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Published: March 12th 2007
Nam Khan
The Nam Khan River, it merges with the Mekong at LPB.So we headed north on a very s l o w bus journey to Luang Prabang. The slowness being due to big mountains and windy roads, in fact there were very few straight bits on the whole journey. We had a bus driver who looked no older than 14 and to increase our confidence the bus would pull in every so often and the "conductor" would throw out some money to men in a bunker armed with machine guns.
We are not sure why they do this?, but it may be the tourist companies paying additional taxes to the underpayed armed forces whom are protecting the road from attacks by bandits that were a problem several years ago. Either way we were glad to arrive alive in Luang Prabang (LPB) only seven hours after we set off.
Having got there we were dissapointed to find out that there were no three dollar rooms anywhere in LPB, duh. But we did manage to find a nice place free from roaches , mould and armed bandits for a mere 10 US a night. Having also picked up an Ozzie called Drue on route from the bus station we now had four
Night Market
The Night Market, made claire go weak kneed and our money dissapear! of us.
LPB itself is really nice, it reminds us a little of Hoi An, although its sat on the Mekong River and is littered with Buddhist Temples and French Colonial Buildings. This makes it a very popular place to visit with backpackers and tourists alike and there are plenty of swanky restaurants in which to stuff your pie hole with all kinds of delights. Although Lao food doesn't seem to be high up on any of the menu's here, you can still get it but we have to say we prefer Vietnamese.
In LPB the main thing people do is eat, drink, shop and look at buildings. We did all of these things. There is a big night market that Claire seemed pretty fond of, and we visited one of the bigger Wat's which was fine. There are monks everwhere in their orange robes and most of them just look bored. Again, everything closes at midnight except of course the men on the motorbikes who try to sell you opium who seem to be around at all hours. Not that we bought any, Lao is a country of contrasts.
There are several things nearby that people
Luang Prabang
Here is a row of Guesthouses, there are over 150 in town. can go on trips to , one of which is the Pakou Cave a two hour trip up the Mekong. We all headed up to this place with no great expectation other than to do something with the day. It was an ok trip on a tiny boat driven by a guy called Monkey. Although the cave itself is not all that big as caves go, it is however filled with hundreds of Buddha statues many of which have been there for years and years. Its the best Buddha filled cave we have ever seen . . . . .
On route to our cave we stopped of at a Lao Whiskey Village. Lao Whiskey, called Lao Lao, is a mild rice based, refreshing and expertly distilled beverage that will enhance your social skills and secure your future well being for years to come . . . . . . . . oh no wait, actually it would be cruel to mislead anybody. Lao Lao is like paint stripper and has the same effect on your insides , its made in a dirty drum and filtered through a dirty cloth . . . sufice to say it nearly killed
Wat
One of the zillion wats around the town, complete with a couple of monks. us and should be treated with respect or at least don't drink it straight. Stick to the weak sweet stuff and not the stronger kind or just stick to Beer Lao.
Thats it for Lao, a quick tour and we wish it was longer it seems like a fine country and we have only scratched the surface of the tourist places. Next stop Chiang Mai, Thailand, having toyed with the idea of the slowboat through Lao (it takes two days and is apparantly a bit cramped) we have opted for a flight to save time and hassel.
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Dad
non-member comment
Hope you are bringing a bottle of Lao Lao home. Know just the person to give it to! great pics, John, especially of the mekong. Have a good journey to Norhern Thailand and watch out for the golden triangle heroin triads! love dad (and mum)