HeuanSopha Luang Prabang

... was completely on my own. Immediately a tuk-tuk driver approached me and told me he co uld take me to the city center. The whole way there I prayed that a hotel would be open so that I didn't have to spend the next two hours in the pitch dark waiting in the street. Once we arrived in the city center, I realized that nothing was open. Luckily, my tuk tuk driver was nice and he knocked on three or four guest house doors before of them let me in. I checked in quickly, too tired to be annoyed ...

... gave what they could, mainly sticky rice and later in the day there was a prayer meeting at a Temple but I failed to find it. However in the evening whilst exploring the town I came across a temple where the monks were the monks were doing their chants and I sat in the back and listened to it for about half an hour. <br><br>I took a trip up the Mekong to see some caves and villages along the way. The trio took about 3 hours ...

... Thai, and the tempo was too slow for my westernized taste. <br><br>Luang Prabang is the old capital of the Kingdom of Laos, which survived until 1976, when the communist took over the country. Despite the flocks of foreign visitors and shoulder-to-shoulder shops that do business with them, the city somehow retains an enchanting, peaceful atmosphere among its ancient temple and shuttered French mansions. I will remember the times that I spent there.

... 20 minutes moto ride out of town, the coolest waterfall I've ever swam in!!! Nearly 20 tiers of white limestone rocks with little pools all the way down. Clean water, good temp, awesome tomb raider scene, minus the tombs!!! Worth going to Laos just for these falls, Vientienne is even more boring than LP!!! Enjoy!!!

... to merge into one. One of the most surprising visits was to the royal palace; it turned out to be a palace of two halves. The royal reception rooms and throne room were extremely ornate, decorated with huge murals, glass mosaics and some mean looking samurai swords that belonged to the king&#8217;s guards. In stark contrast to this were the royal family&#8217;s private chambers, the king and queens bedrooms were surprising simple and spartan.<br ...

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... myself fairly athletic, but not in the least aspect am I flexible. I'm about as flexible as a 2X4. I sat down and pulled my feet in under my knees, oooohhhh, feel the burn, haha. I was hoping that this was going to be a short dinner. Nope, so there's lettuce, cilantro, green onion and an herb that I can't name in a pile., browned garlic and crushed peanuts in a small tray, a bowl of raw beef cut into one inch by one inch pieces, obtusely triangular cut pieces of rice paper in ...

... start to this place but it was the only negative in my experience there. I wandered around the city visiting wats including one that sits on a hill in the city and offers great views. This is the place to be in the evening when all the wats in town sound their gongs - what a magical sound! At Wat Xieng Thong (Temple of the Golden City) there were beautiful colored glass ...

Muang Ngoi, January 13th<br><br>Our stay in Vang Vieng, even aside from the hospitality given to us by Ged and Kham, was pleasant enough. The town lies beside the Nam Song river, which is wide and shallow and not difficult to ford at this time of the year. On the other side of the river lies lush countryside and a patchwork of dry paddy fields with a scattering of rickety shacks on stilts where farmers rest during the hottest hours of the day and sometimes cook food over wood fires in ...