Laos Laos- Luang Prabang

White Temple in Chiang Rai

Slow Boat on the Mekong River

Monks walking across footbridge in Luang Prabang

Made it to Laos!!!
After a long windy van ride through Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong, a day of slowboating on the Mekong river, a night in Pak Beng, and another 9 hour slow boat ride, we finally made it to Luang Prabang!
 The slowboat was an experience in itself. I originally thought it was going to be like a ferry boat, but I was off by a mile... It was more like a long wooden canoe with a motor in the back, and about 100 people squeezed into car seats that had been taken out of cars and placed on the boat. But it was a beautiful ride down the Mekong River, and after nearly 17 hours on a boat, you see some spectacular views, and meet some great fellow backpackers.

On our first day, Claire and I decided to use our guidebook to do a walking tour of Luang Prabang. 
We met up with Isabella and Anja at the sandwich stand, two German girls who were on our slow boat, and started our walking tour with That Chomsy. After approximately 350 steps we made it to the top and had a 360 degree view of the city! Woohoo! 
Then we checked out Wat Xieng Thong, and That Phu Si. Walking around Luang Prabang has a completely different feel to it then Chiang Mai. With  its  former French  influence, you get the feeling like your somewhere in Europe. The restaurants and guesthouses look like Swiss chalet's, minus the flower pots, and everything is very clean and spruced up. We walked around the peninsula, watched as the monks crossed the bamboo foot bridge over the river, and after hours of walking were sucked into a massage parlor for a one hour foot massage :) That night, Claire, Anja, Isabella, Clay, Felix, Sarah and I checked out Utopia, an awesome restaurant/bar that sits up high along the River, followed by some live music ( ironically a San Franciscan musician) at Mojo cafe. 

Me at the top of That Chomsy

The following day had to have been my favorite day in Luang Prabang. After breakfast, our slowboat crew of 10 ( Claire, Sarah, Eline, Anja, Isabella, Clay, Joep, Adam, Pete, and I) squeezed into a Tuk Tuk  that brought us to Kouang Si Waterfalls!!! Probably the most beautiful and unique set of waterfalls I have ever seen... Tucked away about 40 minutes from town, these waterfalls are a highlight and definite MUST when in the area! 

Luang Prabang with Claire! 

We jumped off waterfalls, flew from rope swings, and swam around the limestone pools until we got the chills. Then we walked up to the main waterfall, but along the way, Adam, Pete, and I got kidnapped by a group of Asian tourists wanting to take pictures with us....we were stuck there for 5 minutes!! Ahhhh! 

Paparazzi at the waterfall ;)

My cheeks hurt so bad after the photo session that I could barely take any of my own pictures at the top of the waterfall. 


Kouang Si Waterfall

The 10 of us then walked back to our Tuk Tuk, grabbed a bite to eat ( yes I did very much enjoy my banana, peanut butter, nutella crepe thank you ;) ) and drove back into town. Since we are all staying in the same guesthouse, we cleaned up and headed over to the night market for dinner. Here in Luang Prabang, there is a night market EVERY night. It seems like sooo much work to set up each booth and take it down every night, but its what they do. There is also a food section ( like a 'food court' so to say) at the market, where you receive one plate, pile on as much food as you want from the buffet, and pay 10,000 kip ( approx. $1.20). Sooo we found ourselves eating there pretty much every night. That evening our crew of 10 walked over to Mojo Cafe once again, a guy from our slowbot was preforming, followed by... bowling? In Luang Prabang, curfew is at 11:30 so all the bars close around 11. Bowling is one of the very few places that is opened past that time, so we Tuked tuked it over to the bowling alley to play a couple of games, have a few drinks, and enjoy each others company. Fun fun fun! 
Another highlight from my stay in Luang Prabang would have to be the Lao Theatre. The actors did not speak, all the men wore masks, and the storyline was told through music, movements, and dance. Afterwards we went to a beer garden for dinner, and then it was off to bed for me!! All I have to say is that I have LOVED every second of this charmed city... its scenery, nature, and the amazing group of international friends , my 'Laos Crew,' who made the experience all the better. Ya Bra! ;) 

LAOS CREW! 

WATERFALLS!

LOVE THEM! 

Cultural Tip of the Day: Why are food orders brought to the table at different times? In Laos, all food is served in the middle of the table and every dish is shared by everyone. Is it considered extremely rude to pull an entire order in front of oneself. The concept of possession is completely foreign to the Lao people.