2006 - Beijing to Bangkok overland (Part 9 - Luang Prabang)

Saturday 25 November - An early start and an all day drive towards Luang Prabang. We made good progress along windy roads through the mountains. Rough camped on the side of the road.

Traditional methods.

A typical Laotian village.

Another village.

All mod cons.

Sunday 26 November - We arrived in Luang Prabang about lunchtime. After buying supplies, we drove out to Tad Khoung Si Waterfalls. We discovered that we could not camp there as last year's nice empty piece of ground has been turned into a car park with lots of tourist stands selling all sorts of stuff. The falls themselves are very scenic and are great for swimming in. We managed to find a great place to camp on the side of the football field next to a school a few kilometres back towards town. The BBQ was very tasty. We were visited by the locals and by the local policeman. He wanted to move us on due to security issues but was persuaded to let us camp there after a gift was provided. The party raged all night with cries of "Get naked!" coming from various members of the crew.

Brunch.

Locals trying to work out what is going on.

Tad Khoung Si waterfalls.

Tad Khoung Si waterfalls.

Tad Khoung Si waterfalls.

More waterfalls.

Ben leaping into the waterfalls.

Swimming at the falls.

Meeting the locals.

Monday 27 November - A late start and we drove into Luang Prabang. The guest house was clean and tidy and it was nice having a shower for the first time a few days. The afternoon spent wandering around.

That Phou Si Temple.

Tuesday 28 November - To Tam Ting Caves at Pak Ou via a river boat. These are about 25 km from town. There are a huge number of Buddha statues and too many tourists. We also stopped at the village opposite the caves. This had stuff for sale and great photo opportunities.

Five monks in a boat.

Mekong traffic.

Buddhas in Tam Ting Cave.

Another Buddha statue at Tam Ting Caves.

Part of the entrance to Tam Ting Caves.

The entrance to Tam Ting Caves.

Kids in the village.

A little girl at the village opposite Tam Ting Caves.

Wednesday 29 November - The others went elephant trekking, but given that I had done that before a couple of time, I wandered around the many temples in the city (well, its a large town actually). Up to That Phou Si Temple for sunset and got a some good photos overlooking the Mekong River. Dinner was in street market and was very nice. We then found a bar for a beer or two and a game of pool but back home by midnight as Laos has strict closing times and a curfew.

Wat Mahathat.

More wats.

Yet another wat.

The former Royal Palace, now the National Museum.

Yet another wat.

The drum tower at one of the many temples in the town.

More wats in town.

Monks taking shelter from the sun.

A Citroen Traction Avant.

Sunset over the Mekong River.

That Phou Si Temple.

Sunset over the Mekong River.

From the That Phou Si Temple.

The night market in town.

Thursday 30 November - This was a day of doing nothing as I was not feeling very well. In fact I hardly left the hotel, except to the internet cafe at the end of the road.

In all, Luang Prabang is a very relaxing place. It is very quiet with lots of temples, monks, markets and friendly people.
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