Currency:
Laos Kip

Highlights:
Utopia, Jo Ma's, waterfalls and one of the most charming cities in all of south-east Asia

Our Adventure:

We left the craziness of the Old Quarter of Hanoi and stumbled out of our hostel at 6AM past the early morning meat markets which line the streets and headed to the airport. Next stop: Luang Prabang, Laos.

Laos, formally known as the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), is one of the poorest nations in South-East Asia. A mountainous and landlocked country, Laos shares borders with Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, Thailand to the west, and Myanmar and China to the north.

Luang Prabang, also Luang Phabang, Luang Phrabang and Louang Phrabang is the former capital of Laos and a UNESCO World Heritage city.

Day 1:

As soon as we touched down at Luang Prabang airport and taxied toward the airport terminal we were greeted with numerous cars and people including news reporters standing outside the airport terminal. It turned out that there were a number of Korean government officials on our plane and we were kept onboard until they were safely loaded into the procession of cars and couriered off.

Unfortunately there was no VIP limo ride waiting for us so after collecting our bags, we jumped on a tuk tuk (the local taxis) and headed into Luang Prabang and to our home for the next few days, Thavisouk Guest House. We unpacked our bags and headed downstairs and bumped into Clyde who had just got in from Malaysia and 10 minutes later we were out and about ready to see what Luang Prabang had to offer us.

We began by walking the streets of Luang Prabang and as a visitor, you cannot help but be amazed by the tidiness and cleanliness of what is perhaps the most charming city in all of south-east Asia. With UNESCO so closely involved and a largely highly responsible group of local business owners, the pressures of mass tourism development have been held at bay, but for how much longer remains to be seen.

The main road, Xiang Thong, of Luang Prabang is a wonderful patchwork of traditional Lao wooden houses and hints of European architecture - reminders of when Laos was part of the French colony of Indochina. Golden-roofed wats (temples), decorated with mosaics and murals of the life of Buddha sit under the gaze of wrap-around balconies and 19th century shuttered windows.

First stop was for some lunch and we headed to the Scandinavian Bakery which came highly recommended in the Lonely Planet. We quickly settled into a few Beerlao's (the local Laotian beer) and caught up on what we had been up to since we last saw each other.

Thailand promotes itself as amazing, Vietnam can well be described as bustling, Cambodia's Khmer temples are awe-inspiring, Myanmar's junta is barbaric... but the adjective most often applied to Laos is forgotten. Although there are a few grand (but relatively unheard of) attractions, visitors are drawn by the laid-back lifestyle and the opportunity to knock back a few cold Beerlao while watching the sunsets on the Mekong. I think the attraction can best be explained by the true meaning of "Lao PDR" in Lao - Please Don't Rush.

After finishing a delicious lunch we decided to walk around the town and take in some of the local culture and views of Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang is set on two rivers - the Mekong and the Nam Khan and while walking around and admiring the beauty of these rivers and the various wats (temples) we were handed a pamphlet to a place called Utopia.

The pamphlet for Utopia read (word for word) as follows:

"...
Luang Prabang's premier riverview garden bar and restaurant

• dance to Cuban and Latin salsa
• lounge on the 28 metre sky deck
• satiate on cosmopolitan cuisine and exotic drinks at Luang Prabang's longest bar
• test your skills at pool, darts, and fools-ball
• make friends on the full-size beach volleyball court
• challenge others to a popular board game
• learn taekwondo or enroll in aerobics and meditation
• brave a 20 metre high climb on the crows nest
• gawk at chilling Indochina war relics
• stand awestruck at a display of the local volleyball - katow
• Wi-Fi while luxuriating in an elegant atmosphere

Discover fun, friends, and adventures in a spacious, tropical garden setting with a million dollar riverview
…"

Utopia can be defined as an imaginary place considered to be perfect or ideal and in this case the name describes this place perfectly - what an amazing place!

For the rest of the afternoon we lapped up the picture postcard views from the sky deck and settled into a good few Beerlao's and eventually watched the sun set over the Nam Khan river. The only thing that was slightly distracting - but probably more funny than distracting - was the men's urinal which was in full view of everyone from the sky deck.

After eventually dragging ourselves away from Utopia we headed on and stopped in at Hive Bar and Restaurant (which was meant to be for one more drink before dinner) where we landed up sitting all night and talking, drinking more Beerlao and finishing the evening with some great pizza from the clay oven. Our walk back to the guest house proved interesting when my lovely wife and Clyde almost got us lost but when they eventually listened to me I guided them home safe and sound and that concluded a great first day in Luang Prabang.

You can see our photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=379804&id=713415257&l=6909f5d208

Day 2:

We decided to have a bit of a sleep in and at 10h00 we met up with Clyde and headed to the main road, Xiang Thong, for a brunch at Jo Ma (which directly translated from Afrikaans means 'your mother').

Over brunch we had a look through the Lonely Planet recommended walking tour and decided to embark on the 3.5 km walking trail.

