I moved from the hotel into a guesthouse - its cheaper, quieter and as its low season I was able to get a room with a good view.....check this out..
the view from my balcony..breakfast is served right beside the river (you can see the brown tables and chairs in the photo) - not a bad way to start the day (pity about the sweltering heat and the millions of ants)!
The guesthouse is really nice, run by a local family with only 8 rooms, there is a list of rules in the room. One rule is that all guests have to be in their rooms by midnight (there is a curfew in Luang Prabang and all bars have to close by 11.30pm). Another rule is no drugs/gambling or brnging another man/woman into your room that isnt your husband/wife for making love! These rules are not made by the guesthouse owner but by the 'Tourism Police Office" - there's similar rules in Vietnam and Cambodia. I'm certainly not messing with the rules - I've seen "banged up abroad"!
Yesterday I went to visit the Royal Palace, there's no longer a Royal family in Laos - they were overthrown in 1975 and the Palace is now a museum. It was interesting to see it, the bedrooms are exactly as they were when the royal family had to leg it in 1975. I wasnt allowed take any pictures inside the museum - even had to leave my bag in a locker outside and there's a dress code - no shoes, hats, have to cover upper arms and upper legs. This is the same dress code for visiting temples although I dont think they are that strict about enforcing it.
After the palace it was time for a cocktail so I went to a bar across the river - there's free transport....
then you follow the lights up a slippery hill...
It was happy hour at the bar so I had 2 banana daiquiris for the price of 1. 'Floated' back across the mekong river and straight in for an hour long foot massage - happy days!
here's a picture of the night market...
For dinner had a lao set menu - cat fish wrapped in banana leaves, stir fry veg, chicken salad (which was really good - it didnt look that appetising but was one of the nicest dishes I've tasted here) it was also very spicy which is unusual - most of the food in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia isn't spicy at all - but a bit bland.
One of the main streets in Luang Prabang..
Went to see the "Kuang Si" waterfalls today, about 30kms from Luang Prabang, scenery on the way was very nice, very green and mountainous.....
On the way stopped off at a "Ban Tat Paen" a village where "Khamu" people live. I had barely got out of the car when this group of little entrepreneurs set themselves up and by the time I got to the village I heard that familiar chant "buy from me, buy from me"....
Was kinda sorry I didnt stay in the car but too late! I knew from Cambodia that if I bought from one of them the others would freak and there would be a riot - so I done a deal where I would buy something small from all of them (11) for a total of 5e. They were happy with that and even posed for a picture...
The waterfall was worth the trip and weather was even a "bit"cooler there, still hot but at least a bit of a breeze and best of all - the coolness from the spray of the waterfalls. You can swim there too but it looked flithy, all brown, apparantly its normally clean and crystal clear but because its the rainy season the muddy river is flowing into it
There's a bear sanctuary beside the waterfalls, these bears have all been rescued from poachers who use them to extract bile from their gall bladders (very painful for the bears) and sell the bear bile to China for use as a traditional medicine to treat headaches etc. There are 23 bears in this sanctuary.
See the bear swinging in the hammock!
2 more days in Luang Prabang and then fly to Bangkok on Sunday.
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