Laos

Luang Prabang was a beautiful, charming, little town.  The first day I got out I joined a group from the hostel and went to Kuang Si water fall which was astounding. It was made up of several tiers and many clear bluish swimming holes.  I climbed up the steep side of the hill to get a view from the top-quite a workout-before descending and enjoying a cool swim in one of the pools.  The rest of the day I took it easy, roamed around town a bit, then went out to dinner with the group at a place that overlooked the Mekong called “Utopia.” It was a picturesque place that offered sand volley ball, bamboo bungalow style furniture, and several lounge areas. I ended up going back the next day, during the day, to fully enjoy the atmosphere.

On day two I decided to explore more of the town by bicycle.  I rode around to the many temples and even climbed to the top of the hill for a spectacular view of the city.  In part of this hill top temple was a shrine to the foot print of Buddha, which ended up being quite larger than life…sort of strange the types of relics dedicated to religions in general.

In the evening I perused around the night market and ate on the street. They had the best food I have eaten in a while, full veggie buffet style for less than $1 and then a grilled fish that had been stuffed with lemon grass for around $2-the fish was so good I can’t even explain it.

I ended up buying only a t-shirt and a silk scarf. There were so many beautiful silks and things I wanted to buy-but felt that it wasn’t essential to my being, and passed it up.

The last day in Luang Prabang, I joined a group for Mahout Elephant training.  Basically I went to an Elephant Sanctuary and feed, rode, bathed, and played with elephants.  I will try to upload some pictures so you get a better idea.  But this was such an amazing and surreal experience.  I rode on the neck of the elephant in the forest than into the river where the elephants would stand, sit, and move around, scaring the shit out of me but making me fall into fits of laughter, either from fear or joy.

Thursday I took a minivan from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng, the tubing/backpacker/party town mid way between Luang Prabang and Vientian.  The ride over was gorgeous, and at one point as we scaled up and down the mountain sides, we were actually about the clouds. I got a better view of typical Lao life outside of the tourist areas. Many people live in small huts on the side of the mountain road, farming, making things to sell out of natural resources, and living a simple life with almost no modern luxuries.  It seems the children here grow up fast. Many 7-10 year old children looked to be in charge of their infant siblings whilst their parents worked, often carrying them on their backs in slings.  It was great to see this side of Laos. Besides the Lao man sitting next to me, invading my personal space, the ride was quite pleasant.

Once here, I scooped out the town, ran into some people from Luang Prabang, Aileen from Ohio and Marizio from Mexico- we had a meal together than goofed off the rest of the night.

Friday I went tubing. “Tubing” here is basically word for swimming down the river going from bar to bar where they blast music, give you free Lao Whiskey, and young adults engage in the type of activities their parents wouldn’t approve of.  Really has nothing to do with tubing at all. End of explanation.

It was fun, I didn’t drink very much and decided to enjoy the scenery instead.  I think today I will go kayak or tubing down the river, actual tubing, like we do in Texas.