My first stop in Laos was the beautiful, lazy, riverside town of Luang Prabang. I'd heard so many mixed views about Laos as a whole, a friend of mine told me not to even bother going! But I have to say I fell a little bit in love with Luang Prabang and its super chilled out vibe. I only had a week in Laos in total but I could have happily spent a week in just Luang Prabang!
Laos is a landlocked country so with it being a sweltering nearly 40 degrees on somedays it would have been good to have had a pool to cool off in! But I guess I'll know for next time. Sadly the river wasn't safe to swim in! On my first day I explored the town, visited the Royal Palace and crossed over to the river to go to a temple via the old bamboo bridge.
I spent a lot of time hanging out at Utopia, one of the 'must go to' riverside bars in Luang Prabang. Chilled out by day, lively by night! There is cosy bean bags to lie on, cheap drinks and food, amazing views and great wifi!! Apparently they also do yoga classes and an amazing breakfast in the morning but I didn't get up early enough for that!
One day I took a day trip to the beautiful Kuang Si waterfalls which was around a 40 minute drive from Luang Prabang. I've seen a lot of waterfalls while I've been travelling (mainly in the Philippines) but this is defiantly up there with one of the best! It was also nice to have a swim in the cold water and cool off from the heat. Luckily it also wasn't too busy when we got there so we had the waterfall almost to ourselves!
One evening just before sunset I climbed Phou Si Hill in the centre of Luang Prabang. It was a sweaty climb of 300+ steps to the top but on the way up there were some sculptures of Buddha's to look at, so I could take a rest! It was definatly worth it when you got to the top and saw the views over Luang Prabang - you could see all the coloured rooftops, the Mekong River and as the sun came down the locals started to set up the night market. No better way to end the day with a drink by the river and a traditional Laos curry!
My next post will be all about my visit to Vang Vieng!
On my final day in Luang Prabang before getting the bus to Vang Vieng I got up at around 5.30am (it was still dark!) to go and see the Monks! Every morning at 6am they do a holy ritual called the 'arms giving ceremony' - you can participate in the ceremony if you like but I just watched. Locals come to give rice to the Monks before they head to the Royal Palace. I'd say it was defiantly worth getting up early for!
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