Luang Prabang

Trip Start Jun 09, 2006
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Trip End May 29, 2007


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Flag of Lao Peoples Dem Rep  ,
Sunday, January 14, 2007

After 2 fun days on a slow boat down the Mekong River, and an overnight stop in Pek Beng, we finally arrived in Luang Prabang. This city used to be the captial of Lao, and is now protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage City. After a few days here its easy to understand why as the rivers, wats with Buddha relics and phenomenal scenery make for good eye candy.  Its a small town so we ran into many people from the boat as well as other places all the time. When the bars shut down at around 12, we head to where anyone would..the local bowling alley for some late night gaming fanatics. The Night Market is really nice, stuff was unexplainably cheaper than what I found in Thailand (T-shirts for 2.50 CDN), so I bought my fair share of souvenirs here. We stayed at the Merry guesthouse which we thought was a steal (10$ US/Night) for being really clean and right on the Nam Khan river.  Kelly and I have spent our time here walking the river(s), playing soccer with the locals, bike-riding and wat seeing.  Went to a really nice waterfall (Kouang Si) and got to swim in it.  Monks are everywhere.  If you want you can wake up early and give alms to them, I didn't (too early) but they say its really a humbling, peaceful experience . So far the food in Laos is really good, particularly the Luang Prabong salad.  Although they are poor here, you don't have to spend alot to see that you've given alot to them, which makes splurging even more fun.  Luang Prabang was definately one of the best cities we visited on the trip, very laid back and beautiful, also good food and hospitality.  There is really something for everyone here so you can easily spend a week here (especially after that boat ride!) and not be dissapointed.
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