Luang Prabang

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I arrived in Luang Prabang from Louang Namtha late on December 5th. I took a minivan which promised to be quicker and smoother than the bus. Unfortunately, I ended up in the back seat, just behind the back wheels. The roads were awful and the suspension rough. I hit the ceiling a couple times going through rough patches. I've been slow to leave Luang Prabang because of it.

As it was dark when I arrived and I was rather tired, I ended renting a fairly poor room for the night. No windows, just a paneless barred slit at the top of the wall. It was just off a busy road, so the noise kept me up and work me up fairly early. It cost 60,000 kip.

I moved the next day to the hotel room in the first pic. The hotel is right along the Nam Khan (Khan River). Just so you know that decent accomodation is available here in Laos.

I also took a picture of a tuk-tuk - the equivalent of a taxi. There are also motorcycle taxis, rough looking side cars - I included a photo, but I was never tempted to take a ride.

On my second evening in town, I went for Lao Lao barbaque with Brigit from Switzerland. A bucket of charcoal was set into a hole in our table then covered with a specially shaped metal pan. We were responsible for frying thin strips of meat at the center high point of the pan while vegetables cooked in a chicken broth around the edge. It was delicious!

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