· The journey from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang was long, hilly and bumpy. We thought that by paying more and travelling in a minivan (the VIP option) that it would be really comfortable and enjoyable. This was far from reality. There was absolutely no leg room at all and the van had no suspension. It was so slow that a 300km journey took about 8 hours to get there!
When we got to Luang Prabang, there was a Swiss man that refused to pay the taxi driver. Taxis here are like buses, its one price person but this man just refused to pay. It really annoyed me. I felt like telling him to get out so that we can all go as there were 6 people in the taxi waiting. The price was 10000 kip per person, which is not even 1 euro. He eventually paid but he was not happy. Steph and I got dropped off at our hotel and to my suprise, that man and his parter was staying there too. Again, they weren't happy with their room and asked to be shown around every other room that was free. They didn't end up taking any of the rooms and left. Don't know why though, all the rooms were so beautiful. This was an old French style wooden house with a really nice conservatory area to relax and enjoy. It was very affordable too. I think we paid less than US$30 for the room. After settling into the room, we did what was recommended by our trusty Lonely Planet guidebook for the rest of the day - just meandering through the streets and soaking up the unique fusion of Lao and European architecture and relaxed atmosphere of this beautiful UNESCO World Heritage city.
The next day we took a boat trip up the Mekong River. First, we stoped by the "Whisky Village" famous for its "Lao-Lao" (Lao alcohol). For those of you who don't know what this is, its simply rice whisky brewed in Laos. Mainly popular in small villages and country towns, its white in colour and very strong. Apart from the Whisky, the village is set up with many stalls with people from all ages from little kids to old ladies selling silk and Lao souvenirs. Moving up the river we finally got to the Pak Ou Caves. There are two caves here. The first one called Tham Ting had hundreds of small Buddhist statues (mostly of the standing Bhudda) that have been accumulated for many years. The second one, Tham Phum was really dark, only lit by candles with more Buddhist statues. It was a real honour for me being here in these caves. As a Bhuddist, I was privileged to kneel in front of Bhudda and pay my respects.
A visit to Luang Prabang must include the Kuang Si Waterfall! This was the most beautiful waterfall I had ever seen! It was simply stunning. Just look at this picture. On the right on the waterfall, theres a steep slippery trail that you can climb to get to the top of the waterfall to get views of the water pool below. It was just beautiful.
After a quick visit to the Royal Palace museum we walked across the road and took the stairs up Phou Si Hill to visit the temple, Wat Phou Si. When we got to the top we also got to take in some great veiws of the city! On the way back, we took the backside route down more stairs seeing more Buddist statues and relics on the way. Before we left Luang Prabang the next morning, we made sure that we went back to the night markets (also a must) where we purchased some beautiful handmade Lao silk and enjoyed more Lao food!
