Luang Prabang, the former capital of Laos, is located in Northern Laos and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is surrounded by mountains and is built on a peninsula, formed by the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers. We stayed in a lovely hotel where we had a room overlooking the pool where we could watch the torrential rain bouncing off the water every day at around 4pm. Sunrise Garden Hotel
Luang Prabang is a remarkably well-preserved town and wandering through the streets is interesting due to its architecture and acknowledgement of heritage. Many of the traditional Laos wooden houses remain and there are many Buddhist temples and monuments. Early every morning, the monks walk through the streets in a procession collecting alms.
Every evening at 6pm the main street turns into a night market selling beautiful local handicrafts. It is impossible not to purchase anything as the skill involved in making the scarves, table runners, cushions and bags is quite unique. Once you have walked through the market, the street becomes a restaurant and bar strip where great and very cheap food is available.
We also had a day trip to the Kuang Si Waterfalls, the Tat Kuang Si Bear Rescue Centre, a civet cat coffee plantation, an elephant sanctuary and a buffalo dairy.
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| Kuang Si Waterfalls |
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| Floating restaurants and bars on and next to the Mekong River |
