Spiritual Luang Prabang

---

Luang Prabang is a very spiritual town. If you like peace, buddist temples and quant little shops near the Mekong River this is a great town for you. The bars are great too, you can find 2 for 1 drinks for $2. The local whisky tastes a bit strange but I still got plenty buzzed when I finished my 2 drinks. Beer Lao is quite good. Bars, however, shut down at 11PM. Many guesthouses shut down at 11:30 - When I returned back at my guesthouse at midnight I had to ring the bell and the owner came out in his underwear- he was clearly was sound asleep and not happy to be awake. Other than that my guesthouse, called Cold River, was pretty decent, 80,000 Kip for a view of the river, hot shower, clean bathroom.

I somehow lost my pictures from the Kuang Si waterfall tour. Here's a link to someone else's pictures

http://www.asiaexplorers.com/laos/kuangsi-waterfall.htm

It was a great tour to do and it only a half day. I did it on a hot afternoon making jumping in the water very refreshing. Afterwards they take you to a monk villiage and all the village children try to sell you tourist crap by singing "5000 you buy". Wait until you get to the other end of the villiage the prices drop to 1000-2000 Kip.

After getting to Luang Probang I was pretty tired of land travel. After taking the overnight train from Bangkok to Vientianne, bus from Vientiene to Vang Vienne, bus from Vang Vienne to Luang Probang I wanted to jet back to thailand. The airport in Luang Probang is very convenient especially considering that there is essentially very little security check. My luggage was run through the x-ray with 2 full water bottles, a laptop, even my river and pocket knife and no issues. On the flight the cockpit door was not even locked.

I loved Laos, and I guess the rest of the world does too. Everything there is pretty safe, nobody worries about terrorists or criminals etc. The people there are very trustworthy and moral. I guess buddist culture there really does foster some sort of peace. The people are poor yet they seem fairly content. It is still a mystery to me why people so poor are so content yet here in America many people have so much yet are not content.

---

Photos

View from top of Canopy
Zip line tour makes for great views

View from top of Canopy
Highly recommend the zip line tour at Tad Sae waterfall. The views and thrills are just amazing.

Zip Line
This is must do - the thrill and views are amazing. See video!

Tour Group
Green Discovery Tours from Luang Prabang has great tours and are eco friendly. The guides and lunch are excellent.

Local Villager
"Saibaidee" means hello in Lao. Say this and you will get smiles from the local people.

Leaving Laos
Luang Prabang to Bangkok. 16 hour train, 6 hour bus, and another 8 hour bus or take an hour and a half flight. I did both- but do plane one way and buses and trains the other.