Day 26 - Different Paths Again - Trial by fire: new bike, first tour, first time in Asia

November 20, 2024

Day 26 - Different Paths Again

Ian and I took different paths again on our last day in Luang Prabang. I started off in the morning market for a breakfast of grilled fish and coconut rice cakes.

In the morning market again where the fires are going.

I had decided the day before to visit Tat Kuang Si, a local nature preserve known for its waterfalls and sanctuary for the native Moon Bear. I had grown tired of the masses of tourists in town. The same masses in a forest park was at least marginally preferable. So I booked a tuk-tuk from our guesthouse and he arrived just before 8.

Ants were streaming across a trail through the forest.

One of the attractions at Tat Kuang Si is forest.

Unfamiliar lichen on this strangler fig.

There were dozens of these strikingly colored hemipterans. My guess is that no one eats these.

One of the biggest spiders I've ever seen. Dorsal view.

Ventral view (sorry, I'm a biologist). This thing has a 15 cm leg span.

Another main attraction at Tat Kuang Si is the Bear Rescue Center. They rehabilitate and care for Moon Bears that were rescued from bear bile farms or trappers, but couldn't be released to the wild. This is an excellent, professionally run facility and I took a tour.

They take you behind the scenes to see how the center is run and let you "help" feed the bears. We went into the enclosure (with bears safely confined) and hid fruits and vegetables around their spaces. Moon bears are omnivores and only occasionally eat meat, insects, or carrion (or paying visitors). They love yams and long beans.

My guide Nith was knowledgeable and dedicated to the animals.

Staff keep records of bears' weight and health.

For more information go to: https://freethebears.org/pages/laos-sanctuaries

After the park, my driver Kii, took me to a country restaurant for lunch served in the traditional Lao fashion. He said it made him feel like home.

We sat on decks on stilts under thatched roofs. The decks had banana trees around them and nice views of peacefully grazing cattle. We both dozed off while waiting for lunch.

After lunch we headed back to Luang Prabang

I decided that Luang Prabang was a good place to pick up a few small gifts so I stayed back. My decision was based partly on visiting other conservation places in SE Asia and being bitterly disappointed. In this case, I made a mistake. Winston was most impressed with his day.

I too kicked off at the food extravaganza that is the morning market. Among my selections were sticky rice and coconut "cakes", hot from the griddle.

She serves them in banana leaf pouches, like in the good old days.

I ventured first to the tea shop where I hoped to find out more about all aspects of the tea. It's incredible what you can do with a translator.

The tea ages and gets more expensive with age.

I then walked down to Souliyavongsa Road that runs along the Mekong. You see some great stuff on the way.

I didn't know that PornHub sponsored sporting teams.

QUTE - Joel, is that a classic French car?

I ventured into a small silver shop, looked at a fine art gallery and bought a few items from a shop that remanufactures old Hilltribe clothing into pieces of art.

Best white van and bougainvillea Luang Prabang, 2024.

That was my day. Winston and I arrived back at the guesthouse at the same time and soon after got our ride to the station that's 12 km from town.

We arrived at a very crowded station and had no idea of the free comedy show that we were soon to experience.

The ceiling of the very crowded station.

Still life - pannier, diary, foot enclosed in a Volley sandshoe and a gorgeous piece of pink luggage.

An announcement was made about the impending arrival of the train and the need to move to the platform and have our tickets scanned again. We had already had our luggage X-rayed and passports checked.

Now with all of this detail, you'd think that getting people on and off the train would be a simple, orderly process. It wasn't. The train arrived and people charged at the doors. The one hitch is that nearly every passenger was disembarking. Women with megaphone yelled at those on the platform to stay back and those getting off to speed up. And we didn't even have to pay for the spectacle!

Here's a summary by photograph.

I was asked to stand behind the small yellow line, not the obvious one.

Onto the platform with tickets scanned again

An official with a megaphone is urging those boarding to speed up.

Organizing passengers is far from my field of expertise but ..........

I'll let Winston finish the story.

We just arrived back in Kasi from Luang Prabang. As the train pulled into the station I saw that it was raining. When we got off we saw that it was pouring down. We figured we would wait it out, but when I went through the exit check point I saw a familiar face. The proprietress, Keo, of our guesthouse had come for us in her car. That's one of the most thoughtful acts I have ever experienced. The station is less than 500m from the hotel, but we would have been soaked. Ginger makes pins of some of her paintings and I brought some for gifts. The one that I call "A mother weaving the world" will be for her.

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