Day 6 Luang Prabang.
Our final day before we fly out tomorrow to Siem Reap in Cambodia.

Temperatures are still on the low side, a bearable 30 degrees, so the rain of yesterday seems to have cleared the air.

We were picked up after breakfast for a 2 hour boat ride up the Mekong to visit the Pak Out caves, a small cave where local Buddhists have hidden statues of Buddha every time their country was invaded by hostile countries/religions. Over the centuries some 3000 have been accrued.

We had debated whether our boat would be a shared experience but true to our holiday company's word we had a 20 seater all to ourselves. Embarkation was more civilised than our last boat ride (although I did miss sliding down a muddy bank on our backsides). The journey was a very peaceful ride through jungle country with sights of elephants, kingfishers and other fish eating birds that our guide could not identify.

After our cave tour, we took lunch in a local Lao restaurant on the other side of the river before we returned to Laung Prabang, now with the current, in an hour and half.

Swapping back to our car, we then set off in the opposite direction to the Kuang Si falls- a drive of some 45 (sick churning) mins. On arrival we visited a bear sanctuary where rescued orphan brown bears were raised and released into the wild, before we visited the Kuang Si waterfalls.

These falls are a series of small falls with aquamarine coloured pools where swimming is allowed. I had come prepared for a dip so I leapt salmon-like into a pool (salmon like a tin of salmon). Very cool to start but within moments refreshing. The waterfall culminated in a huge fall of some 150 ft. If I hadn't seen the falls with my own eyes then I would think that any picture had been doctored on a computer. Fabulously beautiful.

We then returned to base, not before we were taken to a small 'Mong' village. This was the village of our guide, who is a member of a Mong ethnic group that comprise only 10% of the Laos people. The little kids turned on the charm and we walked away with many small trinkets.

Finally, time for a quick shower and collect our laundry, which Julie recognised as ours by virtue of her pants on display for the whole street. Then off for dinner to the Blue lagoon which can only be described as fine dining for $36. The only restaurant I have been in where staff outnumbered customers. There were at least 25 customers. Onto Cambodia!!