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We flew from Hanoi to Luang Prabang in Laos. At the airport Roger was somewhat bemused and gratified when a little Vietnamese boy asked to have his photo taken with him. I'm not sure whether he mistook him for David Beckham, Daniel Craig or maybe John Candy or whether he just found the sight of a six foot two genial giant with his happy Buddha tummy (although not much of that remains) an inspiring photo opportunity!
Luang Prabang is lovely - such a culture shock after Hanoi. It has a really sleepy village feel and we are woken up by the sound of cockerels crowing with hardly a motorbike to be seen. The restaurants are wonderful! Last night we had a whole Panin fish between us which had been cooked with herbs and served with a tamarind sauce. It was so moist and delicious - probably the best fish dish we have ever had.
During the night there was the most incredible storm with lightening, crashing thunder and torrential rain - quite a spectacle in itself. The power went off intermittently (which seems to be a frequent occurrence) but all was clear by morning.
The town is a UNESCO world heritage site and the architecture is a mix of colonial French and Laotian with a lot of polished ebony floors and wooden ceilings, doors, shutters and pillars - very lovely. There is a really interesting night market where you can browse with minimum hassle and plenty of local crafts on display.
We walked around the town, which sits at the junction of 2 rivers and is packed with Wats and other cultural sights, and even crossed a perilous bamboo bridge which has to be removed each rainy season or it would be washed away. Visited the old royal palace which is now a museum and saw the Prabang itself which is a Buddha statue somehow intrinsically linked with the wellbeing of the nation. Also took a trip to the Kuang Si waterfalls which are lovely cascading down the hillside and creating several different pools for swimming and generally jumping in by all sorts of means. It was a public holiday and the place was full of Laotian families with picnics. Only the young seemed to swim and they do so fully clothed - not sure what they made of the western tourists. At the site is a sanctuary for Asiatic black bears (called Moon Bears because of the white crescent on their breasts). These bears have been rescued from cages where they were farmed for their bile to use in Chinese medicine - such a ghastly life.
This morning we visited an elephant village where they rescue elephants from the logging trade. We rode an elephant called Huang down a steep path and down the river coming back through a local village. All great fun and the jungle makes a fascinating backdrop. After the obligatory feeding session we were able to swim in the pool of a luxury boutique hotel on site and were served a really good lunch. After returning to Luang Prabang we went to see Wat Xiang Thong which was built in 1560 and is incredibly beautiful with every spare inch covered with gold stencils. Followed this with a bike ride around the city and a sunset cruise on the Mekong. A busy day! Tomorrow we fly to Vientiane and will be sorry to leave Luang Prabang - if we had any flexibility we would have stayed longer.
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