Luang Prabang, Lao

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After the heat and the crazy rythm of Bangkok, I arrived in Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang is a small town in northern Laos. It is very calm and soothing here - the rythm is slow, many people wander the town slowly, from one cafe to another.

As it is in the mountains, the days are warm (in the twenties) however the nites are COLD.

The town is circled by two rivers, the Mekong River and the Nam Khan River (which ends in the Mekong river).

I visited the Pak Ou Caves and the Kuang Si Waterfalls, the two main tourist attractions here.

It took us approximately 1h30 by boat on the Mekong River to reach the Caves: the king used to hold the New Year's Ceremony there. In both the upper and the lower caves, there are hundreds of Buddha figures, most of them very small (5cm - 10cm).

I met Luda and Bryan from Chicago during the Pak Ou Caves tour. We hung out together a few times, and had a Lao Barbecue one night. Very nice. They left Luang Prabang to continue their tour in Lao, to visit Vang Vien, and Vientiane.

I found the Kuang Si Waterfalls beautiful. Apparently, though, there is less water than usual because its not the rainy season and also because some of the stones/wall fell during an earthquake. People can swim in the pools below the fall and it was very tempting, except the water was very cold.

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Photos

Luang Prabang from Phou Si Wat
Partial of Luang Prabang and the Mekong River from Phou Si Wat

Luang Prabang Main Street
Main Street in Luang Prabang

Kuang Si Fall
Kuang Si Waterfall

Louda, Bryan & Corinne
My new friends, Louda & Brian at the Falls

Mekong River from the Caves
Mekong River from the Caves. I found the river was somehow magic... the boats took us from Luang Prabang to the caves. 1h30 slow boating on the river.