Travel-Trotter

Luang Prabang was founded and continues to flurish at the confluence of the Nam Khan and the Mekong rivers. It was established as a UNESCO world heritage site due to it’s beautiful french architecture and diversity of Buddhist temples.  We arrived at the Mali guesthouse near the center of town a cozy little spot. We immediately went out for dinner at one of the food markets, it was a bit of an all you can eat chaos; we were all a bit hangry and I was sick with a head cold so it wasn’t one the most pleasant meals on the trip.  Once we all had some food in our bellies we were happier.

The next morning we were woken up by the morning market located just outside our door.  We had our breakfast that was included with our stay, the girls got crepes and I got an omelette.  It was quite nice to have breakfast made for us as we typically struggle to get the kids to eat decent food in the morning.  Maddy had some work to complete and the girls and I completed school.  After lunch I took a nap and was headed in the right direction with my cold.  In the afternoon we climbed on top of the big hill in the middle of town to see the temple eat chom si and then headed across the bamboo bridge over the Nam Phan for pizza.

The next day we treated the girls to a jewelry making class, Mimi and Caroline made rings while Julie made a necklace.  They were wire wrapped jewelry; they made some nice jewelry and had a great time, maybe they will take after Oma and learn to make their own jewelry.

During the time the girls were making their jewelry I took the time to walk around the old town and visited Wat Xiengthang, it was a typical temple complex with a huge golden buddha within the temple.  It was a beautiful day and there were a two couples that looked like newlyweds taking pictures within the temple grounds, it was interesting to see the Lao traditional wedding dresses.

The confluence of the rivers was also nearby and it was worth a quick look before meeting up with Maddy and the kids for lunch.  That afternoon we headed to the town swimming pool and relaxed pool side while the kids splashed around and burned off their extra energy.

The next day we got a driver to take us to the Kuang Si Waterfalls.  The waterfalls were another amazing springs system that produced tumbling waterfalls and azure pools perfect for swimming.  The water was very cold but that didn’t stop us from splashing around and jumping of the top of the pools.

There was a bear sanctuary within the park and the girls loved seeing Moon bears a type of bear native to Lao.  We learned they are endangered in Lao due to bear bile production; a staple in Chinese medicine.

After having lunch in the park and swimming in pools for another few hours we visited a butterfly park.  We had another fish spa, saw lots of butterflies and saw two chrysalis emerge from caterpillars.

That night we had a unique dinner, where we cooked our own food over a concave metal dish over a small fire.  The edges of the metal dish held a broth that captured all the juices from what we were cooking turning it into the most amazing soup.  We all stuffed ourselves silly.  Great last night in LP, next stop Vang Vieng.