Luang Prabang, 10th - 18th May

As the plane came in to land at Luang Prabang we could only see dense forest-covered mountains, a huge muddy-brown river winding amongst them, perhaps the odd settlement. And then this tiny town - was that it? Yes, Luang Prabang may have UNESCO World Heritage status, but it is little more than a tiny town. But a very special one, and one often referred to as the best-preserved traditional city in Southeast Asia. Our initial impression was overwhelming culture shock - it seemed a different world from Thailand, years, maybe decades behind, such a simple, basic way of life and this little town with its mix of French colonial houses amongst buildings of corrugated iron and rattan. But the initial shock soon disappeared and was replaced with love for this beautiful, charming little place.

Luang Prabang lies at the meeting point of 2 rivers, the Mekong, lifeline of Southeast Asia, and the Nam Khan, which snakes around a thin loop of land before joining the Mekong. The main part of the city is based within this thin piece of land, centred on Mount Phousi, which is visible from a distance, the gold stupa of That Chomsi shining from its summit. The city is actually an amalgamation of many tiny villages, centred around their own wat, and most locals know their address by their 'ban' rather than a road name. This means that there are many wats in Luang Prabang and their number, beauty and upkeep all contributed to the city's world heritage status. The wats are quite distinct from those of their Thai neighbours. The dominant religion of both countries is Theravada Buddhism, hence saffron-robed monks are an equally common sight here, but these temples are less vivid, somehow more gentle and serene, with a beautiful tradition of glass mosaic decorations. The influence from Laos' period of French colonisation is clear from the buildings, and also from the delicious bread & pastries found here. There are few cars, mostly minibuses from the various hotels, guesthouses and tour companies, while most locals use a scooter, bicycle or tuk-tuk for transport. Or a boat! There is a bustling craft market every night with people from the various ethnic tribes of Laos selling their wares, and of course a busy food market. And did I mention how laid back these guys are? We thought Chiang Mai was chilled, but these guys are practically horizontal - upon arrival we gulped at the customs card we were handed telling of the death penalty for smuggling drugs, but nobody even collected the card, or the health card following the swine flu crisis - we picked up our bags and walked straight outside! In fact, rather than use their official title of Laos PDR (People's Democratic Republic) they prefer the title Laos 'Please Don't Rush'! There are signs that things are beginning to change quite quickly now - the influence of Western tourism is beginning to show, especially amongst the younger generation as they aspire to Western culture. Sadly many westerners show little respect for the country's heritage and culture and show too much flesh. The Lao people are aware of this and are trying to stop their country becoming too like Thailand, but they are often too polite to tell people to cover up.

We struck gold again with our accommodation, finding a delightful guesthouse, Rattana Guesthouse, a few minutes walk from the main street where we had a pretty room in a traditional wooden house. It was run by Nith & Phone, two sisters, one of whom works as a tour guide, and both of whom are fluent in English & French. However, it was Nith's daughter, Lanoy, who looked after us, and who really stood out as a beautiful, gentle, kind soul. It felt a very safe place, which is kind of important here, with one exception - we had a faulty bedside light that flickered, then started smoking one night, just as I'd got out of the shower and Su was getting into bed. So there we were trying to unplug it, unclip it from my wooden headboard, put some clothes on and eject it from the room, all at once! Not what you want in a wooden house! They were very apologetic and immediately gave us a replacement, but the switch on this was broken and we had to switch it on and off by plugging and unplugging - needless to say we did without!

Our first full day in Luang Prabang was Su's birthday so I spent the day treating her. We started with a pressie opening session under the mossie netting. As we were leaving the house Noy stopped us and handed Su a gorgeous bouquet of fresh flowers that she had picked and arranged for Su's birthday. Then we moved on to Joma, a posh little French-style cafe where we had a rather decadent breakfast of oat French toast with slices of mango and whipped cream, which was divine. After leaving sufficient time for our breakfast to settle, it was time for treat number 2 - a Lao massage. We opted for a traditional massage and headed for the house of an enterprising family who work from home - I wouldn't be surprised if we were lying on their beds! But what a massage - an hour of wonderful relaxation, with the odd cracking joint and lots of smiles as neither girl spoke English. We spent the rest of the day floating around, exploring our surroundings, and then treat number 3 was dinner. We ate at View Khaem Khong, and while Su's dish was actually totally different from what she had ordered, our meal was absolutely delicious: prawn stir-fry with cashews, duck in chilli and holy basil, and noodles, washed down with Beer Lao - yumm! Certainly the best meal of our Asian adventure (except perhaps for some of those we cooked in Chiang Mai!) I think my big sis enjoyed her day.

