewhere around the 'low-A' to 'B' range I made one jump that was a complete 'C' and called it a day.
Outside the park I bought a nice blanket. As I was negotiating the price, the woman I was speaking to picked up her baby and started breast feeding it. This was a good tactic as I probably agreed to a price too high just to get out of there.
Tomorrow we will head to the party town of Vang Vieng!
C. Johnson
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