In the morning we got up before 6 am and went outside the hotel to see the procession. We are at the beginning of the route so only monks from one temple participate at this point. As they go, monks from other temples join in. They walk in a single row, silently in their orange robes and stop to collect rice that people put out for them. The rule is that you cannot be higher than the months so people leave the rice and then sit on little chairs or on the curb. Then we took a “slow” boat up the Mekong river for an hour to go to the caves that local people have been using for worship. The trip was actually more interesting than the caves. It was very scenic with mountains and hills on both banks of this very wide river. There were 6 people on our boat. The caves were disappointing. One had hundreds of Buddha images of different sizes and shapes brought in by worshippers, and the other, some hundreds steps higher was so dark that you could not see anything at all.
Back in town we visited some temples and silk galleries and had dinner in a great small restaurant that serves contemporary Lao food. The owners come and explain what each food is and how to eat it. The restaurant also has a nonprofit organization that supports local farming and a cooking school where people can learn about Lao foods and spices.
Next day we took a trip to Kwang Si waterfalls in a minivan. The falls are about 25 km from Luang Prabang. It was terribly hot in town when we were leaving, but by the waterfalls, it was pleasantly cool. There are three designated “pools” there where people can go in and try to swim. The water is cold and the current strong, not to mention that the ground is muddy and slippery so swimming is a stretch, but dipping in was surely very nice. The waterfalls themselves are immense and very impressive On the way back we stopped in a Hmong village – shabby looking wooden houses, but color TVs inside.As we’ve done every evening, we went to the night market where we met a group of young people from Poland. They came to LP by boat from Thailand. After a bit of shopping, we had a delicious dinner of Lao food in the second best hotel in town, a former palace of prince Souvannaphoum. The food was fantastic, the service impeccable, the setting beautiful and the bill was less than $20 – including drinks, service and tax.
Back in town we visited some temples and silk galleries and had dinner in a great small restaurant that serves contemporary Lao food. The owners come and explain what each food is and how to eat it. The restaurant also has a nonprofit organization that supports local farming and a cooking school where people can learn about Lao foods and spices.
Next day we took a trip to Kwang Si waterfalls in a minivan. The falls are about 25 km from Luang Prabang. It was terribly hot in town when we were leaving, but by the waterfalls, it was pleasantly cool. There are three designated “pools” there where people can go in and try to swim. The water is cold and the current strong, not to mention that the ground is muddy and slippery so swimming is a stretch, but dipping in was surely very nice. The waterfalls themselves are immense and very impressive On the way back we stopped in a Hmong village – shabby looking wooden houses, but color TVs inside.As we’ve done every evening, we went to the night market where we met a group of young people from Poland. They came to LP by boat from Thailand. After a bit of shopping, we had a delicious dinner of Lao food in the second best hotel in town, a former palace of prince Souvannaphoum. The food was fantastic, the service impeccable, the setting beautiful and the bill was less than $20 – including drinks, service and tax.
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