Luang Prabang

An ominous introduction to Laos.

     While this photo was taken in the daylight a few days later, this represents our initiation to Laos.  From Hanoi, we opted to fly to Luang Prabang in lieu of the 24-hour cramped bus ride through the mountains.  We arrived in a storm severe enough that the pilot opted to delay our landing a bit.  A few days back in Hanoi, we were getting suspicious of our hotel booking as we had not had any confirmation.  When we arrived, in the dark, at 9:00pm, in the rain, we encountered the contents of the hotel unpacked onto the sidewalk and no one around to communicate with.  Smartly we booked a back-up guesthouse (in a less ideal, farther location) and was able to find someone to explain to the cab driver to take us there instead.  That turned out to be the worst accommodation of the trip.  The "Family Room" turned out to be a jabbingly springy twin bed and a slightly less uncomfortable king.  At the hour we arrived, we had no choice but to accept and crash for the night.  As awkward as it was to fit 3 to the king, I think the short stick was the person who had the evil, pokey, twin bed - so we ended up rotating through that it for our 4 nights here.  For the price, we could have given in and gotten an extra room, but somehow we just got resolved to the situation.  

This photo summarizes the comfort level of the room.  WHY IS THERE A LAMP PAINTED ON THE WALL AND NO REAL LAMP!!!!!!!

     Poor Luang Prabang, and Laos in general, is going down as "hard to recommend" in our book.  I am sure it is exquisite in the dry season, but we were so tired of going out in the rain, mist or at least 100% cloud cover EVERYDAY that we couldn't give it a fair shake.  We never woke up early to observe the Monk's alms collecting ritual.  We didn't walk up Mt Phousi or tour the Royal Palace.  We discovered that the food was almost double the cost as Vietnam.  The people were not unfriendly, but were just more reserved.  The night market stall sellers don't even call out to you.  Sounds positive, but it was weird.  After 6 weeks on the road we were admitting that the trip was probably 2 weeks too long.  

The highlight for the girls was playing with this baby while Papa booked a tour with her mother in their storefront tour office/living room/smoothie stall.

The night before a 2-part day trip I fell ill, so I sat the morning out while Jeff soldiered on with the girls to Pak Ou cave up the Mekong River.  I was able to meet them after lunch to finish the day's outing to Kuang Si Falls.  These are picturesque blue springs and delightfully terraced waterfalls... in the dry season.  In late July they are flowing torrentially and muddy.  

Despite the color, the falls were impressive.
The park grounds also house an interesting exhibit of protected Asiatic Black bears.  

Another day Jeff and Maya made an excursion across the Mekong by boat ferry and explored a Buddha cave, escorted by this young guide (below).

     While they were there, Genna and I visited a village school run by Big Brother Mouse.  Genna was the youngest volunteer that day amongst a large group of British Highschoolers, some German backpackers, and a single Aussie retiree.  Genna enjoyed practicing flashcards with the youngest students and playing board games with the young adults.  The program was great (for us) but a regular parade of volun-tourists has to be rather disruptive to the classroom routine.  The school has another component where you can meet older students in town to just chat and practice English.