Markets and Waterfalls
Trip Start
Sep 30, 2005
1
50
82
Trip End
Sep 01, 2006
Luang Prabang,
Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Friday, March 10, 2006
After an 8 hour bus journey through the stunning but very winding mountains of Northern Laos we arrived in Luang Prabang, a nice city again on the Mekong. The French-esk city has lots of temples, cafes and restaurants and a huge night market full of funky stuff you think you need and it is hard to resist cakes (There are evil temptresses everywhere selling crisps, chocolates, cakes and doughnuts, and shouting about it, damn them all). Our first day we wandered around in the sweltering heat bumped into the usual suspects again doing the same route before having a tasty 'cook it yourself BBQ' by the river.
The next day we went to the Royal Palace/History museum (filled with gifts from other countries including rock from the Moon (USA) and a boomerang (you can guess that one) and some of the many surrounding temples
01. Camp Boy and the Temple on the Hill
. In the afternoon we went to an amazing series of waterfalls to cool off in picturesque turquoise pools. One of the tourist attractions at the waterfall are some young bear cubs and a tiger. There enclosures were not too bad and the story is they were all rescued after poachers killed their mothers and there was no choice. If true then great and we all donated to the new and improved enclosure, if not true (as someone suggested) then a great way to get around having the attraction without getting (some) people annoyed.Anyway that night after a worrying few hours where we couldn't get any money and thought we would have to live on $4 between us for the next 3 days (thankfully sorted) we met people for dinner, got scared by a man in uniform holding a gun and pipe (gun turned out to be a very realistic lighter he was selling) before getting invited to a pre-wedding celebration on our street. Lots of laughing and joking, offered plate after plate of chicken feet and too much Lao Lao whiskey. As there was a bit of a language issue (being no one could understand much at all) the universal thing we all knew was "Hey.....Drink!!" so that happened all the time. Danny ended up in a head to head contest with the brides family (all very manly apart from having to hold his now very long hair back for him when we got back!) Still at least we didn't have too much to do the next day unlike them as the wedding was the next day!
Hope you are all ok :)
Comments
lang praBang On
Hi guys ... hate signing up for these blasted things just to leave a comment, but have finally been suckered I by the nth thousand 'hey we're having a better time than you, you sad sad people in your sad sad dismal cold offices' email ....
sounds like you're having a fantastic time! v.v.v.v.v.v.v. jealous. Lang Prabang one of our fav far east cities. Anyone suckered you in to karaoke yet? It's a completely surreal experience. Make sure you get yourselves a boat and guide and head over to the the cliffside temples too a little further up the Mekong ...
oh look, its snowing again ... no that's sleet ... even better to cycle home in ... hurrah, life here is so good *sigh*