Laos, Luang Prubang and Vientiane.
Arrived in Luang Prubang on time after a very uneventful flight. The airport is brand new and minimally staffed! We got through quickly enough to discover that everyone else has a car to pick them up but mine doesn't arrive! Plenty of taxis and I am delivered to my hotel 15 minutes later. What a lovely place. Originally the home of one of the members of the royal family before the communist military overthrow. Very welcoming staff, nicely furnished, pretty pool and outdoor restaurant next to it. Room clean, elegant, nicely furnished and the balcony had a nice view over the garden and pool. I ate at the restaurant for ease and wasn't disappointed.
Early night ready for my 9 am pick up. All organized thanks to the hotel staff who located the travel agent and sorted things out.
9a.m. and the tour guide is full of apologies and we head off for the Mekong river trip to the Pak Ou Caves. A complex discovered discovered many years ago when a group of boat people fleeing problems higher up the Mekong used them for shelter. They became religious in context and are now crammed full of Buddhas in all shapes and sizes. The oldest and most precious are now housed elsewhere for safety due to their value.
The caves are at the junction of the Mekong and the Nam (river) Ou which is a narrow river surrounded by cliffs and only traversable by boat when the river is at its highest. My guide says it is the most beautiful river.
On the way to the caves we stopped at a little village called Ban Xanghai which is all part of a temple and the villagers are the rice wine and whiskey makers in the area. The white rice wine was drinkable but didn't much fancy the red ( made from red rice) nor the whiskey which almost blew my head off. I succumbed to a bottle in a wovejacket just to support the community. The village was quiet as it is only the beginning of the high season and I was the only falang ( white person but actually means of French origin) in the village. It was peaceful and even though there was product to buy nobody hassled me, all very laid back! The village and river were very clean with no rubbish lying around and walkways clear and swept. The government is apparently pretty strong on aesthetics and pollution. Checked out the foods for sale some of which looked quote appetizing, the charcoal BBQ is a favorite but passed on the skewered chickens feet!!!!
The river is beginning to recede from the high it reached during the wet season and the locals make the most of this fertile bank by fencing off and cultivating land where they grow their vegetables until the following wet season. Every man woman and child in the family is involved and the soil is turned over and the fencing goes up rapidly.
After the caves we headed across river to a little village of restaurants. The guide had previously booked here including my food but I wasn't impressed. I ate Lao food in the form of stir fry veg, acceptable, deep fried Mekong fish which was more like fish bones and after one getting lodged I ate no more. I slept most of the way back which was a quicker trip due to moving with the current. ( didn't sleep so well the night before due to feeling so unwell).
After the boat trip we headed off for a walk through the town. Wow what a pretty place, beautiful colonial architecture influenced with Laotian features, clean clean streets, clear walkways, quiet traffic which moved at a steady pace and no screaming rush. UNESCO have done a great job here. The cages looks inviting and the people very gracious.
We arrived at the Royal Palace museum which was formerly the Royal Palace! Very discreet for a palace and charming, once agin lovely colonial architecture, lovely frescoes and the rooms maintained as they were when royalty was there. Also a room of the religious artifacts. Simple but interesting.
This was followed this by a visit to the very elaborate and very old Wat Xienthong, then a trip to a local market. I called it a day and reneged on the hilltop sunset climb. Didn't want anyone having to resuscitate me!! Back to the hotel for a pleasant swim in the 20 meter pool.
In the evening I walked from the hotel through the night market which sadly to say is the same as every other night market I have experienced, to a recommended restaurant called coconut garden. You would think by now i would have learnt to ignore the recommendations of a guide!! It was OK without being startling and I am feeling cheated in the food stakes particularly when I know the produce and herbs are all so good here. Another early night. This eating on my own is becoming very boring!
Day 2 and feeling a little better but very happy that in discussion with the guide we changed the days activities to avoid the 3 hour trek to the waterfalls. I had read about the elephants and so off we headed. A 30 minute drive through the outlying villages of Luang Prubang, a short walk down a dirt road to the river bank where the guide called over and within a few minutes the park manager whizzed over in a traditional long boat with a small outboard motor. A slippery few meters down the river bank and I am plonked in the middle of the boat, getting up and off the other side was a challenge as I am not as agile as the south East Asians!
The sanctuary is serene, green and delightful, it is possible to stay here in the nice looking raised suites built in a traditional style, for 2 to 5 days and train to be a mahout. That is how to ride and care for an elephant. The elephants can be ridden in the mornings which brings in funds for their care and rescue and in the afternoons are set free in the surrounding jungle to do what elephants do best - EAT!!!
