Luang Prabang

---

When we arrived off the boat after our 8 hour journey from shithole Packbeng, Luang Prabang was like a breath of fresh air. A quaint village where we(myself, Reuben, Adelaide, Rob and Ivan) stayed in great little bungalows. We would spend 3 nights in Luang Prabang and might have spent longer if there wasn't a curfew at 10:30 when the town pretty much shut down and there was little to do other than sit in your room, walk the dark streets or sleep. Actually i lie...there was one other thing you could do just do be crazy and different. On the outskirts of the town there was a bowling alley which somehow escaped the strict curfew rules staying open until the small wee hours of the morning. We went there one night, which was good despite reminding me of my crap bowling skills. However i think one night there was enough as not only was it a bit old fashioned but the place had an evident seedy undertow with some suspiciously dressed girls hanging around waiting to be picked up. Even in the most seemingly innocent of places in asia are corrupted by the continent's most thriving industry and it's only going to get worse. Lovely thought. Anyways apart from the thrilling nightlife in Luang Prabang, it was not the only thing that the town had to offer with it's stunning surrounding scenery and colorful night market. On one of the days during our stay, myself and Adelaide rented some bicycles and went exploring. We ended up going off the main road down a dirt track in search of a waterfall. Once we arrived at our destination we were disgusted to find that the locals were charging an entrance fee into the small and unimpressive waterfall but in the hopes of perhaps having a cooling dip in the small pool we paid the fee and entered. It was just as well that we did as we ended up having an absolutely cracking night with a cheeky local who invited us to cook an authentic Laosian dish from all fresh produce picked from his crops nearby which(as you will see in the pictures) we also watered...he made sure we worked for our dinner! It was a great evening though with lots of laughs, good food and exchanging of daft vocabulary!

---