Luang Prabang and an excursion into the hinterland

And just like that, three days have passed in Luang Prabang. However, they feel like I have been here for a week. Or 2-5 weeks, because the daily impressions overwhelming me are more than enough for that! This has once again led me to a decision, but more about that tomorrow.

The highlight of the first day actually began even before dawn, namely at night. In a bed where one could actually sleep without waking up constantly from severe back, hip, and leg pain, due to the previous hard mattress. So, refreshed, I started my sightseeing tour. Many travelers consider Luang Prabang to be the most beautiful town in Southeast Asia, and it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1995. The French colonial era also influenced today’s cityscape, which is why it sometimes feels a bit like a Western village. Just in parts, so very different. But beautiful! 😍 Here and there, a (beautiful) temple, a colonial building, lovely cafés and restaurants, small hotels.

But in the evening, one of the main streets transforms into a night market, making you completely forget that you are actually in an Asian country. Then it feels as if Asian traders and stall owners are conducting business at a European flea market. Luang Prabang is not a typical backpacker destination – the (mostly very young) backpack tourists are in the minority here. Instead, it is more the middle-aged study and round-trip travelers dressed in Jack Wolfskin gear and equipped with adventure gear who wander the streets.

Regarding the night market, it’s similar to other night markets, just with slightly different offerings:

• Bags and purses of all sizes
• Scarves, tablecloths, and pillowcases
• Comfy pants in short and long with obligatory elephant prints
• Pictures and postcards
• Accessories made from detonated bombs
• Magnets

Of course, everything is handmade and only available at this market! It’s just strange that all the neighboring stalls have the same offerings. Among other things, this fact leads me to shake my head in disbelief constantly. I mean, I wrote about this last year as well. Ultimately, it would almost be like opening a fourth döner shop on a street that already has three döner shops and two barbershops. Um, wait, let me think for a moment...

But since the travel community is small and the world is ultimately just one village, it had to happen that I step out of one shop and suddenly see Yvonne and Jason from Balingen standing in front of me! 😂 We first had a fruit shake to celebrate the reunion, and I spontaneously booked the same day trip for the next day, which the two had already organized, compacting all the must-see sites around Luang Prabang.

The first leg took us about 30 km southwest to the Kuang Si Waterfall (I will skip the generous stop in a 'typical' Hmong village), which took us around 'only' about an hour. You can imagine the road conditions... Upon arriving at the parking lot, we were loaded into small electric (!) golf cart-like vehicles and taken to the entrance of the waterfall. Of course, not without first being offered neatly sliced mango and pineapple or the typical Pringles chips. The Bear Rescue Center, where the sun bear and the Malayan bear are rescued and protected, is still on the way before reaching the first pools of the waterfall. The color is simply beautifully turquoise-blue, there is a fresh atmosphere, the air is clear – and the Chinese are loud. We struggle upward, resisting the urge to jump into the natural pool to cool off from the heat. And the natural spectacle becomes increasingly impressive! There are terraces upon terraces (travertine terraces), one turquoise pool after another, until we finally stand in front of the actual waterfall. And we have little time left before it’s time to continue with the van. We miscalculated, or we didn’t expect what highlight awaited us there. So we quickly took one last artistic photo (in the artistic sense of choosing the angle so that almost no people are in the picture 😉) and then made our way back down.

From there, we headed back north for about 1.5 hours, on roads that I sometimes really struggle to call 'roads.' Perhaps 'single trails' would be more accurate. We had lunch at the Elephant Camp of the tour provider, which was truly delicious and varied. The theme of elephants is also a major one in Laos. Originally, Laos was referred to as 'Land of a Million Elephants.' But honestly, only about 1,500 of these gray giants still live today, with 1,000 in the wild and 500 in captivity. More about the elephant theme tomorrow.

After the Laotian buffet, we took a boat downstream to the Pak Ou Caves, which are also among the must-sees in Luang Prabang, but didn’t really impress me. From there, we made a short detour to 'Whiskey Village,' where liquors and spirits are distilled, had 3 shots, and then took a boat ride on the Mekong, beer in hand, towards sunset. The atmosphere was great, there was lots of laughter (as far as I understood with the Australian English among other things), and blissfully, we returned to Luang Prabang. Yvonne, Jason, and I then concluded the evening with another beer, summer rolls, and a noodle soup, and I fell dead into bed.

More about the animal highlight the next day tomorrow! 🐘