Tuesday, January 20, 2009

luang prabang

we arrived in luang prabang via the slow boat from the thai border on january 17. spent 2 days of floating down the mekong... sometimes scenic, sometimes beautiful, but mostly boring and tiring. the bus is faster and cheaper, but filled with vomiting laos... they don't handle mountain curves very well. their 'vomit comets' are stocked with plastic bags every few seats to manage the situation. we also found this true in cambodia. but in addition, the cambodians have their kids pee and poop on buses. they hold their kids out bare ass over the aisle and tell them to do their thing.
From laos

From laos

we read for most of the time on the boat. lkm crushed 2 books in 2 days- she's a machine. she's hooked on trashy detective novels now (the series is one for the money). we also got to taste some local fare.
From laos

the town of luang prabang has french colonial alleyways and houses- its a town that mothers love. and they do so in packs. luang prabang is the major tourist destination for anyone entering laos. its grown mightily since i was here five years ago. our guesthouse owner said there were 50 guesthouses five years ago. now there are 300. along with the growth comes some nasty side effects... but thats for someone else's blog. so here are some pictures.
From laos

From laos

luang prabang's night market is a never-ending strip of lit up tent stalls.
From laos

From laos

had grilled fish and the best spring rolls we've ever tasted for 3 straight nights.
From laos

the town has tons of wats (temples). its a unesco world heritage site. not for cats though.
From laos

climbed up to the hill top wat in the center of town tonight and caught a great sunset.
From laos

From laos

more pics up on picasa.

1 comment:

ren said...

glad to see you still have beer as part of your diet. strong work