After meeting everyone for breakfast (again an omlette with a side plate of fruit) we set off (minus Barry and Gaynor who opt out of the trek part of the trip) in the bus bound for the village where our trek begins. After a 45 minute journey we meet up with our local guide from the village. Sak tells us that although he knows the way it is a rule that a local guide must accompany us. The village is basic as you would expect, but these folks live a little removed from the normal Lao society. The have their own dialect and are descended from Chinese and other immigrants. We see many adorable children and cute dogs and puppies, and even some pigs and chickens. The houses range from thin wooden weave construction with long grass rooves through to brick built places with strong metal based rooves where families have done well and earned enough to afford themselves better living standards.

Once through the village the trek begins proper and we see some beautiful scenery, as well as fields where rice, rubber, teak and several fruits are grown. Although different people own different parts of the land they share what they have, though the majority of what is grown is sold.

Once through the initial part of the walk we trek deeper into the jungle where headroom is low and in many places foot placements are very narrow. We have a couple of drink stops and after our final one move closer to the Kuang Si waterfall.

We reach the top of the waterfall first, with breathtaking views as the water vanishes into clouds of white below. As we navigate the stream crossing, having chosen the wet route, we begin to make our way to the bottom, climbing down steep walkways of footholds carved in the earth. Once on the descention we never really see the waterfall again until we reach the bottom, where we meet with Rafa, Gaynor and Barry. From the bottom the waterfall looks even better with water rapidly tumbling down the rock face into the pools below. Everyone takes a few pictures and we end with Rafa taking a big group shot of us all in front of the falls.

Next some of us have a swim in one of the lower pools, and there is a rope swing into the pool which I use to mark my entrance. It is properly freezing, and takes quite a while to get used to, but is very refreshing after the long walk.

Once dry we take a small walk further downstream to where there is a small bear sanctuary where rescued bears are kept in an enclosure. Much like animals in zoos these guys are obviously in captivity, but are in better circumstances than which they were found. The bears seem a little camera shy and we struggle to get good photos of them but we try nonetheless.

After a quick freshen up at the hotel we wander out into the streets to have another look around the market, and also book our trip for tomorrow, elephant riding. Lunch is a quick bit from the joma cafe and we plod back to the hotel, myself having bought a couple of t-shirts.

Rafa has booked us dinner in a restaurant called Tamarind which is a set menu consisting of some dips with river weed and sesame seed crisps for starters and a huge fish for our main course accompanied by some lettuce and assorted tidbits to go with it. It was absolutely delicious, one of the best meals so far.

Rafa wanted to take us to a club where the locals go, so we hitch a tuk tuk and roll up at the disco, which is in one of the darkest clubs known to man. There is a band on playing traditional Lao songs accompanied by girls singing. I quite enjoy the music, and everyone seems to be having a good time. The dancing system seems a little odd – at the end if every song the floor is cleared and then people tentatively make their way back after the start of the next number, and soon everyone is back in full swing. They also seem to dance in a set routine, rotating round doing a bit of a jiggle facing all four directions. It looks a bit like line dancing, and fun to watch. Steven, Summer and Rafa joined in at various stages, but the rest of us refrained. Barry even fell asleep for a bit such was his approval of the place!

Once out of the club when it closed at 11, Rafa suggested that we go to the bowling alley where we would still be able to get a drink, and if the mood took us have a wee bowl. As it turned out the mood did take us and I ended up winning, being less bad rather than better than everyone else. We got back to the hotel and unfortunately had to wake the owners to let us in. Whoops.

Tomorrow, elephants!