What would the suburbs of the City of Elephants be without a few elephant carvings for sale? The dirt road to the Kwang Xi Waterfall was lined with small shops selling snacks and handcrafts like this carving.

We didn't buy any of these decorative Laotian canoes, but they made a good photo all lined up.

If these things could make noise, I am convinced it would be the most torturous sound you can imagine.

Not sure what these little red faced characters do, but I'm sure it's something.

For me it was too hard to resist trying on one of these cone shaped woven hats worn by the farmers in Laos. I didn't buy one though... Photo by Steve Iams.

After a short hike, we came upon the Kwang Xi Waterfall.

The falls cascaded down from from the hills above us and ended in the turquoise pool at our feet. In an attempt to get it all in the frame, I put together this panoramic shot (click here for a close up view of the waterfalls).

Steve and I decided to hike up the narrow trail to the top of the falls. As we climbed upwards, we walked by these mossy logs clinging to the side of the hill.

There was a convenient stream running down the trail that Steve used to wash the sand and gravel off his feet.

This leaf was tenaciously clinging to the smooth limestone wall of the waterfalls.

This section of the falls seemed to have several fallen logs that were in the process of being absorbed by the rushing water (click here for a close up view of the waterfalls).

Once we got to the overlook beside the main waterfall, it seemed like a good time for a photo.

The view from the overlook was great, you could see the torrent of water crashing into the swirling pool below (click here for a close up view of this photo).

From our vantage point above the falls, we were able to look out over the valley.

Once we got back to the bottom of the falls, we snapped a few last photos before heading back to meet our tuk tuk driver and go back to Luang Prabang.

Photo by Steve Iams.

Steve made friends with these ladies selling chips outside the entrance to the Kwang Xi Waterfall. They even offered us a taste of the sour berries or beans that you can see on their table.

After the sour beans, we needed something sweet to get rid of the taste. Steve bought this can of Laotian soda that tasted kind of strange, but was actually pretty good.