Sunday, January 25, 2009

FLASHBACK: Luang Prabang

(PICTURE: The most crowded street in Laos)

The word "Charming" was created just to describe Luang Prabang. The city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, had me at hello. From the moment Hannah and I stepped onto the old streets I was won over by the simple beauty of everything: the narrow walking streets, the river side restaurants, the crayola-colored night market, the temples on seemingly every corner, the lanes of BBQ fish and chicken, the tuk-tuks, the clean air and the friendly people.

I read somewhere that Laos people are the most relaxed people in the world. There's a saying that goes soemthing like, "In Vietnam the people plant the rice, in Cambodia the people watch the rice grow, and in Laos the people listen to the rice grow." Indeed, the people and the overall atmospher of Luang Prabang was just relaxed.

A few of our highlights included:

1.Taking a boat ride to some caves that housed Buddhist relics. The caves, in total honesty, were lame. However the boat ride was really pretty and allowed us to make friends with a group of Women from Malaysia. It's a good thing Hannah and I are patient people because we had THE SLOWEST boat driver of all time. We were the second boat to leave Luang Prabang that morning and no less than 20 of the exact same boats passed us on the way to the cave.














2.Touring dozens of local Wats.


















3. Drinking Lao coffee. Hannah hadn't drinken coffee in years until she sipped my delicious cup of Joe. After her first hit she couldn't stop... we couldn't go an hour without her demanding another cup of coffee.
















4. Eating street food...which was good, but not as good as Thai or Vietnamese street food.















5. Buying TOTALLY AWESOME FISHERMAN PANTS!!!!!! I bought these pants at the night market and didn't take them off for a week...even though they gave me a heat rash.