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Luang Prabang is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about 425 kms north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province. The current population of the city is about 103,000. The city was formerly the capital of a kingdom of the same name. Until the communist takeover in 1975, it was the royal capital and seat of government of the Kingdom of Laos. The city is also notable as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.The main part of the city consists of four main roads located on a peninsula between the Nam Khan and Mekong rivers. The city is well known for its numerous Buddhist temples and monasteries. Every morning, hundreds of monks from the various monasteries walk through the streets collecting alms. One of the major landmarks in the city is a large steep hill on which sits Wat Chom Si.
So our few days in Luang Prabang were not very exciting, we spent the time eating, drinking, walking around markets and watching TV!
The most exciting thing to happen was seeing a motorbike accident (exciting probably isn't the right word!) We were sat on a bench chilling out when we heard a huge bang. We turned around to see a motorbike had hit the front of a tuk tuk and there was a man flying about 10 yards through the air to finally stop when his head became wedged under the tuk tuk behind the one he'd hit. We were both in shock and just watched as everyone ran over. Watched in disgust as as the locals turned him onto his back and a tourist took his helmet off!! There was a lot of commotion going on for a while before we saw 4 people holding his arms and legs placing him in the back of another tuk tuk. Once they'd driven away and the people had cleared we could see that he had vomited everywhere! We sat a while longer (feeling pretty sick and dizzy ourselves) and watched the police come and casually do their report. The bike was in a bad way. God knows what ever happened to the driver as we were told the closest hospital that could deal with that kind of injury is Bangkok. Luckily he was wearing a helmet!
Anyway not a very exciting blog I'm afraid! We may have had more to say if the people of Luang Prabang didn't have a curfew. All locals must be in their homes by 11pm so a few early nights were had here!
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