Lovely Luang Prabang

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

That pretty much sums up Luang Prabang. After 24 hours of flying and then zipping through Vietnam, it felt like we'd been in transit for an entire week. I was ready to retire from traveling but this sleepy and beautiful little town has cured what ailed me.

It's a visual treat for the eyes, nestled at the confluence of the Mekong and Khan Rivers, surrounded with lush, green mountain scenery, and peppered with temples, monks, French colonial buildings and bakeries. Our guesthouse is on the khan riverfront and I've regularly found myself shaking my head in disbelief at the scenery. The people are so laid back - even street vendors take a polite no for an answer - and the throngs of other tourists just slowly meander along the quaint streets. The language is musical... Khap jai lalai (thank you), sabaidee (hello). Even the weather progresses sleepily here, you could literally set you're clock by it. Cool and overcast in the morning, the sun cracks through the mist at precisely 10:33 every morning. It's hot by 11:30 and stays that way until 4:00 when it begins it's gradual transition to a brisk but pleasant, star filled night time. It's actually an Unesco world heritage protected site, including a curfew in the historical area of 11:30, that helps maintain the charm.

We've had a super relaxing 3 days here including:

- day 1: we slept in, climbed mount phousi for a great 360 degree view, then stopped at a spa for a 75 minute treatment of dr. Fish (read my Japan blog or google for details) and a Lao massage (all for less than $20 for both of us). We stumbled on a great riverside Lao BBQ then finished off with a trip to the bar area that had live jazz music and a lack of curfew.

- day 2: slept in, ate breakfast, then second breakfast, then picked up scooters for an amazing 32k ride to Kuang Si falls, where we swam in the milky blue pools. The drive was breathtaking (even if my hog was pink), and the falls stunned me despite how many pictures I'd seen before hand. Unfortunately all my pictures are on my camera so I can't post them, but go do a quick google image search for a taste of it and rest assured they don't capture half it's beauty.

- day 3: slept in (seeing the pattern?), ate breakfast, and second breakfast, rode an elephant, then Christine went for a siesta while I headed to another spa... When in Rome right? We wanted a really quiet day, and we found it.


Alas our time here is comprete (the English here could use some work), so tomorrow we sleep in (of course), then fly to Pakse where we'll embark on our tree top experience. Likely to be offline for a few days, send help if I don't post again in about 5 days.


Ps. Christine is keeping up with me on the eating, but not the rainbowing. We're starting to wonder where it's all going.