KEY POINTS:
A water buffalo saved me from getting lost in the jungle which surrounds the magnificent Kuang Xi waterfall in Laos.
I was sloshing along a muddy track at the top of the falls when suddenly a huge black shape with huge black horns loomed out of the greenery right in front.
Sure, water buffalo are supposed to be docile, but this one was fixing me with a definite "and what do you think you're doing" look, and he certainly had the size and equipment to back up any challenge.
So I beat a hasty retreat ... and found I had been on the wrong track and was heading goodness knows where.
The end of the monsoon season is a great time to see the falls in full spate, with a torrent of brown water hurtling down a series of cliffs and spires, crashing in a fountain of white into the pool below.
Unfortunately, it was not a great time to be walking in the surrounding forest because the high river level meant most of the tracks were either washed away or under water.
Still, thanks to the guidance from my buffalo friend, I managed to slither and splash my way to the top where a notice tacked to a tree in the middle of the muddy cascade advised rather unnecessarily, "Danger: do not go close to the edge". No chance of that.
Instead, I clambered back down the slippery track - even trickier than it had been on the way up - to the bottom of the falls, where a neat wooden bridge across the river led back to a pleasant picnic area, a series of swimming holes, a small animal enclosure and several stalls selling souvenirs, food and drinks.
But the height of the river meant the swimming holes were more like spillways and most of the picnic areas were under water.
I managed to splash my way to the animal area, where a series of cages with an exercise yard attached - labelled, with no obvious sense of irony, "Free the Bears" - held about seven small Asiatic black bears.
This is presumably an offshoot of the Free the Bears Fund, which rescues bears from the horrors of dancing in circuses, bear-baiting and bile-farming. But the noise set up by the bears as visitors approach is not exactly uplifting.
The explanation for their clamour was evident on a sign by the entrance inviting tourists to put a donation into a padlocked box, take a bunch of bananas from a nearby pile, and give them to the bears.
These offerings of food were swallowed voraciously by the hungry little mouths and one donor was even scratched by a bear who evidently thought he was too slow with the bananas.
A big enclosure nearby holds a young tiger, rescued as a cub from poachers who killed his mother. The animal padded up and down alongside the fence before disappearing into the trees. Maybe he was also looking for food because another sign, on a locked box, asked for donations to cover feeding costs.
I made a small contribution, without any optimism that it would do much for the tiger, and wandered off to one of the many roadside stalls where a cup of the strong, sweet local tea helped to restore my liquid level.
The popularity of the falls, about 32km from the beautiful old city of Luang Prabang, has attracted lots of locals to set up businesses along the road.
One of these is an official custom village, with beautifully carved houses on stilts, where you can go for elephant rides or buy crafts.
Another is a Hmong village, where a group of formerly rebellious hill people has been settled, apparently without sufficient land to support themselves.
When we arrived, the village looked dead, apart from a lone young woman sitting on the front of her home feeding a baby. But as soon as she saw us she sounded the alarm and within moments the place came alive, with people setting up stalls, opening houses for us to see, and draping verandas with shawls and scarves.
Even by the standards of Laos this was a place of poverty. The house we were taken to visit had a lumpy dirt floor, a fire burning in a circle of rocks, several beds raised above the floor on sticks, and a few battered pots and implements.
The most lavish piece of furniture was the ancestral shrine, which formed the focal point of the home. Poverty was probably the best sales tool they had. Children of about 5 and 6, many with rashes, bargained ferociously over the price of their collections of bracelets. An ancient woman was helped out to sit in front of the shawl, smiling toothlessly as she embroidered a pattern, adding colour to the scene. It was fascinating, but I wasn't sorry to leave.
More cheerful scenes were just along the road as we passed through magnificent teak plantations, glorious green vistas of tiered rice paddies, and prosperous-looking Lao villages.
Outside one village, a group of children was having a marvellous time splashing in a ditch filled, no doubt, by the same rain that had made the waterfall so impressive.
In a nearby field, a buffalo, probably related to my friend from the waterfall, was hauling a plough. It was Southeast Asia at its picturesque best ... a million miles away from desperate Hmongs and yowling bear cubs.
Luang Prabang, Laos
Getting There
Singapore Airlines flies 19 times a week out of New Zealand direct to Singapore. From Singapore, passengers can choose from 41 weekly flights to Bangkok or from 11 weekly flights to Phnom Penh, then travel on Lao Aviation to Luang Prabang. For more information on Singapore Airlines services visit their website below.
Getting Around
World Expeditions' regular, 11-day Best of Laos and Cambodia trips, which start from Luang Prabang, cost $2450 (not including airfares to and from New Zealand, visas and some meals).
As well as three days in Luang Prabang and a trip to the Kuang Xi Falls, the itinerary includes the Lao capital of Vientiane, the town of Vang Vieng on the Mekong River, the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, and three days at Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat and other temples of the Khmer empire.
Further Information
World Expeditions can be contacted at 0800 350 354 or by the link below.
* Jim Eagles went to Laos as guest of Singapore Airlines and World Expeditions.
