Believe the hype
Trip Start
Mar 03, 2005
1
35
80
Trip End
Apr 08, 2006
Luang Prabang,
Louangphabang,
Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Monday, September 19, 2005
Situated on the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, the world heritage town of Luang Prabang has the ability to captivate even the slightly jaded traveller. It's a town of over fifty temples, beautifully preserved French colonial villas, small alleys, thousands of exotic palms and numerous cafes with THE best coffee in South East Asia. I'm totally blown away. While I wouldn't say it's my favourite city in the world, it certainly makes my top three (how could anywhere be better than Trinidad de Cuba or Antigua de Guatemala), and is without a doubt the highlight of my trip to Laos so far.
It was a long 9 hour bus trip from Phonsavan, winding and winding and winding our way through the rolling hills of Xieng Khuan province, then gracing the tops of huge mountains with limestone cliffs before finally descending to this wonderful town. The first glimpse of the southern bus terminal wasn't so inspiring, Jana and I looking at each other with the same look (this is it?), however a short tuk tuk ride down the main road in town gave us what we were looking for. Restaurants, cafes, French buildings and Lao people with conical hats. It was late afternoon, the sun was shining and straight away I knew I'd be grounding myself for a few days!
My travel buddy in Jana had grown into a travel posse of 6 people, with some Germans and another Aussie we met in Phonsavan joining us for the bus ride. We found a nice guesthouse, in restored French villas with some tables and chairs in the courtyard, and spent an hour or so relaxing after the bus journey before going for a short walk around town. There were plenty of nice little restaurants on the bank of the Mekong, and it was here we settled again to devour a huge feast, totally satisfying after a long day on the road.
The next day was quite relaxing, taking in the sites of the city on foot at a very leisurely pace. The temples in Luang Prabang are of a different style to those in the rest of Laos (and South East Asia), with most of them having roofs which reach almost to the ground. We visited about 8 temples, including the famous 450 year old Xieng Thong, taking numerous breaks to escape the heat and down a smoothie. An average sunset was taken in atop Phu Si, a 120m high hill in the centre of the city, before checking out the thousands of silk scarves, bags and other handicrafts at the night market, one of the my favourite markets in the world. The candles and colour and atmosphere are so sublime that despite not wanting to buy anything (at this stage) I still didn't want to leave.
The following day was a little more energetic with Jana, Tommy (one of the Germans) and myself joining a Kayak trip down the Nam Khan river. Along the way we stopped at the magnificent Tat Sae waterfall, a multi tiered waterfall caressing over limestone in amongst hundreds of a trees. Not a waterfull in the jungle, but a waterfall THROUGH the jungle. It was really beautiful. The rest of the trip was fun, with some nice scenery, although I think the kayaking at Vang Vieng was altogether a little better.
I woke early this morning to get a seat on a boat 25km up the Mekong to see the famous Pak Ou caves. These two caves, set in a limestone cliff overlooking the Mekong are home to over 4000 buddha statues. The scenery up river was really spectacular, with more limestone mountains, and the constant rain didn't ruin this at all. I planned to visit a larger waterfall this afternoon, however the lure of a $5 oil massage was too great, so I've left the waterfall for another day.
It really has been a fantastic few days here in Luang Prabang, however given limited time on this trip, the decision has been made to continue on my merry way north to Nong Khiaw for a few days with Jana, before returning here on Thursday or Friday. I'm hoping to do a trek into the hills for a few days when I return here, unless something even more appealing pops up in Nong Khiaw or Muang Ngoi Neua. So tomorrow I bid farewell to Tommy, Liz, Sonya and Stevie. Best of luck on your travels guys! And the journey north continues...
