I HEART MONKS!!!

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For such a small city Luang Prabang is full of things to do. We started our exploring there by renting bikes and riding around through the streets and along the the waterfronts. There are actually two waterfronts there because it is where the Mekong and another small river meet.

As you can tell by my title, the monks in Luang Prabang really stood out. They are roaming around everywhere due to the dozens of Wats around Luang Prabang. Many of them are just still young boys and some spend a good portion of their day floating down the river in their robes. Many of them are eager to practice their English with the westerners coming through.

We met a few people from our guest house and we took a mini truck up a bumpy gravel road to the waterfalls about an hour out of town. There were about three or four different levels of the falls and there were little pools everywhere where people could swim. The farthest set of pools was the most beautiful, with a waterfall tumbling down into the pool. We went swimming there with the monks. It was like anyone's typical vision of paradise.

The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast by the river and visited the main temple. After that we climbed the mountain. At the top we found a beautiful 360 degree view of Luang Prabang. By the mountain there are women selling caged birds that you can buy to set free
(animal cruelty!!) so we paid to release two of them.

For our last meal in LP we enjoyed a fantastic BBQ by the river. It was a cook your own type deal!! There were mini barbecues built into the tables where the middle of it is for cooking the meat and around the edge you make a type of soup! Very tasty! In the evening we roamed around the night market set up on the street with lightbulbs hanging over their mats of displays.

We took a mini bus from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng and so far we are not all that impressed with it. It is pretty much just a village of guesthouses, restaurants, and bars and people sitting around watching Friends or Simpsons all day long. The big thing to do here is tube down the river and that is what we plan on doing soon.

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