We were so happy to get off the slow boat!! Though I will admit that it was much more pleasant than a stuffy, bumpy, winding bus ride. We grabbed a tuk-tuk and head to the center of town to find a hostel for the next 2 nights. On our way, two guys on a motorbike caught up to us while we were driving down the road to give us flyers for their hostel. (They were dedicated!) This place offered cheap rooms and free whiskey every night! But honestly there was not much else to get excited about. The place was fine for a couple of nights though. We might have kept shopping around, but we didn’t realize until we arrived it was the Chinese (Lunar) New Year and the town was busy.

We’ve had people tell us they LOVE Luang Prabang – but we don’t quite get it. Don’t get me wrong, the town center is a cute little area. It just doesn’t seem like there is a ton to do there. The biggest attraction seemed to be the Kuang Si Falls. (Which probably is one of – if not the most – gorgeous waterfalls we will see on our trip.) We hiked up one side, down the other, swam in the beautiful (cold) pools. One area had a tree to jump from which is what really got us in the water. It is a must see if you are in the area! And right next to it is a sanctuary for moon bears, though many guides and flyers don’t mention it. But it is literally right next to the falls – so stop by and tell the local moon bears hello!

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We also stopped by the local UXO museum where we learned about all of the unexploded ordnances (UXO) that were dropped on Laos during the Vietnam War. In that time, the US dropped more than 2 million tons – let that sink in, 2 million tons – of ordnance on Laos making it the most heavily bombed country per capita in history. This was just the beginning of a lot of history lessons we would receive on this trip. (More to come in future posts.)

For sunset, we decided to walk up Mt. Phousi which is a pretty easy 15-20 min walk up some steps to a 360 viewpoint of the city. It is pretty cool to see some of the remaining European influence. One side looked like a quaint European village, and the other side had a bustling night market. We were not the only ones with this idea for sunset though, and we head back down when it got too crowded to visit the night market. Of things to do in the city, this is probably number 2 on the list. The night market is pretty good and has an alley filled with local foods. Some things were a bit more expensive than they were in Thailand, so we didn’t do a ton of shopping. Be warned though – if you want to shop get there early. It shuts down at 10pm on the dot. And the vendors get out of there with impressive speed.

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One great thing about the city though is that it is a great place to dive in to the Laotian cuisine. One evening we stopped by a place call Coconut Garden that offered a tasting menu and everything was delicious! OMG the pumpkin curry soup! I could have eaten that for every meal in Laos. (I honestly meant to take a picture of the spread, but was so hungry I dove right in an forgot. Whoops!)

On our last morning, we rose early to witness the monks receiving alms (food from the local people). It was cool to see, but a bit of advice:

• If you do this, go to the main street. We were on a side street and it did not seem to get a ton of traffic.
• DO NOT listen to the women who give you rice and snacks to participate with who say “No money. No money.” A woman gave me a tray, and when I told her I had no money on me, she told me “No money,” and sat me down. She of course wanted payment after and waited for us to get it from our hostel. (Honestly I probably expected this, but got excited to participate.)
• If you do want to participate, plan ahead. We learned it is better to get something (sticky rice) from the market earlier in the morning if you can. Much of what the women on the street gave us was junk food.
• Obey the customs. Sit and do as the locals do. If you don’t want to participate according to their customs, please step back and watch. This is not a parade for us tourists, but a local tradition that must be respected. (On that note, pictures can be taken from a distance, but they ask for no flash.)

So we did fill our days in the city, but if we’d had one more day there I am not sure what we would have done. Luckily we were off to Vang Vieng that afternoon, so it was the perfect amount of time for us.