Blogs from Luang Prabang, West, Laos, Asia - page 17

We've spent the last three days travelling from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang, using almost exclusively local transport methods, which has definitely upped the heartbeat on more than one occasion. I can't imagine this post is going to be particularly interesting but I will do my best. In order to get across the border into Laos, we first had to get the bus up to border crossing town of Chiang Khong. We headed to the bus station in Chiang Mai to get the coach, but sadly it had already sold out, meaning we had to head for Chiang Rai and hope there was some kind of way of getting across to Chiang Khong before nightfall. As it turned out, there was: the local bus, a vehicle that has been laughing in the face of health and ... read more

Geo: 19.8841, 102.142Luang Prabang was the right place at the right time for us. It is a quiet city with no shortage of charm and we found a delightful place to stay (Villa Chitdara). We liked it so much we stayed in this town for 4 days each at the beginning and ending of our time in Laos.Filled with temples and monks, this World Heritage Site's most intriguing attraction is the 6:30am daily 'alms' where the monks walk in silence through the streets while locals and some tourists give them offerings of rice. There are times, as well, when needy children collect rice from the monks. Jim was fascinated/obsessed by this ceremony and got up almost every morning to photograph it.We met a few of the novice monks. Vixsai chatted with us one morning before starting ... read more

On the conjunction where The Mekong and the Nam Kahn rivers meet, the magical city of Luang Prabang thrives. With streets lined with Frangipani and palm trees, bakeries, restaurants, cafes and French tourists this place is more like Paris than Paris. The obvious difference being the orange clad, head shaved monks, which roam the streets. With their gentle smiles and black umbrellas, they wander around like someone with nowhere to go. I imagined Laos to be a wild adventure where no man had trod before and here I am in this sophisticated city, with all the other adventurous tourists. It certainly is hard to get away from the maddening crowd these days. A tuk tuk whisks us away from the bus station and drops us several blocks from our destination. The Lao Wood House. You know ... read more

Late breakfast and short walk to Wat Xieng Thong - built in 1560 and continued to remain under royal patronage until 1975. If anyone is doing, please don't worry about Rachel from Bolton - she's fine. We met her on the steps of the Wat and she directed us to a wild bar and restaurant on the other side of the Nam Khan River - a tributary of the Mekong. Way to get there was via a very wobbly bamboo foot bridge. Lovely view - thank you Rachel. Tuk tuk drive in the afternoon to the other side of the old town - shops and stalls - busy busy - this is a very lively town. The first quiz was won by Lottie-May - answer was Bells Whisky. We could do with a bit more participation ... read more

The boat trip to Luang Prabang is 6 hours and going on our last experience, we go for the public bus, 40000 kip each ($5). The locals are waiting with all sorts of packages from grain to vegetables. Nothing alive thank god! Our bags piled on top, the bus at full capacity; with Lao music blaring, we climb into the back seats and bump, rattle and roll our way up and down the countryside to Luang Prabang. Great for one’s soul but not so good for one’s posterie.... read more