I love Luang Prabang!

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Today is our second full day in the city of Luang Prabang. It's lao's second largest, but that really isn't saying much. The city itself is located right on the bank of the Mekong river, overlooking some beautiful mountains in all directions. There are tons of Wats (temples) and, in my opinion, they are much more interesting then the ones in Thailand (just because they look older).

This place is like a world frozen in time. There are modern convinces but the area seems to have modernized in a way that has kept the Lao essence of the city intact.

There are lots of child monks walking around the city. As a woman I'm not supposed to take my picture with them or anything like that but, I keep on trying to sneak pictures of them with my camera. I know its wrong to photograph people without their consent but their bright orange robes are absolutely stunning against the white of the temples. Today however, I realized that the group of monks that I was trying to photograph discreetly were also trying to take a picture of me! It was quite funny, we all started laughing and now we both have "dueling camera" style pictures of each other!

The city is absolutely beautiful. Laos was a french colony back in the day and there are still some old colonial buildings left. The town itself looks like a mix of old European and Asian design and the food here also represents a mix of western and Lao cuisines. I could spend weeks here just taking in the scenery, walking around the old town and eating! I got to take a great ride around the entire city today on bike and into the hills surrounding. There are rice paddies in all directions where people where using water buffalo to till the fields.

We've really been splurging on our accommodations here. For 15 USD a night, we get a room near the center of town with AC, a full western bathroom, a TV and a fridge. Did I mention how much I love the exchange rate here??? Its going to be sad going back to NYC where $15 won't even buy you dinner!

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