Luang Prabang - back to civilization (sort of)
I guess we have the French to thank for something. Finally we're back in a place where electricity and shower heads (instead of buckets) are the norm. Here we can eat food other than "flied lice" and "flied noodles", and have been scoffing ourselves with crepes, pastries and Indian food!
Our new friends Wendy and Dominic rented a boat and driver (which we shared) to take us down river to Luang Prabang, a nicer form of travel than public transport on pick-up trucks on windy & bumpy roads. Though we regretted leaving Muang Ngoi too early, in retrospect it was the perfect day for river travel, as it has been cold and rainy ever since. At one point we got totally soaked from a river rapid. Mandy, at the front of the boat, would have won first prize at a wet t-shirt competition, and actually had to take her pants off to let them dry in the sun!!!
We stopped at the Pak Ou caves on the way down, which the Lonely Planet raves about, but we found them only passingly interesting, and were glad we didn't make a special trip from Luang Prabang to see them.
Luang Prabang is the second largest city in Laos, and was the capital for hundreds of years before the French took over, so it is rich in history and architecture, with many Buddhist temples in town. It is actually a UNESCO World Heritage City, so this is a major tourist destination, even for packaged tourists, and we had a hard time finding accomodation, and ended up having to spend an outrageous $5 for a room without attached bath. This is over double of what we've been spending in the rest of Lao.
We rented bicycles one day and explored the town, from the biggest temple to the local market where we bought a big papaya and watermelon, sat by the Mekong river, and gourged ourselves on them:
Mandrew in front of the "tree of life" mosiac at the Wat Xieng Thong:
Later that night we were invited to a Buddhist ceremony which celebrated the first full moon of the new year. We brought incense, flowers, and candles, and sat on the floor while the orange-clad monks read stories and prayed, and our legs fell asleep. After an hour of pain (although it was very interesting), we lit our candles and walked around the outside of the temple three times while making wishes.
New Moon Service (1st of the New Year):
The next day we got up early to beat the crowds to the waterfalls, about an hour's dusty-road drive out of town. First we encounterred Phet, a full-grown tiger who was rescued from poachers, and now lives comfortably in a large jungle enclosure. We also saw some black bear cubs in a separate enclosure.
When we got to a nice small waterfall, we were content but decided to keep following the trail uphill. In a few more minutes, we came upon the next waterfall, at least a 100-feet high. And when we turned the corner we realized it was twice as high as we initially thought. At the bottom were some beautiful pools which would have made for some good swimming if it hadn't been so cold. The whole place was just stunning and we were rewarded for the early start by having it all to ourselves.
Phet:
At the lowest waterfall, with Dennis, Wendy & Dominic (from Boulder, CO):
The big waterfall, Mandrew & Dominic and Wendy:
Looking down from the top of the falls - this place was gorgeous: