This is the third time I’ve been to Luang Prabang. Everywhere you go, there is someone wanting to take you to Kuang Si Falls. Tour companies, tuk tuk drivers, vans. I’d somehow resisted, and never went. I guess I thought they were much ado about nothing, a tourist trap. I was completely wrong. They are so beautiful, like the garden of eden! Frank, my coworker, friend, and fellow volunteer at the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Center met 3 vacationing Germans who live in Shanghai, and who rented a car to travel around Laos. I sort of invited myself to go with all of them to Kuang Si, and they were kind enough to let me tag along.
I love to go hiking, and usually I have no issue crawling up rocks, and walking on slippery surfaces. Until - I fell on ice outside my backdoor 9 months ago, and shattered my ankle. I’m still healing, and I’m really afraid, terrified even, of falling, especially in a remote country not known for its stellar medical care. Frank and these virtual strangers that I went to Kuang Si Falls with were so incredibly kind to me. They held my hand up steep and slippery places. They waited for me when I was slow. They did it with humor and seeming pleasure. On one hand I felt like an old lady needing so much assistance, and on the other, I was really touched by their kindness. I felt similarly during those dark months of recuperation from my broken leg. I felt old and hobbled, but touched by the kindness of my friends and family who helped me. We hiked to the top of the waterfall, took a dip in the pools, and made it back down safely. When we were back on flat ground, I was just strolling along, my knee suddenly gave out, and I fell flat on my face! Luckily, I wasn’t hurt at all. Not even a skinned knee. After some embarrassment, I quickly got up, brushed myself off, and kept on going. That’s just what you have to do in life.
