Cruising to Luang Prabang

After hearing many other travelers stories, we were quite excited to cross over into Laos and we have not been disappointed.  We crossed the border into Huay Xia, a sleepy little border town where you can arrange a slow boat down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang.  We spent one night in the town enjoying the local cuisine and sharing our first Beerlao at sunset over the Mekong on our rooftop patio. We had been hearing rumors of Beerlaos tastiness since we were in Guatemala and at $1.20 for a large bottle, we definitely enjoy it!

Not more than 5 years ago, the slow boats were decked in uncomfortable wooden pew-like seats with perhaps something resembling an outhouse at the back of the boat.  We thought we would try to steer clear of these boats, but to our pleasant surprise, the boats are now upgraded with car seats and a fairly nice Western style toilet to make your two day boat cruise more enjoyable.  

Although the days were long on the boat (7 and 9 hours each), the scenery was incredible.  All along the river there were beautiful limestone rocks jutting out of the water and large sand dunes leading up to small villages with fisherman and children splashing about.  We also learned a valuable lesson on our boat ride - children in Laos seem to like to hit people...as witnessed by a number of passengers on board as the small boy in front of us had a great time wandering the boat and slapping people here and there.  This sort of behavior was seen again at our guesthouse in Luang Prabang as it seemed that the owner's young daughters favorite game is "hit the tourist".  The kids are just so cute though!

Delicious Iced Coffee

By the time that we reached Luang Prabang, we wanted to relax for a while and it is a beautiful city to take a little extra time in.  As part of our relaxation, we decided to visit a herbal sauna.  We waited for a rainy somewhat cooler day and made our way to the Red Cross sauna for some mingling with the locals.  Once you get there, you are given a sarong and small towel to cover yourself and directed to separate (and very tiny) men and women's sauna rooms.  The sauna is usually scented with lemongrass and smells very fragrant.  After spending a few minutes (or however long you can bear..) in the sauna, you can come out and watch some tv while drinking some tea, shower, and repeat the whole process.  

Vegetarian buffet offerings at the Night Market

One day we decided to hire a tuk tuk to take us out to the Elephant Village Sanctuary for an elephant ride. It was a great company and we had a wonderful experience.  Unlike many other elephant camps, the mahouts (trainers) don't use bullhooks to move the elephant along but rather verbal commands and their feet.  

We were in very high spirits after our ride and were just getting ready to leave when we found that our tuk tuk had broken down.  A four hour wait later with many jokes at our expense, and a surprising amount of hammering on the engine (I'm no mechanic, but really?) and there was still no hope in sight of a magical tuk tuk fix. Luckily some sympathetic tour guides let us hop into their van heading back into town.  I definitely recommend going to this elephant camp if you are looking for an elephant ride but perhaps it is best to arrange transport with a tour and forgo the tuk tuk...

Another highlight was our trip to the Kuang Si waterfalls.  These falls looked like something out of the garden of Eden with numerous layered turquoise pools that you could swim in.  And not only were the falls impressive but there is also a black bear conservation area nearby where you can get up-close with rescued black bears lazing around in hammocks all day.  

Nightlife is a bit unusual in Luang Prabang as there is an 11:30 pm curfew set all over the city.  If you want to stay out any later, you are offered two venues: the disco (where despite the name, apparently no dancing occurs) and the bowling alley. It must be one of the only places in the world where the bowling alley is THE place for after hour partying.  Although perhaps it is not the safest activity to do while barefoot and drinking beerlaos, it is definitely a good laugh with some fellow travelers.