Luang Prabang, Laos

LUANG PRABANG
I spent the rest of my time in Laos with some of the people from the minivan - there were some characters among them; the McKinstry sisters, Gail and Lyn, from Belfast, Lee and Laura from Scotland and Nicola from Chichester in England. Together we took a trip out to the Tat Kuang Si waterfall, about 30km south of the town, in the back of a pick-up truck. The promised rope swing beside the falls was missing but the setting was very nice even if the water was much colder than expected. I got goose bumps for the first time this year.

Over the next few days we created our own 'breakfast club', meeting at 9am at the same restaurant to join up for some sightseeing together. We ventured up river to the beautiful Pak Ou caves, crammed with Buddha images of all shapes and sizes, and around town to the Royal Palace and the Xieng Thong temple, probably the best example of Lao style temple architecture.

Pak Ou caves near Luang Prabang

View from inside the caves

There are some fabulous French style buildings along the side streets, scores of historic temples at every turn and a wonderful relaxed atmosphere around town. The street next to the Mekong River was being repaved while I was there so there were a few disruptions and some unsightly piles of rubble around the place but once finished the waterfront will be the place to be. Although there were many differences I honestly felt like I could be in New Orleans.

Temple in Luang Prabang

One cool cat

On the day that the All Blacks beat Wales in the rugby I celebrated 400 DAYS ON THE ROAD with a couple of coffee milkshakes and a few helpings of my signature dish - lemon sugar pancakes.
After four days in Luang Prabang, Lee and Laura left for northern Laos and Nicola flew to Thailand so I joined the McKinstry sisters on the bus back to Vang Vieng. One more night and a few movies later I was heading back to Vientiane - a city I had yet to explore properly.

Tuk-tuk with the McKinstry sisters