Laos: Slowboat & Luang Prabang

Oh, beautiful Laos. We didn't have many expectations when we crossed the border into Laos. But the few expectations were definitely exceeded, because it's incredibly beautiful here.

From Chiang Mai, we took the bus to the Laotian border and entered Laos without any problems. However, the success story ended right after the border, as we were the last remaining tourists to enter and our tuk-tuk, with only four people (us and a German couple), simply refused to leave. After about 45 minutes, we gave up the stubborn wait and paid the driver an extra fee to finally drive us to the next village. Our hotel right on the Mekong River was a great surprise, as our room had a direct view of the river. In the evening, we tried the Laotian national dish "Laap", which was written on the menu as "minced chicken" or "minced beef", and immediately fell in love with the dish, which was very spicy. Our chef laughed when he saw the chili peppers we had set aside on our plates.
After the cities we had visited before, we finally breathed in the countryside air and saw beautiful, lush green nature, countless palm trees, and the sun. However, it got quite cold in the evening and stayed that way for the next few days, which we had not expected. The next day, the time had come - we boarded the slowboat to Luang Prabang. The narrow, elongated boat was equipped with old car seats and was actually quite comfortable. In total, we traveled 288 kilometers on the Mekong in 14 hours over two days. Around us, there was nothing but the brown Mekong water, green landscapes that became more hilly, and a partially blue, but often gray sky. On the second day, it got so cold that Elena put on her ski underwear - but that may have been due not only to the cold, but also to the incoming cold! During the boat trip, Laotians boarded or disembarked from the boat from time to time - mostly out of nowhere. We were particularly impressed by how they switched from small speedboats (with helmet-wearing drivers, which seems dangerous) to our slowboat and took off their shoes while climbing over the railing, as is customary in Laos (the boat is also considered a closed space).

After all the hours on the boat, we were finally glad to arrive and check into our amazing hotel in Luang Prabang. How do we like it here? Hard to say, how often we walked around with wide eyes and told each other how unbelievably beautiful we find everything. Luang Prabang is located on a peninsula and is surrounded on one side by the mighty Mekong River, and on the other side by the smaller, lush green Nam Khan River. The old town consists of buildings that were shaped by the French colonial era and is very cozy and beautiful. In between are even more beautiful temples that sparkle golden in the sun. And otherwise - it's also quite green, the banks are palm-filled, and many butterflies flutter through the city.

The food tastes great! And in general, we could actually stay here forever, especially after seeing several (!) grandiose (!) sunsets on the Mekong, accompanied by fresh coconut or simply a cool Beerlao beer. The highlight was our trip with the rented motorbike (finally our own means of transportation!) to the Kuang Si waterfalls, which cascade in turquoise-green cascades in the jungle on many levels and where you can of course also swim!

We can hardly believe how beautiful it is here. That's why saying goodbye to Luang Prabang is a bit difficult for us, but at the same time we are looking forward to Cambodia!

What we have learned in Laos:- "a little bit spicy" can be interpreted very differently. We got everything from "very mild" to "pleasantly spicy" to "burns twice" after ordering "a little bit spicy"- if there were a world barbecue championship, the Laotians would surely be the winners! Grilling and cooking over a fire by the roadside is probably not done anywhere else as much as it is here.- we became millionaires in Kip very quickly, but just as quickly our money ran through our fingers in Luang Prabang (restaurants here are a bit more expensive than elsewhere, probably because the city is very popular with tourists) - During the Vietnam War, countless (millions) of bombs and unexploded ordnance were dropped on Laos, and even today, there are areas that are uninhabitable or unsuitable for agriculture because there are still bombs in the ground everywhere.- it can also get very cold in Southeast Asia - we had a few pretty "cold days" (15 degrees, feels like 5 degrees)- Thank you is "Khop Jai" ... but "Khop Jai lai lai" sounds even better (Thank you very much)