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Published: March 18th 2007
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Hello all,
So... We arrived in Laos late at night and headed to our hotel... It was so nice to be back in Luang Prabang which had been one of my favorite towns when we had done our trip around this area with my family a few years ago. The hotel was truly beautiful set in lush, manicured gardens...
We ate Laos food at the restaurant of our hotel which was delicious... After dinner Tamara and I took a walk into the center of the town and I showed her where the night market (which had already closed) was. We walked back to the hotel and got an early night as we had to be up the early in the morning. Because the hotel did not have any room for us the 2ndnight of our time in Luang Prabang Etta had organized for us to go on a hike and kayak trip (normally not my cup of tea).
The following morning we woke up early had breakfast and headed to the offices of the agency organizing the hike. We met the three other people who went with us and headed off in a truck with our guides.
We got off the truck and began the hike... We walked in the morning up and down (mostly up) the hills of Laos... The scenery was truly breathtaking and it was actually really nice to get some exercise. At around midday we stopped in a village for lunch. The village consisted of about five thatched huts. We arrived to find about four children sawing wood with another group of children watching. The children seamed very proud of the responsibility that had been bestowed upon them. It was a Hmong vilage, which are the mountain people and are believed to originate from Mongolia and are known to be very hard working and pound people. They were all extremely friendly.
After a much needed lunch we headed off for the rest of our hike. At this point it was getting very hot. We walked though rivers, muddy swamps, over hills etc. My previously Black Havainas were now brown. At one point when walking through one of the rivers I slipped on a rock and fell covering my trousers in smelly mud... It was pretty gross and Tamara found it very amusing.
Finally after a 15 Km hike we arrived at
the village where we would be staying. We were all exhausted. We were shown to our hut (which we all shared) dropped our things and went and explored the village. This village was also Hmong and the people where so friendly.
We ate dinner around 6:30 after which the generators for the village came on. The children of the hut next to ours turned on there stereo and were playing Thai music which they all danced to. There were children of all ages dancing all together with big smiles on there faces. Tamara went and joined in and danced with them all which made them very happy.
After the dancing we played cards for about half an hour and went to bed at about 7:30! I don’t think I've slept that early since the 80's!
The following morning we woke up at seven after a surprisingly good night sleep considering the beds were made of wood, had breakfast and headed off on our hike. This hike was much more leisurely. The path we took was down hill or on flat ground. After about three hours we arrived at the Khan Nam River which is a tributary of
the Mekong. We got in our Kayaks and headed down the river. Tamara and I shared a Kayak and Etta feeling a bit nervous about the rapids went with one of the instructors. We Kayaked down the river for about an hour and a half and stopped for lunch on a beach where we also took the opportunity to swim.
After lunch we kayaked for another hours and were taken back to our hotel by truck. All in all a great experience which I would have never down if Etta had not signed us all up.
That being said it was really great to get back to the hotel and shower! After showering we went to a coffee shop which had been recommended to us by the people we had hiked with. It was nice to have a good coffee and a yummy quiche.
The following day was spent walking around town and looking at the cute shops. It’s a really great little town and the people are so friendly. We went to a shop where my parents had bought lots of furniture when we were there all together and the woman was still selling the same
magnificent stuff. Etta bought a few things. That night we went to the night market where Tamara bought 30 scarves for a business she is planning on starting up when she gets back to Toronto. I bought a few as well.
Later on that night we went to a Laos dance performance. It was actually quite impressive and was almost like a ballet in the way they told stories through the dance. (Elianna, you would have enjoyed it) The performance included kids of all ages and the costumes and masks were beautiful
The following day before leaving for the airport Tamara and I went to the museum, which I had been to on the trip with my family. The Museum is located in the former Royal Palace. It is a remarkable building and is left in much the same way that it was back when the King still lived there. Was struck both Tamara and I was the contrast between the splendor and opulence of the entertaining rooms, and the simplicity of the bedrooms of the king and queen. The entertaining rooms were stunning with not a piece of wall left undecorated. The bedrooms on the other hand
were kept simple with only the bare necessities of a bed, a wardrobe and a desk.
That evening we left for Siem Reap Cambodia where I am at the moment....
That’s all for now...More to come soon
Miss you all
JC
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dad
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Dearest JC, Tamara and Etta, it is so good to read your news and progress. Do enjoy yourselves, experiences like this only come a few times in your life...lots of kisses MM