Wat That coming over the hill?...

---

No it's not a monster, just a Wat called That. Not only did I find its name mildly amusing, but there is actually a hill in the middle of Louang Phabang...and it's called...Phousi! And I giggled at that too. (not giggled like a girl, but more of a manly chuckle!)

Anyway, onto more serious matters... Laos is amazing. The bus ride up here from Vientianne was tiresome. The roads are mountainous and all I could think of was the end scene in The Italian Job (the original). Thankfully, we didn't need any brilliant ideas as we got here safely. Between Vientianne and Louang Phabang is very little. THe few villages we did pass are so small and seem to be built in areas where the road is just wide enough for two lanes plus a little bit extra. So many of the huts were built half on the side of the hill and half on stilts.

Louang Phabang is very difficult to describe. It's very quaint and although is particularly Asian, it has obvious French/Swiss influences in its architecture and food. It's a beautiful place, yet not particularly picturesque. It's situated on the Mekong but doesn't really make the most of it's riverside location as some country's would. But then it's clearly developing and I imagine in a few years time, there will be hundreds of riverside cafes. Having said that, as a UNESCO World Heritage site, I don't know how much new building work will be allowed.

Today we went up to Kouang Si waterfall. Reminded me a lot of the Erawan Waterfall in Thailand. . . but was probably a higher fall. Very beautiful. But other than that there's not a lot to do here, so tomorrow I'm heading south again to Vang Vieng. That's supposed to be even smaller than here, more chilled out and has the best fruit shakes. Talking of which....fruit shakes are great here!!

---

Photos

Sunset from Phou Si Hill
Difficult to get a picture here as every westerner in town was crammed up here to try and take one!

Amazing Butterfly
This was on the steps down from the top of Phousi Hill. Took several attempts to take it's picture as it was flapping around a lot!

Night Market
This street was empty when we walked up to the top of Phousi Hill. Within half an hour it was teeming with stalls.

What's Out!!
Laos is abundant in pissmelt signage!

Comments

[jb]

Lovely Laos
Thanks for that read. I'm in Ireland now, but was travelling through Laos not long ago, and logged on to tease myself about how much I wish I was there. And thanks - I absolutely pissed myself reading your entry. jb from Oz