Tom has me up early enough so that we can eat breakfast at a local bakery & be ready to leave by 9am for a half day excursion to a local waterfall.
I'm only mildly interested in the waterfall, but what I am very interested in, that is also located in the same place is a bear sanctuary!
We are picked up just after 9am & hop into a mini van with other tourists. We're sitting across from a girl called Nicole, who is from the states. Just like us, she quit her job & is now travelling the world.
The 1 hour drive to the Kuangsi Waterfall park goes by really quickly. Nicole & I hit it off & spend the whole drive chatting. Once at the car park, we are told to be back by 12.30pm, which gives us more than 2 hours to explore the waterfall & bear rescue.
As soon as you walk into the park, there is the bear rescue with the first enclosure.
The first enclosure had 4 large moon bears in it. The one closest to us, was lying on top of a platform & then got up & started to make his way down to the ground. One of his front legs ended in a stump, which we assume was from a trap. This broke my heart a little bit.
He seemed to be able to move around well enough within the enclosure. Climbing up & down didn't seem to be a problem.
The enclosure looked great! There was lot's of environmental enrichment in the forms of wooden platforms, hammocks, balls & tyres. There was lots of space, trees for shade & a small stream from the nearby waterfall that ran through it.
The 2nd enclosure had an indoor area with a glass window & a large outdoor enclosure. The bears in here were a lot smaller & there was a lot more here. I estimated 10 bears shared this large space.
I couldn't see any obvious injuries, such as an amputated limb. These bears were a lot more active & were chasing each other playfully.
They reminded me of puppies, the way they chased each other. It was nice to see them here happy after being rescued from what I'm sure would have been terrible lives.
There was a binder next to the glass divider with before & after photos of the bears.
The photos from before they were rescued & brought here are terrible in every way. The bear's are in tiny cages, they are extremely emaciated, have no fur, are covered in bodily excrement's & you can see the fear & depression in their eyes.
It's hard to believe they are the same bears in the after photos & playing in the enclosures. It's a real tear jerker to see the transformation. These bears are a healthy weight with thick, glossy fur. They are playful & so full of energy, health & radiating a will to live. Despite the terrible abuse they have suffered.
The centre also has an educational purpose & displays the traps used & the cages that the bears are kept in. To experience the bears every day hell, the small cages are kept open & sign's encourage people to crawl inside & gain a better perspective.
Before we head on through the park to see the waterfall, we stop by at their shop to buy a shirt for me. The money spent goes towards the bears here. I'm glad we came & really surprised that I didn't know about it! Even Nicole said she had no idea this place was here & just came to see the water falls.
Information copied directly from the Free The Bears website - I Highly recommend having a look at the website for yourself & signing up for their free email newsletter. What an amazing achievement this charitable organisation is!
https://freethebears.org
The Free the Bears Fund is an Australian charitable wildlife-protection organisation. It was started by Mary Hutton, after she watched a documentary in 1993 on bears kept in small cages for bile farming. The fund was registered as a not-for-profit charity on 23 March 1995.
I'm really inspired by this centres amazing work. When we get home, I want to organise a fundraiser to help them out.
I'm only mildly interested in the waterfall, but what I am very interested in, that is also located in the same place is a bear sanctuary!
We are picked up just after 9am & hop into a mini van with other tourists. We're sitting across from a girl called Nicole, who is from the states. Just like us, she quit her job & is now travelling the world.
The 1 hour drive to the Kuangsi Waterfall park goes by really quickly. Nicole & I hit it off & spend the whole drive chatting. Once at the car park, we are told to be back by 12.30pm, which gives us more than 2 hours to explore the waterfall & bear rescue.
As soon as you walk into the park, there is the bear rescue with the first enclosure.
The first enclosure had 4 large moon bears in it. The one closest to us, was lying on top of a platform & then got up & started to make his way down to the ground. One of his front legs ended in a stump, which we assume was from a trap. This broke my heart a little bit.
He seemed to be able to move around well enough within the enclosure. Climbing up & down didn't seem to be a problem.
The enclosure looked great! There was lot's of environmental enrichment in the forms of wooden platforms, hammocks, balls & tyres. There was lots of space, trees for shade & a small stream from the nearby waterfall that ran through it.
The 2nd enclosure had an indoor area with a glass window & a large outdoor enclosure. The bears in here were a lot smaller & there was a lot more here. I estimated 10 bears shared this large space.
I couldn't see any obvious injuries, such as an amputated limb. These bears were a lot more active & were chasing each other playfully.
They reminded me of puppies, the way they chased each other. It was nice to see them here happy after being rescued from what I'm sure would have been terrible lives.
There was a binder next to the glass divider with before & after photos of the bears.
The photos from before they were rescued & brought here are terrible in every way. The bear's are in tiny cages, they are extremely emaciated, have no fur, are covered in bodily excrement's & you can see the fear & depression in their eyes.
It's hard to believe they are the same bears in the after photos & playing in the enclosures. It's a real tear jerker to see the transformation. These bears are a healthy weight with thick, glossy fur. They are playful & so full of energy, health & radiating a will to live. Despite the terrible abuse they have suffered.
The centre also has an educational purpose & displays the traps used & the cages that the bears are kept in. To experience the bears every day hell, the small cages are kept open & sign's encourage people to crawl inside & gain a better perspective.
Before we head on through the park to see the waterfall, we stop by at their shop to buy a shirt for me. The money spent goes towards the bears here. I'm glad we came & really surprised that I didn't know about it! Even Nicole said she had no idea this place was here & just came to see the water falls.
Information copied directly from the Free The Bears website - I Highly recommend having a look at the website for yourself & signing up for their free email newsletter. What an amazing achievement this charitable organisation is!
https://freethebears.org
The Free the Bears Fund is an Australian charitable wildlife-protection organisation. It was started by Mary Hutton, after she watched a documentary in 1993 on bears kept in small cages for bile farming. The fund was registered as a not-for-profit charity on 23 March 1995.
Since then, Free the Bears has provided life long care to over 500 rescued bears. The Sun Bear, Moon Bear & Sloth Bear are 3 of the world's least understood & most endangered bear species.
Free the Bears works with communities, schools and organisations across Asia to change attitudes and raise awareness of the wildlife trade. We work with universities and other institutions who conduct critical research. We also work with government, law enforcement agencies and other charities, to create and implement a framework to combat wildlife traders.
Despite each country facing a unique set of challenges and issues to overcome, we will continually strive to achieve our mission of protecting, preserving and enriching the lives of bears throughout the world. Free the Bears.
Free the Bears works with communities, schools and organisations across Asia to change attitudes and raise awareness of the wildlife trade. We work with universities and other institutions who conduct critical research. We also work with government, law enforcement agencies and other charities, to create and implement a framework to combat wildlife traders.
Despite each country facing a unique set of challenges and issues to overcome, we will continually strive to achieve our mission of protecting, preserving and enriching the lives of bears throughout the world. Free the Bears.
I'm really inspired by this centres amazing work. When we get home, I want to organise a fundraiser to help them out.
In 23 years of operation, 900 bears have been rescued & there are plans in action to rescue & house many many more. The dream is that by 2020 there will be an end to bear bile farming in Vietnam & Laos. It has been illegal in Vietnam since 1992, with more restrictions enforced in 2005, however the trade still exists illegally. It is legal in Laos & still legal in China which is where the demand comes from. A lot of the bear bile farms are in the northern provinces of Laos and are owned & operated by ethnic Chinese communities.
Laos is known to have low government restrictions & weak law enforcement when it comes to animal rights issues.
I still can't fathom that we are nearing the end of 2018 & that there are still Bear bile collecting farms that are imprisoning & torturing these animals for the purpose of Chinese traditional medicine.
The excuse of traditional medicine makes me so angry, it should no longer be a reason for the killing of any creature, whether that be tiger, bear, rhino or elephant. Enough is enough! Sadly, I fear that in our lifetime we will see more animals become extinct than in any other point in time.
The waterfalls were actually really really nice! Tom & I love nothing more than being out in nature, exercising & admiring natural beauty. We've seen a lot of really special waterfalls in our trip already & it takes a lot for us to be amazed. But this waterfall was quite special!
The colour of the water was so incredibly, unbelievably blue.
There was several pools where you could swim & a track going up the side of the waterfall to the top.
We spent a really nice morning walking around the waterfall. Nicole, Tom & I only just made it back to the van in time! If we had made our own way there, I think we would of been there for hours exploring the waterfall & watching the bears.