First stop was wandering through the local market where we looked through all of the local art and silver products that are made by the Laotian people. It is amazing in the fact that we would be walking along and next thing there would be an amazing wat right off the main road and as we explored many of the wats I will give you the highlights so as not to bore you:

• Banpakham wat
○ Right off the main road
○ We watched the monks while they ate and prayed
○ The monks were a little camera shy and do not like people taking photos of them
• Pahouak wat
○ Contained wall mural from 1860 AD
• That Phu Si and Wat Tham Phu Si
○ The main wat on top of the hill in the middle of Luang Prabang
○ Have to climb 190 steps to get to the top
○ Offers amazing views over Luang Prabang
○ Filled with various Buddha's, caves and artwork
• Wat Xieng Thong
○ Beautiful gold rimmed wats
○ Decorated wat walls with beautiful collages and intricate details

After viewing many of the wats we wandered down the banks of the Mekong River admiring the local art and lapping up the sunshine. We then got a text message from the rest of the team letting us know that they had arrived at the guest house.

We headed back to the guest house and caught up with Al, V, Greg and Shands and headed straight out for a catch up at Utopia which consisted of a late lunch accompanied with a good few Beerlao's and many laughs.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon playing a mammoth beach volleyball game (of course accompanied with many Beerlao's) which lasted around 5 hours with the triumphant team finally being Al, Lara and me who beat Greg, Shands, Clyde and V in a grueling 5 sets. What a great afternoon in Utopia!

By this stage the sun had well set and after the boys headed back for a quick shower to wash away the blood, sweat and tears we caught up with the girls again at Hive Bar. Before we knew it the time was almost 22h00 and we had to grab dinner before the kitchen closed so for the second night in a row we had dinner at the Hive Bar.

After another great meal the team was tired after a very busy day so we caught a tuk tuk home and hit the hay.

You can see our photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=379808&id=713415257&l=cb4119f452

Day 3:

After barely making it out of bed due to the stiffness from the mammoth beach volleyball session we eventually congregated downstairs at 10h00 with the plan being to head to one of the waterfalls for the day.

Unfortunately the weather was not that great and it was rather overcast so we decided to postpone the trip for a day and wait for the sun to come back out.

The others (Al, V, Greg and Shands) had not had a chance to wander around the streets of Luang Prabang so we hit the streets and after dropping off some washing grabbed some breakfast at the CT Bakery.

After breakfast Al, V, Greg and Shands decided to do the walking tour that we had done the day before and Clyde, Lara and I decided to have a very relaxed day and catch up on the admin that is associated with being a full time traveller i.e. doing washing, blogging, organising photos, catching up on email and for my wife it is having a pedicure etc.

That night walking back to the centre of the town we spotted the Do and Don'ts of Luang Prabang and we were happy to see that we had ticked off most things on the list. We wandered around the night market before heading for dinner at Boungnasouck where we could eat, drink and enjoy the views of the Mekong downstairs on their terrace.

Due to the curfew for bars in Luang Prabang everything shuts down at around 23h00 and the only place that you can continue drinking and partying is at the Bowling Sport Club whilst ten pin bowling. None of the tour team had ten pin bowled in ages and after a few beers this seemed like a great idea. So after almost negotiating to pay the taxi driver 20 000 kip each rather than 10 000 kip each that he originally asked for we jumped on the tuk tuk (which in this case was a poor motorbike which struggled up the hill) and headed for the Bowling Sports Club.

After an hour or two the Bowling Sports Club was packed and we had a lot of laughs until the early hours of the morning drinking beers and playing a good few games of ten pin bowling. I also managed to have a score of 75 after the first 5 frames and after 10 frames I still had 75. Perhaps that was one Beerlao too many for me. Al turned out to be the true champion with one of his wins coming from 3 strikes at the end of the game - jammy b*****.

You can see our photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=379810&id=713415257&l=758331c35f

Day 4:

The next day Al was feeling a little sick so the rest of the team headed to Jo Ma's for another delicious breakfast before jumping on a tuk tuk to head out to the Kouang Si Waterfall and to see the Asiatic Black Bear sanctuary, which is a beautiful spot 32 km south of Luang Prabang.

As we arrived the bears were just being fed so it was a great to see them up and about and we discovered that all of the bears in this sanctuary were confiscated from poachers who had taken them after tracking and killing their mothers. One of the worst things we learnt is that bears are often used in Asia for their bile which is supposed to have medicinal benefits- extracted from the bears via catheters or abdominal wounds.

Next we wandered up to the Kouang Si Waterfall that features a wide, multi-tiered waterfall tumbling over limestone formations into a series of cool, turquoise green pools.

As we wandered around the waterfall we discovered that the lower level of the falls had been turned into a public park with shelters, picnic tables and food vendors. We then hiked up a trail that ascends through the forest along the left side of the falls to an idyllic second tier which has a pristine swimming hole and some of the braver few enjoyed some swimming in the rather chilly water.

After a great day out we headed back to Luang Prabang and for our final dinner we went to a restaurant called Roots and Leaves. Here we were treated to a Laos fashion show during dinner and a final scrumptious meal before heading to Vang Vieng the next morning to meet up with some more friends: Craig, Sasha, Jeff, Shev and Kath for Sash's 30th birthday.

You can see our photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=379814&id=713415257&l=7e48454434

Until next time,
Leise + Lara