Luang Prabang went well, the formalities at the airport were a breeze and we took the airport taxi to our guesthouse, Muong Lao riverside. We were dropped at the Muong Lao guest house, but it looked nothing like the place I had seen on the website. The owner sorted us out and called a tuk tuk to take us to the Riverside version of the Muong Lao. The second one was as expected, on the banks of the Mekong river and our room had a balcony overlooking the river.
The Mekong view from our rooms balcony, in Luang Prabang, Laos
Our Guesthouse
That first afternoon we wandered about town and found our way, the rain came that evening and continued all next day. We climbed the towns sacred Wat located in the centre of town. The climb was very steep and constant, in the wet humidity it took it's toll. On the way down we ran into a small group of young monks. This town is full of Wat's containing monks, over 400 make the morning alms walk were they are given food by the locals and tourists, it is deemed to make you fell better when you donate. The young monks asked us to help with their English, when we agreed they whipped out their practice exercise books. The books contained their beautiful handwriting in basic sentences. These we corrected and helped them with some pronunciation.
Hilde helping her monk with mine closest to the camera.
At one stage my monk protested that Hilde was sitting too close to her student, they were sitting about 6 inches apart, he gestured them apart until he was satisfied with about a 12 inch gap. He said to me, "we are not allowed to have girlfriends." That just showed their innocence, we were seated in a sheltered area within the confines of their Wat, at one stage 4 younger monks arrived, they were aged 10 to 13 years of age. They munched on snacks and when finished dropped the packaging into the garden and walked away. A big surprise!!!
The next morning the weather cleared and we gained a little freedom with our rental scooter. Rentals in Laung Prabang are expensive to the rest of Asia, Vientiane and Cambodia they rent for around 5 to 7 USD per day, at LP they are 20 to 25 USD per day. The story is that the locals are trying to limit the number of backpackers in favour of well heeled and better behaved tourists.
Our rental at Laung Prabang.
The scooter took us out of town to a waterfall and a local weavers village, we were shown the whole process from the silk worms to the finished product.
A young Muong lady weaving at nearby village.
After the village we headed right out of town, a ten kilometre slide on a muddy track to the elephant village. The ride out and back was very hairy, slipping and sliding through mud holes and avoiding collapsed sections of the roadway. We managed it ok although the bike needed a good clean. Here you can join in and learn to drive an elephant, take them into the river for a wash, or simply feed them some sugar cane. Hilde chose the lesser option, the big fellows frightened her.
Hilde feeding an Elephant sugar cane.
The Mekong ferry driver and his very basic operations centre.
The Mekong ferry.
We returned to town for lunch and us we pulled up to our chosen restaurant the heavens opened and the afternoon downpour was hitting the town. Lucky for us the rain cleaned the bike and we remained dry. As soon as lunch finished the downpour ceased and we decided to cross the Mekong o the vehicle ferry. It is a very ancient thing that takes the odd car, but mostly scooters. The other side of the Mekong was an eye opener, the opposite to what we had at Lunag Prabang. A short ride put us right back into the mud, this time up to our shins and the bike was now a nice Mekong brown. 100 metres of this was enough to turn us around back to the ferry.
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The muddy track and the Local Police Station on the other side of the river.
We gave the bike back and arranged a boat trip up the Mekong for the next day, this was an organised day trip and we managed to find some others to fill our boat of 6.
The boat was a lot smaller and decrepit that what was sold to us.
Our boat, boat driver and Captain at the wharf at the trips destination, a Buddha Cave.
The trip back.
Hilde handing out alms (Banana's)
The next morning we were away from the guesthouse before 6am to get into position to see the monks parading for their alms though town. They came in groups of 30 to 40, a total of 400 monks. Each morning we were awoken by their drums at 4am. A large Wat is located right behind our guesthouse.
An artists impression of the ceremony of the alms
Later that morning we headed to the big brother mouse store, an organization that helps with education in LP. Each morning they provide free English tuition to any person who wants it and at the same time they provide the opportunity for tourists to give that free tuition. In all respects it's a win for everyone. We both got a real buzz out of it, for me teaching was very new and rewarding, I can say my four guys taught me a thing or two also.
Hilde and her pupils
Our last days in LP we took in the last remaining sites. A short walk down the street was the oldest Wat. A van trip crammed with back packers to a waterfall for a swim and the customary photo's.
The local and oldest Wat in Laung Prabang
A small part of the largest waterfall some 30 kilometres from Luang Prabang, a day trip with some backpackers
Our time in LP came to a close with a short flight to Siem Reap in Cambodia, a Vietnam airlines Fokker that sat 78 and with only 16 punters aboard it was nice. Although they did cram us all into the same section in the middle of the plane.
At Siem Reap we were collected by a Tuk Tuk, one of the best I have seen.
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