Laos, with a silence 'S'.
Trip Start
Sep 29, 2008
1
18
41
Trip End
Aug 2009
Luang Prabang,
Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Monday, November 24, 2008
We then share a taxi into the quiet town of Luang Prabang. It is nigh on deserted, the empty streets dimly lit and filled with Wats ( buddhist monastries ).
The next day we walk the main street that runs through this peninsula, wedged between the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers. The place is stuck in a past age, its colonial buildings still well kept, the obvious tourist damage kept to a minimum. We find the slow pace of Laos a welcome relief after Vietnam. No one is trying to sell you something or take you somewhere or wants something!
The numerous Wats mean that everywhere are buddhist monks, a fact that Suzi finds fascinating. We see monks with cameras, mobile phones, getting taxis and sat in internet cafes
Elephant camp.
. In the late afternoon we climb Phu Si, a hill in the centre of town that houses many temples and gives a fantastic view of the whole area. We are joined by the whole town for the sunset.
We then go shopping in the night market, the main road being closed to traffic for the hundreds of stalls selling everything a tourist would want. We stock up on cheap T-shirts and trousers.
We eat in the food market, an alleyway full of barbeques, soup kitchens and noodle stalls. For less than a pound we eat until we can eat no more.
We spend the next couple of days relaxing with the slow moving pace of life.
We then head out for a two day tour of an elephant camp at Xieng Lom. The hour drive there in a Landrover is bumpy and dusty.We arrive in the middle of the jungle, on the banks of the Nam Khan River surrounded by mountains. The Lodge is a wooden building sat on stilts, high above the river. We get a canoe across the river to the elephant camp. Here they have 7 rescued female elephants, all ex-logging animals. They now work giving tourist rides through the thick jungle. We are first given a ride on the elephants with seats in place, before being introduced to 'our' elephant and their mahout, or handler
Pat Butcher!
. We then are told how to get them to move and to stop, before we are soon sat on their heads, legs wedged behind their ears and we're off into the jungle. The next hour is amazing, these majestic animals a pleasure to be with. Too soon and we are leaving them in the jungle for the night.
We then get a boat to the Tad Sae waterfalls, a truly stunning place where the mountain rivers converge on the stone banks of the Nam Khan, forming huge natural pools. We swim in its clear waters, even when four elephants come in to bath!
We spend the night at the lodge, the sound of the jungle the only noise we hear.
We rise early the next morning, for we have an appointment with the elephants. We collect them from the jungle and ride them to the river. Here we have a bath with them, the water waking us all up. It is a truly great experience.
We return to Luang Prabang and continue to see its many sights.
The Wat Xieng Thong is the most ornately decorated in the town, and as well as the temple there is the funeral chariot for the former King of Laos.
Tad Sae waterfalls.
We then visit the Royal Palace Museum, the former royal residence. The place has the air of a school building, its high ceilings and dark wood floors being very austere for a palace. We both agree that a palace should be grander!While we're there though we do see a Queen!
The Queen of Albert Square!
No other than Pat Butcher!
She is very nice and has a picture taken wth us. We then can't get away from her, she seems to be following us everywhere. Some people don't know when to respect a persons privacy!
We then plan to head to Thailand, a trip that will take two days by boat.
But guess what?
Dave gets sick, AGAIN!
He has the same thing as he had in Nepal, so it's back to the doctors for blood tests and another round of antibiotics. A couple of days rest and then we will begin the trek to Thailand. Depending on the BBC World news!
