Sunset on the Mekong

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The bus pulled into Luang Prabang bus station at 5.45am, two hours ahead of schedule. I'd probably got about four hours sleep in the night but felt surprisingly chipper as we greeted by the usual mob of tuc tuc drivers. Although the prospect of killing three hours before check in didn't fill me with joy I was glad to get off of the bus and leave my green faced friend behind. The seven of us piled on to a tuc tuc and headed for town. I was the only one who had booked a room because the Liverpool crew weren't sure if they were going to stay a night or go straight to Vang Vieng. Matt and Tim had decided to chance it and it was a big chance. We got dropped, as most of the other people on the bus did, at Spicy Laos hostel. I had read the reviews on the place and the lack of doors into the building and rooms coupled with the fact that it was the after party venue for the whole town made me reluctant to leave the guys here. As the sun began to rise over Luang Prabang we trudged with our backpacks towards the main street to find the guys a room.

After trying a few of the guesthouses and hostels they guys found reasonably priced rooms an left me to find mine. I had decided to go a bit flash-packer for my stay in Luang Prabang as I knew that after the bus ride I'd need a decent nights sleep. Sopha House was in a quieter road to the back of town overlooking the Nam Khan river that fed into the Mekong. At $20 (£12) a night it wasn't cheap, but as in Ao Nang the bed alone was well worth it. I left my bag with them and walked back to the high street to find breakfast. I happened upon a Swedish bakery as I avoided the tuc tuc men already touting for business and went in to seek refuge. As I sat with mug of tea in hand and omelette and croissants on the way the guys wandered past and joined me. The seven of us didn't know much about Luang Prabang other than the fact it was the focal point for transfer to other parts of Laos from Northwest Thailand, so we decided to do our own thing and meet at 7pm for food.

After getting my room I washed to bus journey away, as well as the sick from my shoe, and began to google things to do. The town was famous for having hundreds of Wat's as well as being close to some impressive waterfalls and caves. I circled a couple of the more important Wat's and other attractions and headed off to explore. I started at the Royal Palace museum where the kings of Laos had once lived. It was interesting enough, filled with relics and original furniture of the kings but the fact I couldn't take photos meant it lost it's appeal a little. Wat Xieng Thong at the meeting point of the Nam Khan and Mekong rivers was impressive. Like the White temple it had been hand-painted when it was first built in black and gold, depicting scenes from Laotian folklore. I followed the road overlooking the Mekong and bumped into the guys. We decided to have a cocktail and chill out for a while at a small riverside bar. We ordered the drinks with one of the two girls, who can't of been more than twelve, who served us. After taking our order she made what sounded like a very anxious phone call, presumably saying that we had ordered and more people had come in behind us. Five minutes later a local man arrived on a motorbike saying 'Sorry, sorry' before making up the drinks. My Piña colada wasn't great and although no-one said anything I can only presume from the look on everyones faces that they felt the same.

I left the guys to head up Mount Phousi to watch sunset over the Mekong. Mount Phousi involved a ten minute climb up a winding footpath to get to the top and the temple that was there.  I say ten minutes because that's how long it took me to get there and look like a sweaty mess in the heat, but the climb was well worth the effort. The vistas over the whole of Luang Prabang were stunning. You could see all of the mountains that surrounded the city as well as the airport and the golden Wat set amongst the greenery of the forest in the distance. The throng of people already up there was incredible, all vying for the best spot to watch the sunset. I stayed and watched until what started as a brilliant shining ball of gold in the sky, glinting through the clouds had turned deep orange and disappeared over the crest of the far off hills.

When I reached the bottom I was met by the night market. Small red and blue topped tents were packed tightly into the full length of the main street. I had some time before I met the guys and decided to take a look. It was filled with Laotian handicraft ranging from bags, small tea-cody hats and paintings to the typical T-shirts and tat that I'd seen throughout Southeast Asia. Some of it was genuinely beautiful and I wished I had more space to fit things into my bag, so I made do with a few small gifts to send home. I saw the market open up and turn into a lane of food stalls where I met Lisa. We had a wonder down to have a look and agreed that with all the stalls of local cuisine, we should try and get everyone to eat here. We met up with everyone else, and a few stragglers, and steered them back to the food alley. We enjoyed full plates of food and whole chicken breast on sticks for only 11,000 kip (£0.85) all washed down with a litre bottle of Beerlao for 10.000 kip (£0.77). The cost of food at local street market food always amazed me, and here more than ever. You could eat like a king at a fraction of the cost back home.

After a wonder to the river and a few more beers, we decided to head in search of the happening bars in town. We found a bar packed with various people from all over so we stopped for another couple of beers. The bar was split into two floors with the bar on the ground floor and the DJ on the first floor. It was great, some great tunes and some great company. With the curfew immanent and none of us quite sure what happened after 11.30pm we headed back to our various hostels to get some shut eye ready for tomorrow. I was exhausted yet again, but glad I had entered country number five on the world tour.

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