Day 12, Sunday 2nd May, Luang Prabang

A day of exploration and organisation. I rented a bike from the guesthouse and rode around the small peninsular that makes up the old town of Luang Prabang, looking at tours, flights, temples, places to eat and drink. The town is up-to-date with modern tourism, but in a less aggressive way than, for instance, Chiang Mai. There is just one main tourist street, with the night market at the end. The riverside roads and the backstreets and sidestreets are clean and paved and swathed in greenery. Temples, shrines and public buildings are surrounded by homely, attractive houses designed for gentle tropical living. Poverty is evident, but not so much as elsewhere, I cannot recall any beggars. Even the tuk-tuk drivers are relatively moderate in their quest for custom.  

Here are some impressions of the day:


Brunch: steamed fish with lemongrass, coconut and mint shake.

Small wat:

Activity options, from half-day cooking courses to 3 day tours of the wonders of Laos, finishing in the country of your choice. Or the really serious stuff, a VIP sleeper bus to China.

Mekong riverside road:

Sausages drying:

Leafy street with redbrick paved footpath with gutters:

Nam Khan riverside cafe:

Rice cakes drying in the sun:

Nam Khan river:

Closer up:

Monks' laundry:

Wat Xieng Thong complex:

Temple outer wall stories:

Monks contemplating Mekong:

 Quiet back street:
















Private party in the street with Karaoke:

Side lane going down towards Mekong riverside road, note the red brick paving, everywhere in the old town:

Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) was not available here in the riverside cafe, so I made do with mango pancake and a mixed fruit shake:

Ice cream man with music:

Dinner at the Coconut Garden Restaurant: fish with herbs steamed in banana leaf (one packet is open, the other still closed):

















At the end of this day I had a fair idea of the options for local activities (trip to waterfall with swim had been recommended by others) and routes out, best by plane (discount air fares on the internet can be cheaper locally). Also money exchange options, which varied wildly from the exorbitant to just acceptable.

Altogether an easygoing but productive day, a pleasant town and no hurry to leave.