Soon after arriving in Luang Prabang, it was time to start working out how and when we were moving on. The original plan was to bus to Vientiane, then overland through Thailand to Cambodia for my pilgrimage to Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor. But travel overland, especially in Laos and Cambodia during the rainy season which is just beginning, can be rather slow and we loved Luang Prabang so much that we decided we would rather spend longer here and really get to know the place, then fly to Siem Reap (which wasn't really in the budget!) I still long to come back one day and travel through these amazing countries overland (though I think Su could quite happily live without this) but this requires time and we're both desperate to get to the beaches of Malaysia and Thailand and chill for a month before heading home.

Anyway, Luang Prabang - we loved just walking around the city, watching the long boats on the Mekong ferrying people to the other side with their produce from the markets, monks bathing in the Nam Khan. We spent some time exploring the little side streets filled with tropical trees and flowers, and butterflies - you know we hardly saw a bird in Laos, I think those near the towns may meet a nasty end, but the butterflies were breathtaking. And of course we looked around some of the main attractions. Those that stood out were Wat Xieng Thong, probably our favourite Wat so far - it's quite a large complex housing the royal funerary carriage covered in gold leaf, the main sim, the modern day monastery and many smaller buildings, notable for their stunning exterior glass mosaics, especially the tree of life on the rear of the sim, all set in a beautiful garden of trees and tropical flowers, a very peaceful, tranquil spot. The Royal Palace was really interesting with its modest private apartments and lavish throne room - a brilliant red room filled from floor to ceiling with Japanese glass mosaics (no cameras allowed) plus a piece of stone from the moon! And the climb to Mount Phousi to watch the sunset was pretty special with a superb view over the city and into the jungle and mountains beyond.

But there were two things that we will always remember from Luang Prabang, the Morning Alms-Giving Ceremony and the weaving and dyeing class at Ock Pop Tok. We met Ken while booking our weaving class. He was given to the monks when he was born (Ken means give), something very prestigious for families, though in reality he had been a novice monk for 4 years. He is currently a layperson as he is taking a break from the monastery to earn some money for his studies (he had been working for Ock Pop Tok for 2 days). As we were interested in the Morning Alms he offered to take us along and even acted as photographer for us! This is a very traditional ceremony where the monks walk along the streets every morning at daybreak with their alms bowls while people, mostly women and children, sit on the pavement and offer them food which is all they have to eat for that entire day. It was a really beautiful, powerful thing to participate in and Ken was a wonderful guide to the correct etiquette - shoes off, head bowed and when you run out of food (as we did just before his monastery group including his younger brother passed by - sorry!) you have to pray for them.

The other highlight was our day at Ock Pop Tok (East Meets West), a living crafts centre where weavers from 2 ethnic tribes demonstrate and teach their craft, plus make items for sale via the shop - a wonderful venture. Our guide for the day was Morn who described the silk-making and dyeing processes and acted as translator for our classes. First Davone helped us to dye our silks using natural dyes. I used sappan wood with a rusty nail to get red, added some ash from the fire to get pink and used lemongrass for a lime green-yellow colour (with a delicious smell), while Su used the same pick, tumeric for a vibrant yellow and indigo for a blue-green colour. Then we each sat at a loom, made of bamboo posts and old bits of wood, and each weaved a placemat with the help of our tutors, Kham Dee and Nud, which we adore and will treasure forever. And like the cookery course, it was more than a simple craft class, but a day spent with local Lao people, learning about their way of life. Lunch was included in the day and we sat with Morn and Noi, who manned the cafe, and ate sticky rice, chicken stew, vegetables and eggplant dip, Lao-style - with our fingers! It was a really special day.

And on the subject of food, I will just mention how we ate in Luang Prabang - mostly from street stalls or cheap restaurants for a bowl of noodles. Lunch was easy with the delicious baguettes on offer, there was some lovely crepes to be found for a snack and when we were tired we simply got a barbequed chicken leg from a stall, some sticky rice grilled on sticks with chilli paste, and ate on the balcony of our guesthouse. Lovely.

Anyway, that's all the news from Luang Prabang (not very good at the whole 'keeping it short' thing am I?). We're now in Siem Reap in Cambodia and in a few days I'll attempt to describe our exploration of the temples of Angkor quickly (hahahaha!)

With love, Jo & Su, xxx