Luang Probang, Feb 4

I finally got around to get a picture of my hostel. It is OK but run by untrained people so there are some screw-ups. They haven't got a computer in the office so they run across the street to find out if there are any more beds left. It kind of gets people riled up. I booked mine online a few days ahead with hostels.com and that was problem free.

The street where I live is one of the nicest I've seen in the area.

I just accidentally published again, sorry.

Looking across the street.

A platter of street BBQ food. You can get it in a Styrofoam container with sauces or in a baguette with veggies. Cheap eats.



Bamboo growing alongside a fence.

I had lunch in this outdoor place by the river.

The view of the street from there.

Another beautiful street.

On the way to the theater I passed by the Cultural Survival Project. It was a fenced area which appears to have been an old monastery. Here are some pictures I took in there.

From there I walked to the museum, theater complex.

The first is the museum which I was never timed right to get into.

This is the Phalak-Phalam Theater.

We saw a cultural performance called Search for Princess Sida with one of the main characters being Phalak Phalam himself.

It was only a one hour show, with beautiful costumes and live music. I enjoyed it.

It looks like it plays every night at 6PM.

I don't think Asians take days off. They don't seem to know what it is.

It was a small theater with chairs for seating.

The chairs varied in quality and nearness to the front according to price. In the front rows they were upholstered chairs with extra cushions and in the back, plastic garden chairs. Everyone could see and hear OK, it was all about the chairs.

After the theater I walked all the way through the night market to get to my hostel but I am out again having supper and blogging in a restaurant.

Tomorrow morning I'm off to Siem Reap by plane.

Luang Prabang Day 3 Feb 3

This morning I went out at 6:00 am to view the alms parade. The monks walk down the street with their begging bowls and people give them food. I actually bought a container of cooked rice from the stand of one of the street merchants and I was thinking I would donate it but then they told me to bring back the container when I was done. It seems that people actually make little balls of sticky rice with their bare hands and give one to each monk in his bowl. I didn't think my hands were clean enough to handle someones food so I changed my mind.
















Later I walked by the river in the morning light.

Lovely river view.

















The neighbourhood is beautiful with its tiny lanes and its ornate stone and wood buildings.
















I napped until almost noon and then I climbed a hill in the center of town and saw Wat Tham Phu Si.
I know I said no more temples but I needed to climb this hill to see the city view.
















The path I took allowed me to walk through a little village hidden away up there and then I enjoyed a nice walk in the woods.
















Climbing up the hill I encountered many worship areas. These statues were interesting.
















This one is almost human size. Maybe Confucius, I don't know.
















From the top there was a nice view of the city in all directions.
















I set the above pictures to center, but they had a mind of their own and I don't know enough html to fix them.


There was a very old Wat that was still in use. Looking in the window.


Looking in the doorway at the tiny alter.


If you are not into my window and doorway pics scroll down now.
They are all from the tiny little Wat on the hill.











Louang Prabang is actually on an peninsula which is formed where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River.

It is a nice looking city.


On the main street there are many shops and guest houses as well as a restaurant to suit every taste.
There is not too much roughing it here.



The usual set-up is a guest house with an eatery below.

There is a tuk-tuk waiting in front of this one.



This one, as you can tell by the number of people, is a much loved bakery cafe.


My computer is still fine at other wi-fi places so that is a relief. I left my usb stick in the hotel computer and it walked away. It was just used to store pictures and transfer pics and files for printing. I can easily replace it.

Tomorrow night I have a ticket for the Royal Ballet.

Luang Prabang Feb 2

I just cobbled together a plan for my last two months over here and I am super excited again. I don't want to spoil the suspense though so I will post about it as I go.

The last day in Vang Vieng my computer wasn't picking up the hotel wireless and the same thing here in Luang Prabang, so I spent today wandering around town and popping into several computer service places. They either completely didn't speak English or they didn't have wireless themselves. Two stores insisted they look at it anyway so we did that but they didn't come up with anything. Then I went to an Internet cafe and posted some blogs and then I went for supper. The restaurant had wi-fi and I got on. Good news, its not my machine, but I still can't get on at my hotel.


On my walk around I popped in to Wat Bouphavipassnaram, a nice little neighbourhood Wat.



I hadn't seen these before. They appear to be some kind of burners.



This is the gong house. (Snicker!) My apologies to the Buddhists but I don't know what else to call it. Very ornate.



I was also looking for a bank to get some American money and surprisingly its not that easy. I had to book my Blue Morpho tour in Peru for next August right away before it was full and now I need to wire American money to them. It will all work out and is good for exercise and meeting people.

You might think this window is in Chili or Mexico but you'd be wrong.



Next I wandered into Wat Maysouvanhnaphoumaram.



It was full of many Buddhas,



and a beautiful gong.



Here is today's door, showing the outside front of the temple which is all golden.



They had some nice Buddhas out in the yard. This one may have been drinking Ayahuasca.







Here is a very tenacious flower in the Temple yard.



This roof was part of the temple complex too. I have no idea who it is.


Well, I decided not to take any tours here. There is lots of stuff to see and do in town that I can get to on foot and I need to cut down on Temples anyway. I am saving myself for Angkor Wat next week.

I like Luang Prabang. It is a vibrant city but relaxed at the same time. The old quarter is beautiful. I have three more nights here which will be just about right.

Arrived Luang Prabang Feb 1

We had a five and a half hour trip to Luang Prabang in a mini-van and for five of those hours the road was a series of curves as we navigated trough the mountains. I had taken gravol and was glad because even then I was a bit queasy.

The mountains were beautiful but I didn't try any pictures because they usually are blurry when you are moving.

Finally, with an hour and a half to go we stopped here for a break. We had passed many tiny villages along the road but most didn't have facilities for tourists.



Here is our chariot, packed full of people and our luggage on top.


Local kids.

We arrived at the guest house about 3:00pm so I had time to walk a bit in the area and have supper. I am one block from the Mekong again.



The town has a European look due to the earlier French influence.



My guest house is on a beautiful street on the old section.