We trotted over to where I was to be loaded onto the elephant whilst trying to avoid enormous elephant droppings and big elephant foot holes. A raised and covered platform has been built where we removed our shoes , avoided standing on an elephants trunk and loaded onto the seat strapped onto the elephants back. Let me tell you, it is a long way down to the ground! Then off we set, swaying along. Well everyone else was, Thom just wanted to meander in his own direction and at his own speed. The mahout slid down and instructed me to slide off the seat and perch on the elephants neck with my legs behind the ears, achieved Oh so gracefully!!!! Elephants have very prickly hair on their heads and its like pine needles sticking into your hands. Nothing to hold onto to, just need a strong core, and reasonable balance and hang on with your knees. Though I must use say the elephant kept its ears back and practically locked my legs to its head!
We plodded through a lightly treed area for about 20 minutes then into the shade except Thom didn't want to be in the shade, he wanted to walk down the bank and across the garden stomping the new magnolia trees and pulling out the newly planted shrubs! Mahout Singh had disappeared by this stage and I am left on the back of his elephant who had a will of his own. Eventually we joined,the rest of,the group who were now walking through the shallows of the river. Thom took a lot of encouragement and we arrived back tot the platform a very slow last but ai had a wonderful time.
After re-crossing the river we got back into the van and I was taken to a local,weaving coop which was lovely and it was authentic. The product was made by the women selling it and the money went to them instead a large factory. We headed back to. Town for another lunch picked by the guide and once again I wasn't impressed. I wanted one of the delicious baguettes I had seen in a local baker but no, we have to support businesses owned by locals.
Next stop was a drive instead of the trek to the Kuang Si waterfalls. I got a big surprise when we entered this park area because in the grounds was a bear rescue centre which was started up some years so by an Australian woman. The bears are rescued from illegal ownership and trade and sent to this centre for rehab, these bears looked like the best kept and happiest bears you would ever see! On to the waterfalls with a gentle up hill walk. The falls are natural and flow into smaller falls which allow for 3 separate pools or swimming areas, magnificent. Changing sheds are provided and by the time I was ready to take the plunge everyone had left and I had the upper pool all to myself, a wonderful if not freezing experience! A quick dip was enough, I was turning blue!
The end to a lovely day, back to the hotel for my pre- planned ( in fact offered) late check out so,that I could shower before I left. My flight was due to leave for Vientiane at 6.15 so a day well planned.
The plane took off on time and just as we gained altitude we started to nose dive down to land, it was that quick! Picked up b my charming guide Mon and taken to my hotel. He had been told that I had been unwell and he suggested a quick dinner at the hotel and an early night as we had a full day of sightseeing ahead starting at 9 am. I ate an expensive but mediocre meal at the hotel and crashed. The Setta Palace hotel was converted in the late 1990s after having been the residence of the high up military personnel following the Indo china war and the overthrow. What a gorgeous place, enormous pool, very tastefully furnished in a French/ Asian tradition with beautiful reception rooms. Pity about the lack of love with the cooking. Once again I felt uncomfortable with an over abundance of staff observing every mouthful I took.
Slept relatively well, feeling a little bit better every day and rose early intending a swim but it was bucketing down with rain so went back to bed!
Mon was there at reception to meet me at 9 as organized and we set off for some time at the Thongkhankham produce market. He had an excellent knowledge of all the herbs and spices and informed me he did most of the shopping and cooking for his little family. The food looked wonderfully fresh and this market was not a tourist market and I was the only westerner there. This was followed by a city tour taking in the magnificent Wat Sisaket which houses thousands of miniature Buddhas followed by Wat Prakeo which was the former royal temple. Last stop for the morning was a visit to the Lao Arc de Triopmphe! The Patuxay monument was built using concrete that the USA had donated for a new runway at the airport ( which by the way is a very modest affair). The monument is quite nice though as it is surrounded by park and the former Roal Palace can be seen down the boulevard and though the trees. I decided not to visit the COPE centre as it is a museum showing the issues caused by land mines and I have seen this on several occasions before in different countries.
Returned to the hotel for a couple of hours est and lunch of MY choice! I wondered down to the fountain park where Mon told me I would have a choose of bakeries serving nice sandwiches and good coffee. He was correct!
In the afternoon we jumped on the minibus to Buddha Park which is an area along the river where one man had a dream of celebrating the Gods of Hinduism and Buddhism. Personally I found the place a ridiculous folly and of no spiritual meaning. I felt like a heathen as I found a lot of the statues quote comical and I am sure that is not the response they are meant to invoke!
The day ended up along the river bank in the old quarters. Here the road running parallel to the riverside walk me closed off every night at 5 pm to allow the population to walk, ride, roller blade, whatever you want to do for exercise. There are aerobic classes, dance classes, kite flying, a night market and food stalls. The place was buzzing.,we were there to see the sunset over the Mekong but it was too cloudy.
I returned to the hotel, had a lovely long swim and headed out for dinner to a restaurant Mon recommended, I trust him after lunch! He was right again and I had a very local meal of 2 Mojitos, a Thai red chicken curry followed by a magnum icecream on my walk home!
My short time in Vientiane has come to an end as I am due to leave for Pakse on the 11am flight.
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