Advertisement
Published: October 8th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Luang Prabang
((c) http://www.sxc.hu/) Brochure Text Day 6-8 Luang Prabang: Located at the confluence of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers, Luang Prabang is without a doubt the most charming of cities in Laos. Discover Laos’ Buddhist and architectural heritage on a walking tour of some of the most impressive of Luang Prabang’s 32 temples including Vat Vixoun, Vat Sene, and Vat Xiengthong. Eat a picnic on Phousi Hill and watch the sun set over the horizon or rise at dawn to watch the monks walk through the city collecting offerings of food from the locals. Make sure to find the time to browse the many textile galleries and relax in the town’s many small cafés. During our stay, we take a guided visit of the Royal Palace and a half-day trip out to the stunning Kuang Sii waterfalls. Sunday 7th Dragged out of deep sleep. Shower, breakfast (more white bread, give eggs a miss, force down the fruit!). Into Tuk-Tuk to the Royal Palace. Sylam is late, but has plenty of information for us when we get there. After putting away bags/cameras and removing shoes again, Sylam gives us a tour of the palace - within 45 minutes desperately want water so
don't care any more but we continue round. Have a shock at end when think a postcard is $3 - but have just got confused by the number of 0's involved and is 30cents!
Finally, some water, then we find the money exchange and head in for a look round the shops/markets plus some more internet time! Cassandra & I then, having failed to find the German bakery, head to the (Ancient Hotel) for a great piece of cake (French influence!), sandwiches are not ready in time. We then negotiate with Tuk-Tuk - we know that 25,000 Kip is too much but it's the best we do...
Back for the Seongtaw to the waterfalls. At the falls we first see the rescued bears, although the tiger is out of view! The falls are pretty impressive - and Kym says is a lot more water than last time she was here! We then head for the swimming area - watching others then decide to jump in by rope (for reasons of modesty women should wear shorts/t-shirt and men non revealing shorts)... That didn't quite work but was fun! See Cassandra jump in from the falls so have a go
at that, as does Kym and John... And Cassandra risks her camera into the water!
Soaking wet, we head back to the hotel for a shower, then head in for the night market, back to the hotel where we meet to catch a tuk-tuk to Lao Lao Garden, the BBQ place we'd missed yesterday! That was fun - but swelteringly hot. Chips, onions rings, cocktails (mine included Lao Lao and was known as a Pink Gay!), and then the tables were converted to BBQs where soup was made round the edges and buffalo, pork and chicken were cooked in the centre. A couple of hours later, fully stuffed, Kym Cassandra and I head for the internet café until it closes at 10.3pm and head out into the pouring rain where we get a good price for a tuk-tuk and crash into bed.
Tuesday 9th Wake up with a really sore throat, but not missing the elephant ride we have booked for today! Try some 'instant cereal' Cassandra is abandoning (nice, and a change from bread!), more fruit, and my boiled eggs arrive just as I'm heading off to the trek jeep! Take them with me! One bumpy jeep
ride later, arrive at the elephant camp. Ride will be in 40 minutes so we go to see the baby elephant, pet it, feed it, and our guide points out the Guava and Grapfruit trees!
Back past the kittens and down to the river long-boat. We all get in which we all find rather alarming as it's so low in the water! Across the river, out, through a paddy field (attacked by fireants), and to the elephant enclosure. These elephants I think are retired from logging (they live to 85). We get on 2x2 and head off into the jungle - slow lolloping pace but pretty comfortable. Try and take photos of each other as there's no official photo! I'll get the ones of me by email sometime! All too soon (after getting stuck by some nasty creature), we're back at the camp and off the elephants. We get back in the long boat and then find ourselves heading upstream for 15 terrifying minutes to the waterfalls where we have another chance to get wet before heading back down-river (soaked through!)... Much faster, then another Laotian lunch, back to the jeep and the guesthouse.
Here, have a shower,
I try and sort, do some more blogging (am going to have to buy another mini-SD-adaptor as can't find it!) and try and rest a bit before heading out to the internet café, shops and the restaurant Kym has booked named Tamarind. To get the tuk-tuk driver to understand where am going end up at Royal Palace - oh well, close enough! Decide to go to internet café first then realise don't have mini-SD purchased... Oh well, get the piccies up. Ricky & Lynn soon join and back up their photos on CD - was going to do the same but spent too long on other things! 715 headed to Tamarind - took a while to find but looked nice when arrived there! We were to be served a traditional Laotian meal, plus own drinks. Tried a banana, coconut milk and cinnamon smoothie - nice. Main meal was sticky rice (roll it in hands to a ball, make a dipper shape and scoop up the other ingredients - and it's bad etiquette to leave grains of rice stuck to the other food), Mekong fish, pork, greens, green soup, lime/courgette type dish, beansprout salad and dips. A lot of it was
heavy on the coriander but the other bits were enjoyable! I was feeling quite urgh by this point (after questioning from others about how feel ill as malaria/dengue, etc can all start with 'flu-like symptoms') - John, who is a Dr seems to carry all kinds with him and gave me some Co-Codemol and Diclofenac Sodium which helped too! Then time for pudding - selection of fruits - Guava was hard and nasty, but pineapple, mango, etc were nice - including the dragon fruit (pink, spiky and nice on the outside; white and speckled and a bit nothing-y on the inside) - but the best bit was sticky purple rice with a Christmas Pudding type sauce! Tamarind is part of a group of shops in Luang Prabang (along with OckPok and the elephant company we used, and others) which looks to ensure that you get a 'true' Laotian experience, from which the locals also benefit. Finished by 9.45, head back through night market which is packing up because it's starting to rain, look again at the mini-SD cards and then realise that some of the SD-card readers also take mini-SD so decide when next in internet café will give mine
a try! 4 of us catch a tuk-tuk and I pack away and crash. Cassandra comes in about 10.30 having bought a load of scarves in the market, and spent hours on the internet trying to re-arrange her future travels! Pass out again!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.381s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 21; qc: 88; dbt: 0.1505s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb