Living the Life in Laos! (Part 4): Kuang Si Falls, Pak Ou Caves, and the Mekong River!

- November 25, 2025, Tuesday.

- Luang Prabang has been amazing for the most part, but there are a couple of places in my bucket list outside the city proper. Thankfully, GetYourGuide has a 2-in-1 package of these far-flung places, and at opposite side too! These are the Kuang Si Waterfalls and the Pak Ou Caves.

- I realized that the morning market was located literally outside my hotel, so I had a brief stroll. I noticed that apart from the usual stuff (fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, clothes, etc.), they sold birds (not sure if exotic?) both dead and alive, frogs, insects, you name it.

Morning Market.

Birds and pupae.

Bugs.

Different kinds of bugs.

Hives with bees inside.

- After our tour guide picked me and other passengers up, we headed first to a small Hmong Village to visit the Hmong people. It was an ultra short visit, just a walk through the alley between their homes. The Hmong people (also called "Miao" in China) are hilltribe people, known for their detailed embroidery, big silver jewelry, and the fact that they're stateless (that is, they are scattered across mainland Southeast Asian countries). The most famous Hmong person, internationally that is, is probably Brenda Song (yes, London Tipton / Wendy Wu herself!!) We learned that they tend to marry early and have big families, and have a slightly different way of preparing food compared to Lao people, such as their preference for non-sticky rice (and Lao people love their sticky rice for all meals). 

Hmong girl in a semi-modernized traditional clothing. (Photo taken with permission.)

Another Hmong girl. (Photo taken with permission.)

One of the many souvenir stalls outside houses.

They wanted to take a photo with me.

- I would have wanted to stay and chat with the Hmong people more, but our tour guide whisked us away to our first main destination, the Kuang Si Falls. The Kuang Si Falls is a series of cascading waterfalls that look white and blue, giving the falls an ethereal look. Each level looks different too, but the hike up the mountain is easy since there are stairs made for tourists. In the past, the areas surrounding the falls were inhabited by Hmong communities. However, there were times when the area would experience drought because of the slash-and-burn style of farming. To restore and preserve the natural beauty of the falls, the communist government relocated the hill tribe communities after coming to power in the 1970s.

There was a bear rescue center on the way to the falls. This is an ethical bear rescue center.

These are called Asiatic Black Bears, or Moon Bears.

The lowest level of waterfalls. This alone was already nice enough!

Second level. Each "pool" looks wider and flatter.

At the third level, closer to the peak, here the waterfalls look bigger.

See, they come from the top of the mountain!

- After an hour of going around the falls, we had lunch at the Manifa Elephant Camp. Unlike the one I visited in Bangkok, this one is a very very ethical camp, which treats elephants well and gives them freedom to roam around the camp (which is mostly natural by the way). Although our main visit was to have a buffet lunch, we were also given the chance to interact with one of the elephants after lunch. I finished lunch really early so I had so much time with the elephant until my other tourmates finished their meal and also wanted to have a close encounter with the elephant. 

Elephant!!

She was so gentle....and always hungry. Haha. I had to feed it so many bananas!!

I love the way the trunk curls here.

- We later rode big motor boats going to the Pak Ou Caves from the elephant camp. The Pak Ou Caves have obscure origins, but it was used as a Buddhist since the 1500s. Usually, it is only during the Laotian New Year that the royalty, and eventually local Buddhist devotees came to the cave to place a Buddha and ask for blessings. This is why there is an assorted collection of Buddha statues in the caves. 

Mekong boat ride.

Blending in.

About to dock. (You can see the cave opening.)

Upper cave.

- There are two main caves: a higher one and a lower one. The higher cave is more spacious but has less Buddha statues, while the lower cave is smaller but has more Buddha statues and is more visited by tourists. The place was nice but I was underwhelmed, but only because I always had the impression that the Pak Ou caves were long and deep like most cave systems I've been too (especially Buddhist ones). But despite this, it does not remove the awe that I felt being there, and seeing all the Buddha statues facing the Mekong!

Lower cave.

Many small Buddhas!

I used to think that these Buddhas reached kilometers inside the cave.

Facing the Mekong.

- Before going back to the city, we had a stopover at Xanghai Village to learn how they make traditional Lao whiskey. They often use different kinds of local rice grains to make their whiskey. Unfortunately, because of a medical situation, I wasn't able to try any of their whisky. It still was nice to learn thought.

A variety of whiskey.

- A highlight of the trip was also the sunset that we caught on the way back to the city center of Luang Prabang. We also saw the bright moon rising as the sun was setting, as well as the twinkling lights of Luang Prabang from afar!

Sunset!

Glad I caught this moment!

See the small moon.

Approaching Luang Prabang (left).

- As usual I had dinner at Phan Boun and had another pleasant stroll at the night market. I tried to see if there was any other restaurant that interested me, but Phan Boun seemed to be the best option for me. The night market, as always, never fails to make me happy with so much color around!

I look really Hmong now.

Sticky rice, assorted steamed vegetables, young bamboo, meat with egg batter, then the centerpiece - or lam! Or lam is a beef stew with a mild peppery taste from the chili wood (but don't eat the wood!). For dessert, sliced bananas in coconut milk.

Try guessing my favorite color.

- My well-paced tour for the day let me experience places I really never thought I'd get to visit in my life. Both the Kuang Si Waterfalls and the Pak Ou Caves seemed too hidden for people to disturb. Although the reality is far from this kind of imagination I had, I was far far far far from disappointed. I couldn't count how many times I said "WOW!!" and "OMG!!!!" the whole day. The cherry on top - I got to make friends with an elephant!!