After a somewhat rocky start we finally made it to Luang Prabang, and all our fears of "what have i let myself in for" dissolved away. It was a really lovely place with old style colonial french buildings, french baguettes, laughing cow cheese and crepes...it was heaven!
We had a nice guest house that was a bargain at the price we got it for (has a really cool name too but ill let the photo's explain!) The money here is crazy 18,000 kip to the pound but you can also pay in US dollars and Tahi baht...confusing!
We definitely know were not in Thailand any more... the power can go off at any time day or night most of the time is off for a few hours, and its amazingly hot again but you have to cover up more as Laos is more conservative than Thailand. There is also a lot more poverty here to the point where the children play kerby with a flip flop and dont go to school, they make bracelets and jewelery to sell (there are also two really camp ones that we caught in an internet cafe looking at gay porn!) and there is a beggar who walks round in a skirt and a straw hat shoving his fingers in your face when hes not dancing down the street!
We spent the first few days lazing around (after that boat trip we earnt it) but we did get up at 5.30am to go and give the monks alms (as they have no money or possesions the people come out and give them food for the day) which was nice as its a tradition that is dieing out in many places. Thats not our only early morning encounter with the monks, as i say we were in a nice guesthouse down a really quiet street at the end of which was a beautiful temple with golden statues and gardens...sounds lovely, until your woken with the banging of the drum at 4am to rouse the monks!
We also saw a couple of the other temples around and about the most impressive of which was Wat Xieng Thong, which had some amazing pictures about a mythical king (like our King Arthur) and it had a really rare Buddha, all the external walls were decorated in gold frescos or scenes depicting daily life in the villages all made from Japanese glass, it was beautiful!
We also went to the top of Phu Si, the hill in the centre of town and watched the sun set over the mountains, the hill is also home of buddha's footprint and he must have really big feet!
Pak Ou caves were impressive, it's where they take all the unwanted or unused Buddha's and there were thousands of them all over the walls and the sides a lot of them were falling to peices but that added to the charm. On the way we stopped off at a whiskey village, where they had loads of bottles of whiskey with just about every creature imaginable inside...snakes, lizards, scorpions... and you could get 55% proof or 15% so we got the 55% minus the dead creature!
We spent the afternoon after this at Kuang Si waterfall which was beautiful, and Si jumped off rocks and from a rope swing into the freezing cold water which was refreshing! They also had a tiger and some bears that they had rescued from cruel treatment and the black market and sponsored by care for the wild and it was amazing to see them so close up! The final thing we saw was the royal palace museum, which is where the Lao royal family lived until the monarchy was dissolved in the 70's. The entrance hall's were grand and we saw the kings elephant seat! but the back rooms were rather plain white walls and quite basic furniture which we think reflects the fact that they have never really been a rich nation, completely different to the palaces back home...but nice in their own more understated way.
Apart from this we chilled out a lot, we saw a local wedding, watched the celebrations and the dancing (although the men and the women dont touch when they dance together which was odd!), we went to the same same night market that every town in south east Asia has selling the same stuff (although they insist its different!) and we sat at the local wine bar and had a few glasses of French wine (expensive but soooooooo nice after all the months of beer)
Now we are in Vang Vieng after a bumpy bus ride through the mountains (which left us with the decision that the boat is a more comfortable way to travel the 7 hours it takes to get here.) and now we are excited about tommorows caving and tubing experience...all will be explained in the next installment!
hope you are all well love Becky and Si xxx