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019 - Laos - Luang Prabang
05/16/08 - 05/24/08
A slice of Indochina
Luang Prabang offers postcard views of the Mekong River and its surrounding mountains. The dozens of temples scattered about the city and constant monk sightings, especially during the morning alms hours, are a testament to how prominent Buddhism is within the culture. The Laotian people are genuinely friendly and 'saba di' greetings are gauranteed while walking around town. Both of us agreed that this was an amazing country to visit, albeit a little (pleasantly) underdeveloped, and more worthy of the title 'Land of a Thousand Smiles' than Thailand.
One of the most talked about ways of getting to Luang Prabang (especially on the cheap) is to take a slow boat from the Thai/Lao border town of Huay Xai southeast along the Mekong River all the way into Luang Prabang. The journey itself can be pretty intimidating and we heard tales of sitting cramped on hard wooden benches with other toursits for two consecutive 10 hour days in sub-standard conditions. Not to mention the horror stories we heard about the speed boat journeys. Luckily, our trip was awesome! We met an amazing group of travelers
and enjoyed breathtaking scenery throughout the two day boat trip. Another example of how important it is to appreciate the journey as much as the destination!
After about 7 hours on the boat the first day, we stopped at Pak Peng for the night. This sleepy town serves as the halfway point of most journeys to Luang Prabang and people only stay for one night. The next day was another 8 hours on the boat before arriving at Luang Prabang. That night we met up with all our friends from the boat and did some shopping at the night market before heading to the bar for some drinks. It was great getting to get to know these travelers and we forged some good friendships. Unfortunately, Luang Prabang (maybe all of Laos?) has an 11:30 PM curfew for the bars so we were kicked out earlier than we would have liked. Many of the other kids went bowling (apparently that's still open) while Hannah and I called it an early night.
Luang Prabang also offers some great trekking and village tribe visits for tourists. Fortunately, and unlike Thailand, this industry is more regulated towards maintaing a sustainable environment. We
found a company that offers 'Fair Treks' that promote eco-sustainability and also shares its profit with local villages. Our adventure was awesome and included two days of trekking (hiking) through lush jungles and fields, an overnight stay at a local village, a stay at a posh resort, and an elephant ride. For the full story click
here.
On one of the days we took a slow boat up the Mekong to visit the Pak Ou caves. These were once used as a place of worship for the river spirits, but are now used as a ceremonial site housing thousands of Buddha images. On the way to the caves we also stopped by a small village that is known as 'Whiskey Village'. This is where they make the majority of the Lao Lao whiskey and rice wine and we got to test a couple of variations. It wasn't as bad as some of the Lao Lao I've had but still falls short of a good Scotch!
That night we decided to get a massage at the Lao Red Cross (the proceeds from the massage benefit the organization). Before the massage we were able to utilize their sauna/steam room. This
was a tiny box of room that was so filled with excrutiating hot steam that you couldn't see your own feet. I wasn't able to walk in without tripping over someone, almost burning my foot on the steam maker, and hitting the back wall. The massage wasn't much better. The room was filled with termites that were fluttering around and our masseuses were constantly grabbing them and pushing them aside. Hannah screamed at least a couple of time as termites went where they shouldn't go! This was actually my first massage ever and, according to Hannah, not a very good one. Oh well, we'll have to go back to Bali for a traditional Balinese treatment!
As part of our pampering we treated ourselves to the best restaurant in town, L'Elephant. The service was top notch and the food exquisite: French cuisine fused with local Lao ingredients. This was the most we've ever spent on dinner since starting our trip (over $70!) but was well worth it! And hey, it was still cheaper than a Saturday night in San Diego!
Time to leave Laos and Luang Prabang and pursue a (heavy) dose of Angkor temples in Cambodia. Next stop,
Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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karen walker ryan
non-member comment
I can't tell you how much I look fwd to my Hannah/Nico fix...your lives will always be rich because you embrace it all w/ such gusto. Old people should pay to keep you traveling so we can have our vicarious thrills! (too bad I'm not old...:) )