Travel Inspiration: Waterfalls

I don't go chasing waterfalls, but I somehow always manage to end up at one during my adventures. (I hope you caught that crazy, sexy, cool 90's reference)

I'm always this happy around waterfalls

To get you over the end of the weekend blues here is a short list of some of my favorite waterfalls in Southeast Asia. Hopefully they will inspire your next holiday or at least your next daydream...

Kawasan Falls, Cebu Island, Philippines

#nofilter

I saw a picture on Instagram of Kawasan and I knew I had to go there. I booked my entire trip to the Philippines based off of that one picture and it did not disappoint. Words and pictures can't do this place justice, there is just something magical about that blue water.

Hop on the raft and float through the falls

I'm sure you can hire a car to take you there but why do that when you could jump off cliffs and swim through a canyon to get there? We chose the latter and booked a tour through Cyan Adventures, highly recommended, it turned the whole experience into one epic adventure.

Tad Sae & Kuang Si, Luang Prabang, Laos

I visited Tad Sae in 2011 and being the adventurous newbie I chose to ride a mountain bike out to the waterfalls, all 16 kilometers. Learn from my mistake and hop in a tuk-tuk. Most street corners will have drivers offering to take you to both waterfalls.

The many pools of Tad Sae

Tad Sae is a place you could spend all day with a big 'pool' to swim in. I recommend packing a lunch and camping out for the day. It can get a bit noisy and crowded with local kids but watching them dive off rocks was all part of the fun.

Show off

I visited Kuang Si more recently and worked equally as hard to get there, we drove the 30kms on a motorbike. (Correction, I drove the 30kms with a 6 foot something Aussie on the back of the moto.) I wouldn't recommend driving there, it's quiet boring and you can probably get there for cheaper in a shared tuk-tuk.

The pools at Kuang Si

Kuang Si is a beautiful trail of small waterfalls. You can pick and choose one to swim in, although the water can be quiet chilly. While Kuang Si is stunning to look at and is well maintained I found it my least favorite place to go swimming. The photo at the beginning of this post is of the main falls at Kuang Si, no swimming in that bad boy *sigh*

Mo Paeng, Pai, Thailand

A friend and I rented a motorbike to drive out to the falls and I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable motorbike drives I've had in all of SE Asia. Just hills of green everywhere you look and not another motorbike in sight.

Also, driving on the wrong side of the road

It's a short walk from the parking lot to the falls, where you have to do some mild rock climbing to get to the main swimming pool.

View from the top of the waterfall

Some of the rocks are covered with water and algae making them quiet slippery. I happened to slip and fall not once but twice. I tried to ease my pain by sitting in the pool at the top of the falls and taking in the view of the valley below. The icy cold water was actually refreshing, but my arm was in some serious pain so we headed to the hospital. I didn't get the chance to explore the waterfall as much as I wanted to but it's a big must if you're spending a few days in Pai.

Thai hospital, check!

Good news, it wasn't broken but I got a sweet sling to wear and some nice pain meds.

London, Baby

'ello London!

If you're looking for a post about the hidden gems of London this is not it. I packed all the touristy bits into a 2 day London extravaganza. Maybe you've seen that episode of Friends, the one where they all go to London (minus Phoebe), well, I was Joey.

Or 'the tube' as the cool kids say

While London is  massive city seeing all the tourist sights within 2 days was a breeze. Here's a run down of how I saw (almost) all the sights in 2 days.

Day 1
Following too many cups of coffee, we took the tube from Hampstead to Green Park. At this point I was skipping through the park as I got my first glimpse of Buckingham Palace.

I'd like to stop here and thank the London Police for being the friendliest bunch of police officers. We got to Buckingham Palace shortly before the changing of the guards meaning it was getting VERY crowded. A police officer reminded me to keep my bag in front of me as pickpockets are common. But even more fantastic were the two police officers that took epic pictures with me. It was a general win for the city of London that day.

Once at Buckingham Palace we were walking distance to everything. We took a path from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square then onto Westminster Abbey. We opted not to go into Westminster Abbey as it was a little too expensive. *Pro tip: you can get in free when you attend Mass*

From Westminster Abbey you can walk to the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Big Ben was the big attraction for me and we got there just in time to hear the bell ring at noon. The view from Westminster Bridge is everything. The Thames, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and the city of London it's all there. And if you don't mind making a fool of yourself you can find the perfect angle on the bridge to take pictures with Big Ben. I went with the "somebody to lean on" pose.

Gangsta Lean on Big Ben

At this point in my London Tour Extravaganza we needed lunch. We slowly worked our way to Chinatown by way of Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square. Post lunch coma we headed to Piccadilly Circus and did a little browsing in the nearby shops. After a glass of bubbly at a shop that shall remain nameless, I was ready to take on the rest of London. We made our way back to the Thames and crossed over the Millennium Bridge, taking us by the Tate Modern, the Globe Theater and the London Bridge.

Those London Views 

For our mid afternoon snack we stopped by the Borough Market, located in a rebuilt part of South London. The market has literally everything from apple juice to zebra meat. We stuck to brownies and pretzels.

Isn't she lovely? 

We were almost finished with our marathon loop of London as we marched on to Tower Bridge. We crossed Tower Bridge just before sunset so we marveled at the Tower of London while we waited for the sun to set. I highly recommend getting a glimpse of Tower Bridge at night, it really is magnificent.

Day 2
We brunched and we brunched hard. There's really not too much you can or want to do after a booze filled brunch but we did manage to wander around Soho and Shoreditch. Shoreditch is definitely on my list for my next visit to London.

Street Art in Shoreditch

After a rest and change of shoes we continued on to Abbey Road and Oxford Street. Even though I love shopping and the Beatles, Abbey Road and Oxford Street were so overrun with people that they were difficult to enjoy.

Cheerio for now

I was pleasantly surprised by how much of London I could see in just two days. If you've only got a couple days seeing don't be overwhelmed by the size of the city it is a manageable and quite friendly city. Cheers x