(Daniel) Today we woke up and left the room early.  After finding a suitable place to buy large quantities of ice for the cool box, I had decided to go to Kuang Si, one of my favourite spots in Laos.  In anticipation of showing Nii the amazing waterfall and its hidden polls which I had discovered first six years ago, but explored further only a few months back with two friends whose acquaintance I had made here in Luang Prabang.

The new road to Kuang Si had just been finished, it allowed us to reach the Waterfall in less than 40 minutes, almost half the original journey time by tuc tuc.  As we pulled up, the tuc tuc drivers surrounded the vehicle, asking the usual questions about where we had come from, and how much the truck cost.  I took a couple of cold beers from the cool box, which was still jammed full of vegetables from our stop at the market in the hills on the way here.  Nick had sent me a message to say that he was talking to Engel in Australia about getting us a new fridge, now that I had thrown away the National Luna unit that had failed for some unknown reason despite me spending £400 on a new electrical unit and trying to get it regassed.  In my frustration, I had swapped it for the cool box in a shop near the Laos border, a choice which I do not regret one bit!

The walk into the jungle surrounding Kuang Si is a pleasant one, although Laos’ growing popularity as a tourist destination has led to development and a rise in entry fees.  One of my most special memories from here was of Phet the Tiger, who had been rescued as a cub, nursed back to health by the specialists here, and now lived in an enclosure separated from the main forest by only a single wire fence.  On my first visit I had been able to get Phet to chase me along the enclosure walls, playfully running and pouncing.  The feeling had been amazing, this time I was able to get Phet to chase me again, running along the enclosure, and turning sharply at the end, where Phet would leap in the air and follow me at a bounding pace to the next corner, her tongue hanging out and a playful look in her eyes.    

Afterwards, we walked along the several pools that lead to the main waterfall, swimming and jumping in each one.  At the Main fall I jumped from the highest point into the water several times, to cheers from the assembled crowd.

Then Nii and I climbed the side of the waterfall to the very top, crossing over the feed river to the fall, and dropping down along a hidden path on the otherside, from here we arrived at the secret pool, a wide splash bowl overlooking the entire valley.  The climb is always a hard one, but the effort always pays off once you see the pool itself.  I jumped from the top of the falls into the splash pool below.  After a couple of jumps, I realised that my watch was gone.  I had noticed it on my arm earlier, and told myself to take it off.  But now it was gone.  Unable to tell whether I had lost it at the top or the bottom of the falls, I had to accept that it was gone, and that I would have no chance to find it now. I made a note to bring my mask and snorkel next time we came here, just in case the watch could be found.

We walked down along a different route, stepping down the waterfall and joining the path that leads down the otherside from our ascent.  At the bottom, Nii realised that her shoes had been left behind.  Still charged with excitement, I ran back up the path, collected them and returned in a few minutes. 

The day at the falls was wonderful.  The fridge was stocked with Ice, drinks and food, and the trailer was clean and ready for cooking.  I decided that a camping trip close to the area would be a good idea, suggesting as much to Nii.  She was in agreement, so we returned to the Wolf, and drove out from the village to the farmland surrounding it.  Soon we came across a couple of people working close to the road.  Nii asked them if we could camp in the area, the man, who was an interesting looking middle aged farmer, seemed more than happy to let us stay, he told us that it was his brother in laws farm, and that we would be welcome to stay on the flat area at the side of the road not far away.  We thanked him, and set up camp where he had indicated.

After putting up the rooftent, and getting a green curry going.  We noticed several men approaching.  This was the farmer who owned the land.  He seemed not know of our arrival, but after talking to us, only gave the ominous warning, “If you think you will be ok, then it’s up to you, but I cannot guarantee that you will be safe here.”  We took the man’s comments as concerned more because I am a foreigner.  But the warning kept running through my mind, as we watched a movie, and drank a few beers.  A couple of other people passed by on the quiet road, just as the Sun started to set, another group of men approached us.

They looked to be late twenties, early thirties, casually dressed in t-shirts and shorts.  Nii saw them first, she said that they had turned off the road towards us, then she went pale.  “I think they are coming to rob us.” She said.  I stood up and approached the vehicle, hoping to remove the Mechlock key.  Nii called to me again, “they have gun’s!”  I removed the mechlock key and threw it into the back, at the same time, placing one of my machetes close to the door.  When I turned around, the first of the men was directly behind me, he had a machine gun over his shoulder.  I gave him a wide smile, which he returned, then walked over to Nii, who was talking to another man.  There were five in all.  Every man armed similarly.  I genuinely thought that these were bandits.  They spoke fast to Nii, I could understand that they wanted to move the vehicle, and that they seemed to be talking about killing someone, I also heard the word for steal several times.  I was standing, trying to look as if I understood, but was not concerned, my knees began to shake.

Nii turned to me, and explained that these men were not police, but were locals who had been given the responsibility of keeping order in the area.  Following a recent murder during a spate of robberies, the men were concerned for us, and would rather that we moved on, preferably back to Luang Prabang.  Staying would not be an option.

I thanked the men for their help, and began to frantically pack away the Wolf.  The Mechlock key, which I had thrown in the back was no-where to be found.  Night had fallen, I was starting to get frustrated with the fact that I couldn’t move, and these guys were waiting.  Finally I found the key, allowing me to pull out from the rocky outcrop, and return to the road.

We drove back to Luang Prabang, checked in to the same guesthouse where we had stayed before, and slept soundly.  

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