The North of Laos - Luang Prabang

After a relatively short night, we set off at 7 in the morning to make our way to the pier to secure good seats on the boat from Houay Xai to Luang Prabang. The early bird catches the worm here! Although the ticket office didn't open until 8, we spent the time enjoying a cozy breakfast right at the pier. And on the way to the pier, we were able to watch a group of monks collecting the morning offerings from the residents. Then we stocked up on provisions and at 10:30 we were able to board the boat, which had difficulties accommodating all the passengers. But additional car seats, with which the boat is equipped, were brought in and finally we could start with about 120 people on board at half past 11. Unfortunately, those who got a seat at the back have to contend with deafening noise and the smell of the engine and the toilet... that's why it's definitely worth getting up early! The boat ride on the Mekong with the slow boat was indeed "slow", but comfortable and the landscape there is really beautiful! Around 5:30 p.m. we arrived in Pak Beng, the intermediate stop, to spend the night there. This village consists only of hostels, guesthouses, and hotels. Here we secured one of the most beautiful hotels (riverside lodge) for our group at a "special price" and ate at a delicious Indian restaurant across the street. We spent a cozy evening sipping beer in a bar where almost all the occupants of our slow boat could be found.

Since we were not sure if we would get the same seats again the next day, we had to get up early again... on this day two boats went to Luang Prabang, which meant we had more space and tranquility. And slowly the sun began to appear. With good conversation with our crew consisting of Katha, Esther, Riana, Daniel, and us, we enjoyed the idyllic ride past the jungle, cows, goats, water buffaloes, and limestone cliffs. Around 3:30 p.m. we arrived outside of Luang Prabang and took a taxi to the city together. We went from hostel to hostel until we finally found a nice one.

Luang Prabang is a very French-influenced little town that is under UNESCO protection and is constantly being restored and well maintained. Many say it is the most beautiful city in Laos. We immediately felt comfortable here; many small restaurants and cafes, tranquility, beautifully situated on the Mekong, a night market with all kinds of handicrafts, and a cool group by our side that really slowed us down - which finally felt like a vacation...

We spent the evening at the "Coconut Garden", a beautiful restaurant where everything tasted really delicious! Here we tried the specialty "kai bâan" - seagrass from the Mekong (which you can't imagine with this dirty river, but it was really good).

The next day, after breakfast with real baguettes (the French influence has its good sides) at the morning market, we explored the old town located on a peninsula on foot - with many breaks ;) you can also see many temples and monasteries here, but at some point we had enough. From the Phou Si hill you have a great view over the city and the Mekong. However, in Laos, everything (especially the entrance fees, for example to this mountain) costs a bit more than in Thailand, but in principle it is still cheap. We then went to the next "Footprint Buddha", hidden in a small cave. Back down in the city, we strolled along the promenade.

Then we had to plan the next leg of our journey, as we couldn't decide whether we wanted to go to the south of Laos first, then visit Cambodia and then go to Vietnam, or just explore the north of Laos, then go directly to Vietnam and only then to Cambodia. Finally, we decided on the former.

In the evening, we went up the mountain again for the sunset (you should be there early, because we weren't the only ones with this idea). We enjoyed the panorama and took a few photos while sipping beer ;)

We went over the night market once again, amidst light but increasingly vocal protests from the hungry Carsten, before we finally got something to eat. We tried a mixture of "hot pot" and grill, which is considered a specialty here. But it didn't really knock our socks off.

From there, we went to the Utopia Bar, which is definitely worth a visit in the evening as well as during the day!

We had actually planned to start for the waterfall early and got up at 7:30, but Tina's stomach didn't feel so good, so we had to postpone it to the next day. Instead, Tina spent half the day in bed until we rallied to go to the Cultural and Arts Museum and then continue chilling at the Utopia Bar. There wasn't much more on the agenda for this day, except to try eating something at the market again. But since the food there was cold, it certainly didn't contribute to Tina's health.

But the next day we still wanted to go to the waterfalls, so after tough negotiations with the tuk-tuk drivers, we set off at 9 o'clock. Tina still didn't feel really well, but the waterfalls were definitely worth it! First, you walk through a park for bears that were rescued from slavery. They mostly laze around in the warmth, but we didn't expect to encounter bears at all on this day, so it was a nice surprise. Then came the Kung Si waterfalls in several stages. The water there is so clear and turquoise blue that you think you are on a paradise island. After a quite steep and sometimes slippery path, we reached the top of the waterfalls. It was also paradise-like beautiful there. You can also swim in the lower parts of the waterfalls, but unfortunately we didn't have time for that because our bus to Vang Vieng was supposed to leave at 2:30 p.m. and we still had a bumpy hour's drive ahead of us.

You can read about the even bumpier and more winding journey to Vang Vieng and many more adventures in the next post... ;)