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ON THE ROAD TO LUANG PRABANG...LAOS- LUANG PRABANG...
The seven hours drive from Xieng Khouang thru the beautiful peaks of the Annamite or Phou Luang mountain range to Luang Prabang (LP) was entertaining to say the least...I shared the VIP van with four more back packers and listened to their very adventurous stories and experiences...The trip was very windy and curvy. So we were all quite oozy by the time we arrived in LP...
Luang Prabang is a beautiful historical city with an amazing collection of temples and colonial buildings, an architectural paradise. The city is well situated between the hills and the mighty Mekong river.
The first day I used the hotel bike to tour around the city and visit all its attractions. The weather was unbearably hot, but I stuck it out...
The handicraft in LP is just beautiful. I say you come with an empty suitcase and have at it. The silverwear, to the textile, to the needlework, from the adjacent villages and the ethnic groups are a delight...
The second day I hired a tuk tuk for a day to take me to the Phou Caves and the Kong Si waterfalls...
It took the tuk tuk and a motor boat across the
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A STREET IN LP... Mekong to get to the caves, you then have to climb about 400 steps to get to the upper shrines, which as I was climibing in the scorching heat, was hoping to be worth the effort...I tell you ladies and gentlemen, we are in an age of easy religion. Our forebearers truly and deeply worked and sweated hard for spiritual enlightenment...It was hard work to climb up the rock on uneven steps, again in the scorching heat, to pray and meditate...When I eventually got to the top, It took about say ten minutes to stabilize my body temperature and ask the gate keeper to give me a torch light to go thru the dark cave where it houses a Stupa, hundreds of Bhudda images and statues, wall paintings, and a beautiful carved out of the rock guardian lion...The cultures and traditions of the Mekong are interesting...The approach to the limestone rock and the caves crossing the river is quite spectacular...One feels taken back in time...
After the caves we drove about a couple of hours with the tuk tuk drivers family to the Kong Si waterfalls. The waters were cool and I got to dip my feet in them for
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FROM THE MEKONG RIVER TO WAT XIENG THONG (TEMPLE)... one hour and go over the experience of my day...The tuk tuk driver and his family enjoyed a swim in the lower ponds and picnicked in the banks...
On our way out there were large group of saffron approned monks with their picnic baskets who were on their way to the waterfalls, I suppose to cool down...
Later...
M
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