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Published: June 14th 2007
picture pefect
It's tough to describe how beautiful this waterfall/swimming hole is....Just try to imagine your perfect fantasy waterfall.... ok? Ready? .... THIS WAS BETTER. After leaving Pai, Donna and I rested at Julie's Guesthouse in Chiang Mai before our flight to Luang Prabang, Laos. If anyone heads to Chiang Mai, Julie's Guesthouse is THE place to stay in Chiang Mai....we wished we had stayed there. Anyway, we jumped on a plane and one hour later it was like taking a step back in time (minus, of course, the internet cafe in which I'm typing this blog right now).
Luang Prabang is in northern Laos and the whole city is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Essentially what this means is that the United Nations decided that Luang Prabang should remain as it is due to it's beauty and significance to humankind. In essence, this is a beautiful city filled with an uncommonly beautiful people. It is so mellow here, it's hard to describe. SOOOO different that most of Thailand; mellow like Pai, but much more historic. There's a huge french influence on this city. Baguettes and coffee are the standard breakfast here...not beef noodle soup. (kind of a nice change) Also, the people are so much more mellow. People here seem to be very content with life. They have all they need...plenty
landing in Luang Prabang
check out the gold wat in the background! of food, good family structure, and little outside influence. Kids play in the street and Buddhist monks are everywhere. It's just a really cool, mellow, happy, and beautiful vibe.
Before Donna and I boarded the plane to Luang Prabang we met a couple cool groups of people. First we met this really cool couple: Doug and Laurie Lee. These two live extraordinary lives; they routinely travel around the world and were an amazing resource of information for Donna and I. By the end of our trip here, we definitely consider them our friends. We also met these cool Canadians: Eytan, Eric and Brad. We hung with these guys quite a bit, and most likely will see them later in our journey as they are going to the same cities we are!
So anyway, when Donna and I arrived at the airport we took a taxi to the Jaliya Guesthouse ($6 a night); complete with a fan and nice size bedroom. Living the good life...oh yeah!
So we ate dinner with the Canadians at this cool local restaurant and sampled the local food. Food up here definitely is not as spicy as Thailand.
Our highlight of our
stay has been our trip to see the local waterfalls....absolutely unbelievably beautiful. They're so beautiful they look like they were straight out of a movie. There were multiple pools to swim in, a rope swing, and areas to jump from. I have never seen such an awesome site.
The next morning, Donna and I got up at the crack of dawn (5am) to catch the local monks in their daily ritual. Basically, all the monks (hundreds of them) form single file lines all over town and go up to the locals who put food in their bowls. It is a cool ritual which is worth checking out if you ever make it to Luang Prabang.
Later, we hiked up to the top of Mount Phoussi (pronounced Mount Pou-see) which is a small hill in the center of town. The local monks go there every day at sunset to speak with the tourists and practice their english. We had a chance to speak to a few, and were amazed at how well they spoke our native language. Most buddhist monks in this town are young, by the way....most of their ages range from about 8 years old to 18
years old.
Later, we went to the Pak Ou Caves with Doug and Laurie. For centuries, the local people of northern Laos have brought hundreds of Buddha statues to these caves. They are really interesting and to reach them you need to take an hour long cruise up the Mekong to get to them.
The last couple of days have consisted of Donna and I relaxing and vistiting the different day and night markets and getting some shopping done.
Tomorrow morning at 6:30am Donna and I will be taking a bus to Vang Vieng where we will stay for a few days before bussing down to the capital of Laos (Vientien) and then we are catching a plane to Hanoi, Vietnam.
Until we blog again, Sawasdee! (goodbye)
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Sissy
non-member comment
Great pictures and stories. Your trip sounds and looks amazing. I would love to see the monks at 5 a.m!!~!!!Your Dad and I are going to have to visit that part of the world sometime. We are inspired to see it based on your experiences so far. Love ya-miss ya. Sis/Mom