Entry to Laos - first temple tour through Luang Prabang

Yesterday, I spent the entire day traveling. I started in the morning from SaPa and took a six-hour sleeper bus to Hanoi to the airport. Of course, the bus was 45 minutes late at departure again. During the journey, there were also some extended breaks, so I arrived at the airport with a 75-minute delay. Thus, my check-in, exit time, and time for security checks shrank from 2.5 hours down to 75 minutes. But despite the queue, everything went fairly quickly, and the plane took off on time with me on board. During the flight, I filled out the visa form, and upon arrival in Laos at the small airport in Luang Prabang, everything went smoothly and relatively quickly; first, the visa was approved, and right afterwards, the entry was granted; all without problems and this time also without any bribery. At the airport, I quickly took care of the obligatory things in the new country, namely getting a local SIM card and getting supplies with the local currency - the Laotian Kip - and I was ready to use my new Laotian taxi app. It worked perfectly right away, and 25 minutes later, I had already arrived at my accommodation for the next five nights; a cozy little room with a direct side view of the Mekong. My host also made me an offer on how I could save another 10 US dollars compared to my booking, which I couldn’t refuse ;-) ... It was already almost 11 PM, and after a refreshing drink and some planning for the next day, I went to bed, as I couldn’t motivate myself for a nighttime walk today...

This morning, however, I was up early and after breakfast on the terrace at my accommodation, I set out on a tour. Luang Prabang was the capital of the historic kingdom of Lan Xang and of the French protectorate Laos. Until the abolition of the monarchy in Laos in 1975, it was a royal city. Today, the city is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The small town is home to over 30 different temple complexes. And I wanted and still want to visit some of them. So, I strolled leisurely for 20 minutes along the Mekong River to the most famous temple, Wat Xieng Thong; once again very impressive with its rich decorations. Then I wound my way through some more temple complexes and monk schools, whose names are also quite tongue-twisting... After that, I wanted to go to the famous bamboo bridge where you can cross the river - Nam Khan - on foot to the other side of the city. However, it is currently not there. The bamboo bridge is built seasonally in the dry season and taken down during the rainy season, so it won’t be destroyed during floods. I didn’t know that the time had already come. Well, I continued my round. It was about 33 degrees and an enormous humidity, which is why I settled down comfortably with a cool Beerlao in a local place overlooking the intersection in front of me. It was heavenly - not only the super tasty Beerlao - but especially the tranquility. Unlike Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, there isn't constant honking in the street traffic here. Overall, everything seems to be a bit calmer in Laos. In the pub, I got into a conversation with a Brit and a Frenchman, who have lived in Luang Prabang for 8 and 10 years respectively. Both confirmed my observations. However, I also had the feeling that a large part of their time in Laos was spent in pubs. One beer turned into three, and we talked about the micro and macrocosm as well as the global situation. That was quite amusing. But before I settled in too long, I said my goodbyes again and after about 1.5 hours of my break, I continued my tour a bit and returned to my accommodation in the afternoon to cool off. In the evening, I took a leisurely stroll, ate by the Mekong, and wandered through the night market.