Last weekend the new programs intern Matt joined us in Laos! Right away we went on a little day trip to the Kuang Si falls.
Downtown we found a tuk tuk, which is basically a little covered truck that you sit in the back. This was the first time I had to negotiate for a price in Laos, as food you don't really have to haggle for. I had been told that you should try to get the price to a little over half of what they originally offer. For example, if you are buying something at the market and they say 50,000 kip you should try to get it to about 30,000 kip. I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous because I had absolutely no idea how much a tuk tuk ride was, or even how far the Kuang Si falls were from the city. I just hoped I wouldn't pay a ton of money for a 5 minute drive! The first drivers that asked us "Tuk tuk?" we accepted and started negotiating the price. They first offered 200,000 kip (about $25 USD) for the two of us. I was able to get it down to 170,000 (about $21), aka I was horrible. After settling the price we were on our way! 
It turned out to be into a long enough trip for Matt and I to look at each other more than once and ask, where is he taking us? We were able to see wonderful views of the countryside and some pretty crazy motor bike driving on our way. For example, young babies on motor bikes with their siblings or parents without a helmet and no way to hold on. So not appropriate by American standards. 45 minutes later we arrived at Kouang Si Waterfall, and our wonderful tuk tuk driver told us to be back in 2 hours and he will be waiting for us to take us back to the city. When he said 2 hours, Matt and I looked at each other and were thinking the same thing - what the heck are we going to do for 2 hours? 
But on the bright side, $21 got us a 45 minute round trip ride and 2 hours of fun at the waterfalls - not too shabby! As it has rained just the night before and it is during rainy season, the water was a murky brown color and overflowing into the surrounding picnic and walking areas. Supposedly, not during rainy season, the water is a bright turquoise blue and people go swimming, so we'll have to come back to see it at that time of year as well.
However we didn't let that stop us. We kept walking up on the side to the big water fall at the end of the trail. The trails were very clean and well marked, with just a few sections that the water over took the path. But over all, it was a very nice natural park.
As you can see below, once we reached the biggest waterfall at the end of the trail, the bridge was completely covered in swift moving water. We went to the farthest dry part we could and saw a few guys go out right below the water falls. I had no intention of doing the same thing, but I asked Matt if he was thinking about it and he was game, so I started getting excited and we took the trek out. Holding onto the railings and feeling our way out with bare feet, the water gushing around our knees, we made it out to the end of the walkway. One of the guys in the first picture was nice enough to watch us undertake the same challenge and take our picture.
It turned out that that walk under the waterfalls was just our first challenge of the day. There was another bridge (not under water) that led to the other side of the falls (Matt is standing on it on the right). Being the adventurers that we are, we went to see what was on the other side and there was a faded wooden sign on a tree saying "To The Top". I looked at Matt and asked if he wanted to try, secretly hoping he would not accept. After looking at the steep incline, with a stream of water coming down, and path covered in mud, Matt said yes. Later he told me that he had had no intention of climbing it, but because of the way I asked him (apparently I challenged him), he wanted to take it. Grand. We started off walking up the path, and the path got muddier and more steep, and more difficult to tell where we were supposed to go. If anyone has ever hiked with me before, you will know that slipping is one of my greatest fears (not just with hiking but with anything), so all I could think about this whole time was the trip down and how horrible it was going to be. I stupidly voiced these opinions to Matt and he was also nervous about that, which did not help. We took a break at this point, deciding whether or not to continue climbing, since now it was like rock climbing through a stream without a harness. Luckily, exactly then, three people were coming down and said we were very close to the top. However, when I asked what the view was like, they said you couldn't see too much because the water was so swollen that you couldn't get to the edge of the waterfall. They did give us great advice though and said that walking in the water itself, instead of the mud covered rocks around it, and going barefoot was easier. The thought of walking barefoot scared me, but we did keep hiking to the top. They were right, unfortunately, about having no view. 
We only stayed at the top a few minutes, and then we started the perilous journey down. As my shoes were slipping and sliding everywhere, and I did not want to catapult down the side of the mountain, I quickly put my fears aside about walking barefoot. I took off my shoes, tied the laces together and slung them around my neck. I would never walk barefoot even in the Boston Common, and here I am walking barefoot in the jungle of Lao. Who wooda thunk.
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