Luang Prabang - je ne veux pas travailler...

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That's pretty much the theme in Luang Prabang (and everywhere else really). You can't see anyone working - they just sit around or sleep around and that's pretty much how days go by here. You walk into a shop or a post office and before you get to do anything, you have to wake up the person sleeping on the desk - makes you feel veeeery lazy indeed!

Other than doing nothing, the town has one more theme: French influence. And you have to love the French: they left quite a few decent things behind when they moved their French a*ses back home: architecture, baguettes, cafes, boutique shops, cheese and the likes. I must say it all looks very strange when you realise that you are in SE Asia. That's the whole point though - you are seeing stuff that you had no idea existed. Ain't travelling great?!

Anyway, going along with the lazy theme of the town, nothing important and worth mentioning happened in Luang Prabang, so no idea why I'm still typing. Plus, after the earthquake trauma, nothing is going to be equally interesting either! No idea why you are still reading this!

We spent four nights in Luang Prabang and we didn't even realise that until we had to pay our hotel bill! Again, ain't that great?! That's what we were after anyway - an easy time without adrenaline rush. Merci the French! You guys know about comfort way too much, tee hee!

I guess there was actually one funny incident there: we rented two jumbos (bicycles that is - no idea why they are called jumbos, and even more confused at them being called turbo jumbos as the only turbo power you had were your own muscles!). Anyway, we rented a couple of them as it's a great way to move around the town. We went to a bar to have a few and then decided to leave them chained just outside of the bar while we were bowling with everyone else until some stupid o'clock in the morning. And yes, they even have a bowling alley!

When we got back to pick up the bikes and happily cycle home, it turned out there had been gone! Our first theft... Fortunately, we didn't leave any passports with the bicycle guy, so decided we'll forget about the incident and hope it will go away - very noble...not. And it did go away...for about two days, after which "it" came to our hotel and asked for the bikes. They wanted us to pay some stupid ammount of money for them but at the end of the day, we chained them, so it wasn't our fault that they got stolen (or so we are saying to ourselves after leaving them out on the street after their curfew...). The guy said the next day he'll take us to the police, so I called his bluff and he disappeared. Next morning, we went to the internet cafe, quickly before leaving the town and noticed a guy sitting behind us and just staring at us. You could hear our brains thinking: was it the bicycle man's spy? An undercover cop maybe waiting to handcuff two innocent white female travellers and put them to a terrible Lao prison cell? Our paranoia was flourishing at which point we asked the travel agent sitting next to us about the identity of the mysterious man. It turned out it was...a tuk tuk driver waiting to pick us up to the bus station. Hmm, hmm. Paranoia over! We are leaving that town!

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Photos

boats on the Mekong River
we spent 2 days on one getting from Huai Xai to Luang Prabang - apparently, something you have to do

Comments

[Sandra]

You go girl !!
Oh my GOD !!! .. I am speechless ...... the only word that prings to mind is AMAZING !!! ..... Lots of love Sandra