Tuesday, September 15, 2009

11th to 14th Sept - Luang Prabang

We found a guest house that could accommodate our battalion of people in Luang Prabang and it was surprisingly nice. In fact, I liked Luang Prabang a lot. The place was just big enough to entertain and small enough to be relaxed... Perfect.

From Chiang Khong and Luang Prabang


From Chiang Khong and Luang Prabang


From Chiang Khong and Luang Prabang


From Chiang Khong and Luang Prabang


We met for dinner and some drinks and I decided to sample the Lao Fondue. It was amazing. You get this barbecue thing which is shaped like a dome with a kind of moat at the bottom. It is placed on top of hot coals on your table and you get a basket full of salads and other greens along with a plate of meat. Also, you get a pot of stock. You cook the meat on the dome part and then fill the moat with stock before boiling your vegetables in the liquid. Amazing. It tasted so good....

The funny thing about Luang Prabang is that all the bars and clubs seem to close at 11.30pm. Everyone then goes to the bowling club which is the only place open until 2am. It's crazy. So, we decided to head to the bowling club. We were going to walk but then this local on a moped drove past and offered to give me a lift so I jumped on the back and we headed to the bowling alley. By the time the others got there, the guy who drove me was about 100 points ahead of me in bowling. I was suitably beaten... We had a good night and bowling was great fun... Elsa in particular got wonderfully excited with her bowling prowess.... so funny.

The next day everyone was feeling a little sore after the night before and we lazed around the guest house for a bit. We went out that evening to Lau Lau Garden and.... yep you guessed it... went to the bowling alley again. I got two strikes.... after that I lost my radar and embarrassed myself horribly... Still had a good time though... The beer lao goes down very easily....

On the Sunday, the guys decided to head to the waterfall but I wanted to spend some time on my own just checking out the town and updating my blog etc. I walked to a place called tea and books for breakfast and then walked around the town for a bit. I got to the market where I met up with Pete and we had a walk along the river where we got propositioned by 400 tuk tuk drivers before heading for lunch/dinner somewhere. We met up with all the guys at the guest house and then I went for a Lao Massage. Oh my god... it was amazing.. they really get their thumbs into you in Laos. I felt cracked and beaten afterwards but inherently good...

From Chiang Khong and Luang Prabang


From Chiang Khong and Luang Prabang


From Chiang Khong and Luang Prabang


From Chiang Khong and Luang Prabang


From Chiang Khong and Luang Prabang


From Chiang Khong and Luang Prabang


We had a chilled one that night and watched the football before heading to bed early.

From Chiang Khong and Luang Prabang


From Chiang Khong and Luang Prabang


A trip in a mini bus to Vang Vieng awaited us the next morning.

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