Luang Prabang, Laos
February 6-9, 2014
The Unesco town of Luang Prabang is known for its numerous Buddhist temples, 33 in total. Every morning, hundreds of monks from the various monasteries walk through the streets collecting alms which means they collect food for their day and this is their only means of eating. In response to tourism, the town has developed many guesthouses and hotels and chic restaurants and shops are popping up along its main streets. There is a relaxing quality about visiting here and often a few days will turn into several more.
Our Accommodation - Soukkhasiem Guesthouse
Upon arriving in Luang Prabang, we discovered that almost every guesthouse and hotel was fully booked for the Chinese New Years holiday. After spending hours walking the streets, we luckily found a place called Soukkhasiem Guesthouse (unfortunately, we couldn't find a link to provide). It was new and had decent rooms and located in the centre of the town.
Photo's of Luang Prabang
Night Market
The night market was really great and very lively. It opened every night at 5pm and you could find a plethora of food and local crafts and textiles that were better than the normal tourist junk you see at these markets...some of it seemed quite unique to the region. It was definately one of the better markets we've experienced.
Utopia Bar and Restaurant
This was a great find! Utopia was tucked away down some small alley ways and overlooked the river while you lounged in a bunch of comfy mats and chairs taking your time to sip your fruit shake or lao beer. We also met a wonderful Canadian couple from B.C. who are teaching English in China and we enjoyed a great night with them here for dinner and drinks.
Temples and Monks
While visiting one of the temples, we met a young Monk "in training" and had a wonderful long chat with him. His name was Jasmine and he was really inspiring to listen to. He was very animated and loved to smile so this particular picture doesn't quite capture his spirit.
Elephant Tour
We decided to take a tour to visit one of the nearby elephant camps where we had an opportunity to ride the elephants and spend some time feeding and bathing them in the Mekong River. There are many tour operators in Luang Prabang offering day trips to elephant camps. We would recommend a company called The Elephant Village who offer tours at their elephant sanctuary involving rescued animals. We felt their tour would provide a more educational experience.