Luang Prabang, Laos

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Luang Prabang

We arrived in Luang Prabang and the first thing that struck me was how continental it felt. The main reason for this is the French colonial architecture. As a city it oozes character. It almost feels like you are in a time warp as you can imagine the former capital looking exactly the same now as it did 50 years ago. Luang Prabang as a city is on the World Heritage list which has helped it maintain it's sleepy charm. After arriving late we hunted around for a guest house with rooms available and we eventually found one. We probably paid over the odds but we were tired and getting desperate!

Decided to book a trip to see a couple of waterfalls located around an hour or so outside the city. On arrival you follow a short passage through the forest and after a while you arrive at a bear enclosure containing around 12 of the animals. Similar to the panda's in Chengdu these guys were the most hilarious animals I had seen for a long time. They had a long mane of hair around their heads that looked like an excellently sculpted mullet, Hasselhoff would have been proud! I followed the path, taking pictures as I went, turned a corner and saw the main falls. It was enormous, water cascading down the cliff resulting in a deafening roar as it crashed over the rocks below. I felt like I was in the old Timotei advert on TV though unfortunately with out the hot Tomotei girl! There was a path leading up the side of the mountain that led all the way to the top of the waterfall, stopping half way at a ledge offering great views of the pool below.

The second waterfall was only accessible by tail boat, we hired one and cruised down river. The second waterfall was my favourite, not your conventional type as the path of the water cut through the old forest trees in giant steps leaving huge crystal clear blue pools perfect for swimming and bathing. Most of the steps were small enough to climb and it was great fun trying unsuccessfully to fight against the force of the water in a bid to climb to the top of the waterfall!

In Laos there is a national curfew of 12 midnight, therefore the nightlife in Luang Prabang was not amazing. There are a total of two main bars which get fairly busy ‘Lao Lao Gardens’ and ‘The Hive Bar’. We claimed our free foul shots of Lao Lao, tried some Buffalo Curry and Buffalo Steak at Lao Lao Gardens then watched the Liverpool v Man Utd game live. Always good fun watching United beat Liverpool next to a Liverpool fan. ;-)

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