The drive back to Luang Prabang went by in sleepy silence & when we arrived Tom & I asked Nicole to have lunch with us down by the river. She's a really cool chick & we're both really happy that we met her & we've made plans to see her next year in Australia!
After lunch, we said goodbye to Nicole who had a flight to catch later that day & we went to The Traditional Arts & Ethnology Centre (TAEC).
The centre educates, supports & preserves the culture & heritage of Laos. It's 6.49 million people are split into 4 main ethnolinguistic groups, with over 100 ethnic groups & sub groups.
We learnt some of the basic cultural differences about the 4 main groups. The Austroasiatic, Hmong-Yao, Tai-Kadai & the Sino Tibetan.
The museum was small, but interesting enough. A common problem here & all over the world is how these groups retain independence in a modern, ever changing world. Socio economic & political situations constantly change which also inheritantly changes the way these ethnic groups live.
There is also a more natural blurring & evolution of ethnic group classification from borrowing between groups & migration to more fertile areas.
We only spent about 20 minutes here & there was only 3 rooms for displays & information. Tom didn't think it was worth the entry fee. However we both agree that visiting places like this museum is important for the continued effort to support & preserve the multi ethnic heritage of Laos.
After this we walked to the UXO Museum, which Tom will write about in another blog.
Our last night in Luang Prabang is spent at the night market at an amazing vegetarian buffet! 15,000 kip for a large bowl. We also had desert afterwards & a few beers tonight.
The excuse of traditional medicine makes me so angry, it should no longer be a reason for the killing of any creature, whether that be tiger, bear, rhino or elephant. Enough is enough! Sadly, I fear that in our lifetime we will see more animals become extinct than in any other point in time.
The waterfalls were actually really really nice! Tom & I love nothing more than being out in nature, exercising & admiring natural beauty. We've seen a lot of really special waterfalls in our trip already & it takes a lot for us to be amazed. But this waterfall was quite special!
The colour of the water was so incredibly, unbelievably blue.
There was several pools where you could swim & a track going up the side of the waterfall to the top.
We spent a really nice morning walking around the waterfall. Nicole, Tom & I only just made it back to the van in time! If we had made our own way there, I think we would of been there for hours exploring the waterfall & watching the bears.
The drive back to Luang Prabang went by in sleepy silence & when we arrived Tom & I asked Nicole to have lunch with us down by the river. She's a really cool chick & we're both really happy that we met her & we've made plans to see her next year in Australia!
After lunch, we said goodbye to Nicole who had a flight to catch later that day & we went to The Traditional Arts & Ethnology Centre (TAEC).
The centre educates, supports & preserves the culture & heritage of Laos. It's 6.49 million people are split into 4 main ethnolinguistic groups, with over 100 ethnic groups & sub groups.
We learnt some of the basic cultural differences about the 4 main groups. The Austroasiatic, Hmong-Yao, Tai-Kadai & the Sino Tibetan.
The museum was small, but interesting enough. A common problem here & all over the world is how these groups retain independence in a modern, ever changing world. Socio economic & political situations constantly change which also inheritantly changes the way these ethnic groups live.
There is also a more natural blurring & evolution of ethnic group classification from borrowing between groups & migration to more fertile areas.
We only spent about 20 minutes here & there was only 3 rooms for displays & information. Tom didn't think it was worth the entry fee. However we both agree that visiting places like this museum is important for the continued effort to support & preserve the multi ethnic heritage of Laos.
After this we walked to the UXO Museum, which Tom will write about in another blog.
Our last night in Luang Prabang is spent at the night market at an amazing vegetarian buffet! 15,000 kip for a large bowl. We also had desert afterwards & a few beers tonight.
Just before we left for the night market, I had a look on FB & was both shocked & devastated to learn that a friend of ours had died the previous day. He was someone who we had known for a few years, a house sitting client of mine who owned 2 beautiful pugs that we looked after frequently.
He had died at Noosa beach while taking a late afternoon dip in the waves.
This really hit home for me & I cried a lot that afternoon from grief, drunk my beer in his memory, held Tom close & messaged my loved ones.
We never know when it will be our turn. This is just another reminder how important it is to live your life, to love your life & to realise that every second is a gift.
- Alli
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