March 31, 2002
Trekking Nightmare
After a night of Beer Lao and an odd trip to a Lao disco I woke up early with dehydration and headache. After a cup or two of Nescafe it was tuk-tuks up into the mountains for a half-day trek.
The drive up was treacherous. A muddy soft trail clinging to the side of the mountain. The tuk-tuk struggled at times and avoided huge bumps and washouts. We arrived at a remote Hmong village, the start of the trail to Kuang Si Falls. As usual, the village was full of adorable children and worn-out mothers. The rest of the villagers seemed to be out clearing the recently burned fields. As we followed the path through stepped fields and lush jungle we periodically spotted children watching their working parents, solitary hikers with bags of rice, or militaristic stalkers. These drab-green-clad scouts tended to appear from nowhere and seemed to blend into their surroundings. One carried a rifle, others were in pairs with matching hats and an uncertain purpose... I'm sure it was all normal and my Apocalypse Now washed brain was just wandering. Then again, I did hear stories of reeducation camps where well-to-do Laotians were untaught english and reintroduced into the socialist society. 1975 wasn't that long ago...
After the three-hour hike we descended into the valley over steep dusty steps as water crashed down beside us. At the bottom we were rewarded with a spectacular view of the falls splitting around rocks and cascading into emerald pools. A quick bite to eat, a dip in the water, and I'm briefly refreshed before the weather reheats me beyond belief. For now I'm comfortable.
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