Destination known and looking for jobs!: Luang Prabang, Laos (March 29-April 2)

We, Ms Leah included, booked the VIP bus out of Vieng Vang, but unlike the last VIP bus we took this was the local bus. Thankfully, it wasn’t a very hot day so the fact the air-con or the fans didn’t work, wasn’t that big of a deal. Northern Laos is mountainous and can be very rugged in some areas. The bus would slowly chug up the hills, only to get to the top and go speeding down the narrow curving roads. This was not a fun bus ride, but we made it to Luang Prabang.

Luang Prabang is located along a peninsula formed by the Mekong River on one side and the Nam Khan river on the other side. It is absolutely enchanting. The buildings are either built in the Indochinse architecture style or are old French villas and Unesco has named this former French capital a World Heritage site. We had arrived in the later afternoon and wandered around to a few guesthouses before finding a clean, cheap place with two rooms (one for Jeff & I and one for Leah). We dropped our things and then went out to explore the town. Every evening Luang Prabang has a wonderful night market that spans several blocks. There are, if I remember correctly, over 40 different ethnic tribes living in northern Laos, one of the biggest tribes being the Hmong people. The market has colorful textiles from these tribes, paper lanterns, wood carvings, jewelry, paintings, chopsticks, and hundreds of other items. I think the best part about this market is that it is extremely low-key and low pressure. You could actually look at things without being pressured. That night we ate a really good little noodle stand at the end of the market.

The next day was cold and rainy. Leah, Jeff, and I wandered around the streets for a bit and then decided to get a massage. After we were relaxed, we sat down at a street side café to have a couple of beers. We were sitting there chatting, when all of a sudden Jeff stands up and starts yelling ‘Jackie! Jackie!’ Jackie is a French lady we volunteered with in Kalcutta and who was also on our flight into Bangkok. She sat down and we had a few more beers. It was a wonderful evening of friendly chatter!

In the morning, Leah, Jackie and I had decided to meet to take the walking tour of Luang Prabang recommended by Lonely Planet. We viewed the cultural center and up the 100 m hill to the temples of Phu Si. From here, we had amazing views of all Luang Prabang. The walk brought us down to several other wats (temples) in the town center and finally to Wat Xieng Thong. Xieng Thong is a beautiful temple and monastery. The buildings of the complex are covered with amazing mosaics of trees, people, boats, rice paddies, and pictures of everyday life. One the eastern side of the Wat, is the royal funeral chapel, where several of the royal family urns are kept.

On our last day in Luang Prabang, we booked a kayaking trip down the Nam Ou river with Leah. Although, we didn’t come across any big rapids, there were a couple of splashes here and there. From the river we could see some farms, people fishing, and surprisingly people panning for gold. We pulled the kayaks on shore and had a lovely picnic lunch. After lunch, we continued down the Nam Ou to where it meets with the Mekong. Just before we reached the Mekong, we came to some huge limestone cliffs. After crossing the Mekong river, we beached the boats again to view the Pak Ou Caves. These caves have hundreds of images of Buddha in them. We rafted a few more kilometers down the Mekong, before exiting the river and loading the kayaks on the tuk-tuk. The tuk-tuk then took us a village called Ban Xang Hai or more commonly called the whiskey village. Although, it was an authentic village, it felt a lot like a tourist trap. Lots of textiles and goods being sold out of doorways. It’s called the whiskey village because the villagers make a lot of LaoLao here to be sold at the night market. We were given a few samples of different types, and it doesn’t matter what kind of rice is used, its still disgusting!

The next day, we took a bus north to Luang Namtha, just 17 kilometers from the China border. We booked this bus with a private tour company for about 20,000 more kip (about $2.50) then the local bus. It was well worth the extra cost! Leah, Jeff, and I had the bus to ourselves and we had a driver and a ‘guide’ as well. The guide would explain some of villages as we passed and answered our questions in the local market we stopped at as well.