Sunday, August 17

Luang Prabang, Laos

(see map) - trin: Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage City and now that we've been there it is easy to see why. In addition to the Royal Palace and the network of hilltop temples, it is a charming town where the main street is lined with cafes and boutiques. At night the streets fill up with locals selling textiles and fresh foods. I'd recommend this quaint town to anyone touring So. East Asia.

A daily fruit shake at the food stalls. Fresh mango and pineapple with a little coconut milk to make it creamy. Mmm.... At a dollar a pop these ladies have Jamba Juice beat.

The corner market area and tuk tuk.

The tree-of-life mosaic on the back wall of Wat Xieng Thong. The temple was built in 1560.

The monks chanting in the early evening.

One afternoon we headed out of town to Tad Sae Waterfalls. Our tuk tuk could only take us part way because the road was flooded. We hired a boat to take us the remainder but boarding the boat was a challenge. The river had started to drop and the mud on the banks was knee deep. Thankfully, we managed not to sink. An Italian lady who shared the boat back with us wasn't so lucky. She had a hard time just getting her shoe back out of the mud.

The little boy a the bow was adorable. He cracked up when he heard Mike say "jeeze louise" in response to an inflated fare to cross the river. Then he sang to himself in the front of the boat on our way down the river. You could tell he was so happy to be helping his dad on the river.

The trail to see the upper waterfall got a little sketchy. I got use to the water rushing by my feet. I was mostly afraid of slipping on a loose log and losing one of my favorite flip flops.

There were also elephants at the falls. They are so sweet. I feel so bad when I see them chained up for peoples' entertainment.

But, they did seem to enjoy bath time below the falls.

The colorful night market where along with the local handy crafts westerners can buy communist paraphernalia. T-shirts sporting the hammer & sickle or Che's portrait seemed to be popular items. But, Che is everywhere. I think we've seen him in almost every country.

On our last night, we enjoyed the French influence at one of the local wine shops. Mostly French and Australian wines but they did have one bottle from California.

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