Luang Prabang
Feeling rather lazy and not ready to face for another overnight bus, we decided to cheat and got ourselves onto a reasonably expensive flight to Luang Prabang. It was a fairly short flight and well worth every penny for saving us from spending 30+ hours in a hot crammed bus.
We had a lovely little river front room booked in Thongbay Hotel just a little way out of the town centre. Our balcony faced the Nam Khan river and the views were stunning. You could just sit for hours watching the general river traffic of longboats carrying goods, children playing in the mud and occasionally a massive butterfly would land inches away from you. These huge colourful butterflies are so impressive. At any one time you could see at least ten swooping from one bright flower to another that covered the beautiful gardens. It was a lovely retreat after the hustle and bustle of Siam Reap, and good place to take a breather whilst Mark got on with more of his freelance work.
The peninsula that is the old town is bordered by both the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers. There are loads of lovely restaurants and shops by the riverfront and around the main streets. There is also a fantastic night market which I took full advantage of, ignoring Mark's "what the heck are you going to do with all this silk? Have you not bought enough already?" comments. Well, my argument is that they are handmade and it helps the local economy, also they are really light to carry and I have a weak spot for grannies selling their own handmade stuff… Anyway, I shopped whilst Mark worked. A perfect arrangement, I think.
Luang Prabang is such a pretty town, with its crumbling french buildings and many ornate temples of gold and silver, dating back from 15th and 16th centuries. We had a lovely day walking from one to the another and even climbed up the steep steps of Phu Si Temple in 35 degree heat to catch the panoramic views on the summit. It's actually impossible to walk around town without finding yourself crossing paths with a few orange-clad monks on their way to prayer or a few gold buddhas serenely looking at you from their chosen spots. The whole town has a real buddhist sanctuary feel to it and people too are different here; much more laid-back, and are kind and gentle in a way that is not practiced by their neighbours. Extreme emotions and public displays of affections are frowned upon; you'll never hear a heated argument here or see a couple holding hands or kissing. We really did not get hassled either and if you politely say no to the street sellers they left you alone, which was a surprise to us both. However, I must add the tuk-tuk drivers are still rather pushy and would rob you blind if you let them.
On our final day we decided to check out the nearby waterfalls, about 40 mins drive along a most scenic route. Again we were greeted by many huge butterflies and some of the prettiest falls we'd seen. They cascade quite a way down the valley creating little pools and ponds. The upper most layers are not suitable for swimming as they have leeches, but the lower few had more than a few people jumping in. They are fairly touristy so you were sharing the water with a number of people but it was still nice to jump in the cold water to cool off from the stiffling mid-afternoon heat.
On our way back to town we stopped off at a nearby village. It was really basic accommodation mostly made out of bamboo and you could immediately tell that this was one of the poorest communities we'd come across. The Laotians we'd met up to now had been reasonably well-off especially around the touristy town of Luang Probang, but in this village you could see how the average person made do with very little. They had a single well for the whole village and little girls of 6-7 were carrying pails of water nearly their own size back to their homes for cooking and washing. There were just so many children. What possesses these people to have so many kids in such poverty I really don't understand. Some were playing, but most were manning little stalls selling some art or handcraft. It was just so sad to see most of the men doing nothing, just sitting and chatting, whilst their 10 year old was trying her hardest to make some money from the visiting tourists. To not encourage further child-labour I did not partake in any further shopping, and also by now my bag is was getting near enough to bursting point, along with Mark's patience for handcraft stalls.
