Luang Prabang (8/27)

Ken and I left for Luang Prabang yesterday, and a quick 45 minute flight later were here! We were greeted by a van with ice cold water and towelettes from our hotel. Luang Prabang is such a nice city, and has a very different vibe from Vientiane. It's much more pretty and much more relaxed (and Vientiane is fairly relaxed compared to most Asian cities).

We got to the hotel, and were immediately welcomed with juice and friendly staff who gave us maps and a nice overview of the city. I absolutely love the hotel. It think it is actually my favorite hotel ever. I got to my room. It's done in kind of a colonial style, with wood floors and lovely wooden furniture. There is a big comfy adjustable bed with colorful embroidered pillows, and best of all, you can see the river out the windowed doors, which lead a a private patio with a gorgeous view. It's all the best. Also a free minibar with water, soda, tea, Milo, coffee, etc. I love the touches like a desk with beautiful books in many languages about Luang Prabang and Laos.

Ken and I went to Phu Si, and we learned how out of shape I am, because like everything cool in Asia, it's up many stairs to get to the top. However, the view was definitely worth it in this case. And on the way down, there were some cool buddhas, and "Buddha's footprint"-basically a big hole. Also, we met some monks. Monks here tend to speak good English, and these monks were teenage boys, like many of my students in English class. They were very impressed with Ken's Lao.

We walked around a bit, and saw a temple. Luang Prabang is definitely known for gorgeous temples. Luang Prabang is a really nice city. Nice colonial and wood buildings, an easy city center, and two rivers flowing through. The riverfront here is much lovelier than in Vientiane. There are little cafes and restaurants with lights and lanterns all along both sides of the river.

We went out to eat with an American who runs the Luang Prabang Film Festival at a lovely garden restaurant. I checked out the famous Night Market, although it was closing down already since it was past 9 pm. The Night Market is more touristy than the Vientiane night market, although it has a few different items and some more variety in some ways. My favorite items are the paintings, the handmade paper, and of course the fabric, especially the embroidery and weaving.

I was exhausted and headed back to my lovely hotel.