We arrive to Laos later than planned and took a cab from the airport. Once we had been shown around and given a rather in depth orientation of Luang Prabang-in typical SE Asian fashion the owner told us EVERYTHING there was to know about the area, despite us staying only three days and being shattered, he would have gone on for hours if we had let him. The owners gave us a late transfer into town to get some dinner and we got a glimpse of the night market and a few of the local hangout spots.
Open sided mini buses seem to be all the rage here for hotels to transfer guests.
The town is pretty small and it seems the local bars also double up as community style centers.
'Mines a Chardonnay and a page or two of Keats'
One for my northern friends - even an Ikon in Luang Prabang!
The whole town of Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with several streets called the 'old quarter' from the era the French occupied as the main hub of the UNESCO protected area.
"Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away." - Marcus Aurelius
The town is on a peninsula where two rivers meet - the Mekong and the Khan, one river runs down each side of the town and there are some pretty special views as we discovered on our first full day....
This town is a great place to come and chill out, the sort of place you could come and write a novel.
"Sometimes, a novel is like a train: the first chapter is a comfortable seat in an attractive carriage, and the narrative speeds up. But there are other sorts of trains, and other sorts of novels. They rush by in the dark; passengers framed in the lighted windows are smiling and enjoying themselves." - Jane Smiley
After a cup of tea overlooking the river it was time to look round the town a little more....
There is a real French influence with many restaurants and patisseries. French is quite widely spoken and many of the tourists are French too. The town has a really strange European vibe and it felt like the first time I had been somewhere so European in 6 months! After our walk round it was time for lunch here...
...this little deli / patisserie was facing one of the temples and the food was delicious and super French!
After breakfast we headed to see the temples around town. Similar in some ways to the Cambodian ones, but also really different it was interesting to take a look and photograph them...
Boats
"My escape is to just get in a boat and disappear on the water." - Carl Hiaasen
Each of the temple compounds had quite a few buildings.
Each door, window, wall and roof inside and out was so intricately decorated.
Carriage- I assume for some sort of procession? or funerals?
Next we went to see Wat Xieng Thong one of the most famous temples in the area and the most visited. They were doing some renovations, but the mosaics and decoration here were stunning.
Before being guild in gold the carvings are painted black.
Displays of Buddha
Mosaic wall
The red tongued Naga snakes on the carriage designed to take the Loas royalty funeral urns.
Inside the Wat.
Reclining Buddha
This small temple was decorated so beautifully, all in mosaic.
Tree of life mosaic.
"All theory, dear friend, is gray, but the golden tree of life springs ever green." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
We headed back to the river on the other side of the peninsula where they were building the seasonal bridge, this is build and taken away each year - rains and water level dependant and gives access the the island across.
"The hardest thing in life to learn is which bridge to cross and which to burn." - David Russell
Boats are a great form of transport here.
Monks robes drying over the river.
Back in town you can really see the European feel...
And for our final relax and rehydrate by the river...
"It was one of my dreams as a child, growing up in my little village with my cousins. We used to walk together, and I used to say, when you look at the world map, 'This town is there, that town is there, that river is there.' I used to say, 'One day, I'm going to travel these places.'" - Jimmy Cliff
Mum looking happy and relaxed.
"Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship." - Buddha
Occasionally we even take photos of people!
Watching the tourist barges go by....
A pretty lane way captured on the way back to the hotel.
The next day we headed out to see the nearby waterfalls and a bear sanctuary....
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