Written By - Gabriele De Capitani
Under the Trees, by the Water
Kuang Si Bear Rescue Centre, Luang Prabang - Laos
Coming down from the sky, back onto the ground, I travelled north to the town of Luang Prabang. Known for its night market and temples, it is also popular for its proximity to many natural spectacles, reserves, and nature-focused activities. One of my personal favourites is the Bear Sanctuary, where Moon bears are relocated after being saved from illegal trade, given this beautiful sanctuary to be protected while playing, scavenging for hidden food, and resting peacefully among its structures, all the while rehabilitating and releasing some adapted specimens!
About 60% of Laotian land is covered by jungles, tall, ancient trees home to many animals, from insects and reptiles to mammals such as these endangered bears. This makes Laos one of the most rainforest-rich countries in Southeast Asia, a fact that is well supported by the cultural importance and relationship between man and nature, which has been present for 86.000 years.
I’ve talked in the past about how vibrant the country is, and if I had to pick one color to represent it, it would definitely be green. In fact, I can’t remember a day in the country where nature, or a reference to nature, wasn’t at the centre of daily life.
Kuang Si Waterfalls, Luang Prabang - Laos
Kuang Si Waterfalls, Luang Prabang - Laos
Thung Nham, Ninh Binh - Vietnam
I kept walking, and eventually, the rippling sound of the river and of the pools transformed into the roar of the waterfall. Hidden between some small trees and crowned by bushes, it liked to spray visitors with pleasant mist, which made the companions I was with and me laugh on a few occasions. This is one of few pictures I took in this location, It was beautifull, evverything I came there to see, and a moment of achievement was felt. After all, I had walked alot, seen alot, thought alot, and this felt like a good culmination of the excursion.
It was a beautiful scenery, but just across a bridge was a shaded path. It wasn’t scary nor inviting, just… there. This is when the spirit of adventure comes back; my friend and I approached the path, which seemed abandoned. We saw a very ambiguous sign that said something in the realm of “service road,” but, excused by the ambiguity of the path the sign was referring to, we decided to push forward. We climbed in our surprisingly adept flip-flops, through branches and a flooded dirt path, not knowing where we were headed. It was exhilarating, exploring without knowing the destination, somewhere you aren’t sure if you are supposed to be, being mindful only about your safety. Eventually we were surprised by something neither of us had ever seen: the top of a waterfall.
What you see here turns out to be just 1/3 of the full 60m waterfall.
This mystical, calm place, with chairs, viewpoints, and flowing water disappearing at the edge into the sky, was such a pleasant experience for me that I decided to share it only through this story, leaving its images to your imagination or your spirit of adventure.
…It was only an hour later that we found the paved staircase :P
Both connecting and separating land and sky are the trees, large and strong, growing tall and covering most of the sky with huge spreading branches, laying a canopy of bright and deep green leaves that shade from the sun and offer protection from the rain.
The Banyan tree (here shown) is common in this part of the world. Its root-like trunk is formed since its birth, as its seeds sprout in crevices of a mature tree, growing long roots outside its trunk to reach the ground; over time, the Banyan grows so large it completely engulfs and replaces the original tree, keeping such an interesting shape that appears as if its branches grew both towards the sky and towards the ground.
This particular tree is about 300 years old and still holding strong, located near a pool of waterfalls in Kuang Si; it particularly attracted me for its shape, color, and calming presence.
As a photographic exercise, I left here two pictures, similarly edited, with the left being more cropped than the right. You will notice a big difference between the two. On the left, more detail is shown: the texture of the trunk, the forking of the branches, and the shade of the leaves. On the right, the tree appears more majestic, in its full glory, tall and strong, with more attention to the leaves, vibrant and brighter as they are irradiated by the sun. It’s interesting to think about the different emotions these two pictures evoke, simply by deciding how close to be to the subject.
Following the trees, up a hill, I reached a series of pools; I could tell a waterfall was near, but for now I was content. Water was coming in from many directions, slopes of different heights converging in the centre where I stood, before flowing around rocks and trees to create new pools and continue this way. I must admit, I was expecting to see this scenery, though, in all the popular photos you often see bright blue pools instead of green and brown. It just so happened that the day before I arrived, a large downpour had occurred, leaving the waterfalls rich in earth and the current strong. This did not deter me, of course, from swimming in it. It was actually quite nice being in the water on my own or with a few other daring people, as the current was quite strong and safety was not much of a concern, leaving you on a long slide down to the valley if you weren’t careful or grabbed onto a branch. Still, the water was a refreshing moment, washing the heat away from me, and the feeling of swimming for my life against the current was a thrill. Admittedly, I tasted firsthand the earth within the water, and while this made me worry for a few minutes that I had just drunk my way into a week of hospitalization due to gastrointestinal issues, I in fact did not die :). Instead, that taste, the water, the fresh air, and the trees above me made me feel extremely connected to nature. Not in a social media nor in a hippie kind of way, but in a way that I hadn’t felt since I played in the fields or creeks as a kid.
Kuang Si Waterfalls, Luang Prabang - Laos