Lotus Villa Luang Prabang

After landing on the small airstrip we caught a motorised tuk-tuk to Lotus Villa, Luang Prabang, a UN Heritage town. We went for a walk along the nearby Mekong and were disappointed at the number of tourists. Tourists apart, the place and people are ...

... for a relaxing and invigorating Lao Massage.   There are so many motels, guesthouses and hotels in Luang Prabang that one is often spoilt for choices but Lotus Villa is one of the newer ones and we find it very well maintained compared to the ...

... good, and the bun was similar to that you find at a Chinese bakery, which helped make this snack quite tasty. The airport in Luang Prabang is very close to the city, so close that we were able to clearly see the temple and stupa on the main hilltop. ...

... banana leaf. Sitting outside the restaurant we could clearly hear the evening chanting by the monks in the nearby Temple. Reflections on Luang Prabang - At first we considered LP to be touristy but away from Main Street and the night Market area it was ...

... Museum, this temple was the only other spared by the Black Flag Haw and is another example of the beautiful Luang Prabang style architecture. Additionally, it houses two long racing boats. Wat Saen Located on Thanon Sakkalin, between the school ...

... out quite well now because I have learned the trick to use the fast shutter on Nero to "freeze" the waterfalls!!     Luang Prabang town   After Kwangsi, Khoun sent us to town for us to wander about because since the day of our ...

Luang Prabang (I don't have the guidebook with me so I might be making a bit of the following up): the glittering jewel of the Mekong, home to 20,000 (and two for a few days), place of a thousand Wats (actually it's around 200, but to he honest that ...

... further (I was relieved to discover that I hadn't been charged anything for 'extras') then try out the Lotus du Laos Spa on the main street in Louang Prabang. After the unique massage experience we went back at our guesthouse to have the B'day cake. Bex ...

... quickly find our bags. Outside we grab a minivan that brings us to our stay for the coming nights, the Lotus Villa hotel, somewhere in downtown Luang Prabang. The Hotel is comfortable but very basic. Our room is on the second floor of the main building. ...

We spent the morning at the Deak Kum Pa Orphanage, which is located on the outskirts of Luang Prabang. The owners of our hotel, especially Andrew Brown, are actively involved with the orphanage, which was chosen by the hotel workers as a place needing ...

... . We started with river weed crackers (a bit like nori - the seaweed wrapping on sushi - but not so fishy) and the Luang Prabang salad (which is a traditional dish that gets a lot of it's influence from French cuisine) and followed that up with chicken ...

... best maintained structure in the village. Back on our boat we slowly descend down the Mee Kong river. When we reach the town of Luang Prabang the sun is just starting to touch the top of the hills. We settle down at one of the few riverside restaurants ...

... in this laid-back yet extremely captivating little city. There's a line in the guidebook that says most visitors' stories about Luang Prabang start off like, “We were only intending to stay for two days, but...” There is something about this ...

We woke up early to watch a daily 6:30 am routine in Luang Prabang: the alms, where locals (and tourists) give monks rice to "make merit", which ensures that those giving rice won't go hungry in their next life. The monks' path around town included the ...

... in the lower and 1500 in the upper. They are very sacred and each year hundreds make the pilgrimage upriver from Luang Prabang. Neglecting the religious significance the caves are rather un-exciting. The return trip with the current was much quicker ...