Luang Phrabang

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After the hectic journey to get to Laos and the longggg boat ride down the Mekong, our first day in the old capital was designated R&R to catch up on sleep and the backlog of washing that seems to accumulate after a while on the road. We got our Lao bearings by wandering around the old city, scoping out the cost of food and water in the market which is always the first thing when arriving in a new country. Although Laos is a poor country, we were surprised to find that things were more expensive than in its richer cousin Thailand. This seemed strange at first but it had a sense of familiarity to it- the same was true of India and its poorer northern neighbour Nepal because competitively little is produced locally and many things have to be imported.

We also looked around and tried to find cheaper accommodation but soon realised that this wasn't going to happen and that we'd actually stumbled onto a room with a modest price tag for the area so decided to stick with it. The food in Laos is a far cry from Thailand, both in taste and in cost but that night we feasted on a fairly tasty barbecued chicken kebab with sticky rice. We also tried the country's famous beer- Beer Laos which is an enjoyable Lager costing about 70p for a big bottle.

The next day we reverted back to sight seeing throughout the old city. Laos has been developed with considerable French influence over the years, being a former French colony due to its favourable proximity next to the Chinese border. Luang Phrabang is a world heritage site and sits on a dagger shaped peninsula where another large river meets the Mekong, surrounded by tropical forest covered mountains. The buildings are a nice blend of French and Chinese architecture which works well and baguette sellers are all around the city which adds to the French ambience, although unfortunately they don't have the big supply of French red wine that we were hoping for.

We had a look at the former royal palace which is really quite basic and unspectacular, especially in comparison to Thailand, but it does show how poor the country has been over the centuries. Next we strolled around the many temples that are spread throughout the city and watched the numerous monks in bright orange robes go about their daily routine. The most amusing thing about these religious fellows is that most walk around with umbrellas up! This sight features in much of the artwork we saw for saw in the markets.

Finally, we climbed 300 or so steps up a hill in the middle of the city to watch the sun set over the mountains and rivers- pretty spectacular. However, the crowds that formed at his popular site made seeing the vista a little challenging at times, but worth I none-the-less. That evening we decided to try the local whisky (called Lao Lao) which is distilled from rice and is totally clear. At £1.50 for a big bottle and at 40% proof, it is not surprisingly completely rough and only really works with coke.

Our third day was intended as a visit to a waterfall but instead I ended up spending the day in bed with food poisoning. It was the unfortunate combination of the evil anti-malarial tablets which have the side effect of killing the good bacteria in your stomach, and the 10,000 kip buffet from the previous night. Needless to say it was a thoroughly unpleasant experience which I would rather not repeat so from now on we only eat food that has been cooked fresh in front of us. At least I had Stacey to look after me :-)

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