After the two days we spent on a boat on the Mekong we arrived in Luang Prabang - a world heritage town and the former capital of Laos. Here the streets are filled with houses of french architecture and golden buddhist temples.
In Wat Xieng Thong there were some beautiful mosaics, including this tree of life.
Luang Prabang is in the northern Laos and surrounded by mountains, so it was actually a bit colder here than we had expected, some days only around +10°C during the night and +20°C during the day. So our jackets came in handy here. Here you can also see the national flower of Laos: the frangipani.
Some medicine sold in the local Night Market.
Unfortunately Luang Prabang is one of the many areas in Laos where you can't really go off the beaten track. We visited the UXO (Unexploded ordnance) Visitor center to learn more about the devastation Laos encountered during the Vietnamese war when USA dropped tons of bombs over the country even though Laos had been declared a neutral zone. 1/3 of the bombs never exploded and were left in the nature. Deaths still occur every year.
The most beautiful attraction in Luang Prabang is the Khuang Si Waterfalls, located a 40 min drive outside the city. The waterfall itself is very high and you are able to climb on top of it, but the best parts are all the many turquoise pools that follow the waterfall. In some of them you could even go for a swim. The water was quite chilly but very refreshing.
Beer is much cheaper here than in Thailand, therefore:
Beerlao - Beer of the wholehearted people.
No comments:
Post a Comment