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Sabaidee from Laos
We arrived in Luang Prabang after a hot and stuffy propellor plane flight from Bangkok last Thursday and before we'd even landed we loved it! Just flying into the little airport we could see how beautiful the country is. It's very green with tree covered hills and the huge Mekong river gliding through the landscape.
We are in a lovely little guest house in the north penninsula, which is great. Its an easy walk to the main street, but quieter, apart from the 4am drumming wake up call from the local novice monks!.
As soon as we arrived we felt alot more relaxed. LP is very chilled and just has a much more laid back and slow paced feel than anywhere else we've visited so far. Our first few days were spent mooching about the town, finding cute little cafes for a coffee or river-side resturants for a Lao Beer (very drinkable and all of about 10,000kip, less than a pound!). We climbed Phu Si, which is a hill in the centre of town with some temples on it (see piccies), which has some great views over LP and looking to the surrounding hills. We visited the 2 main sites outside the town, the Pak Ou caves, which were a little disappointing although the slow boat trip up the Mekong was great; and the Kuang Si waterfalls, which were beautiful - turquoise coloured water spilling over several falls and a massive waterfall at the top. Andy went swimming (Gem paddled!).
Yesterday we went on a trek, organised with a local tour guide. We drove out to the Elephant Village where rescued elephants (from the logging industry) are cared for and used for rides, treks and mahout (elephant carer) courses. We then crossed the river on a little fast boat and began our trek. It was a beautiful route, waking through jungle which reminded Andy of the Vietnam war films (Platoon anyone?!), and up the hill to visit some small remote villages. We had lunch at a beautiful spot with an amazing view over the valley and then on the way back we stopped in at Tad Se waterfalls for a cold swim (Gem even made it in this time!)...and the elephants joined us for a bath! An amazing experience. We stopped for a couple of much needed Lao beers (followed by vino) when we got back to LP with David and Elizabeth, a lovely Scottish couple we met on the trek.
Today we have booked our flight to Vientiane for Thursday, we will be sad to leave here but there are other exciting places to see!!
Andy's just been for his first hair cut - Laos style...his head was getting a little hot with his thick mop!
Love to all
Gem and Andy xxx
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