Luang Prabang by Katy

Well we have moved on from Luang Prabang now and on to Pakse. Pakse is not a patch on Luang Prabang with its French patisseries, beautiful restaurants and ornate temples, but we have lots of adventures lined up, so don't intend spending much time in the town itself. On that note, I had our last day in Luang Prabang earmarked for going to see some more temples and palaces, but given that a) it was 32 degrees and sunny and b) the others felt that once you've seen one temple, you've seen them all(!!) , we ended up going back to the outdoor pool and chilling out. The girls enjoyed going to the swim up bar and ordering a drink, and playing with an inflatable globe (thank you Rosie and Beatrice!).

My Scotland flag is coming in very handy as a cover up  (thank you Iain-I am buying mini flags for each of the countries we visit, and will sew them on when we get back).

Our guesthouse in Luang Prabang was right next to one of the main temples in the town- golden city temple (wat Xieng thong).

This was lovely on one hand (we had to walk past it daily, and could see the monks going about their daily lives;  sometimes hearing them chanting and praying),

 and a nightmare on the other hand (drums and cymbals at 4 o'clock in the morning on their holy days, which occur on different days depending on the moon, but just happened to come around twice during our stay! Also daily drumming at 6 o'clock just before the alms procession.

I loved our time in Luang Prabang; the people are lovely, the atmosphere relaxed, and it has plenty of cafes and restaurants-ideal!!

Our airport experience in Luang Prabang  was one of the most chilled and easy we have ever had. We left the guest house at 9,  and were in the air for 10:30. furthermore the security staff were friendly and happy;  a real rarity in airports!

I must say however, once we were in the air I wasn't so relaxed. The forecast had been for thunderstorms and rain, but we left blue skies in Luang Prabang and arrived to blue skies in pakse. We have escaped all aftermath of the typhoon. So glad it didn't hit Laos. The shacks we saw on our trips out of the town wouldn't have stood a chance in winds of any force. Once you leave the town (or even the old quarter where we were staying for that matter), you see just how poor a country it is. Yet, as part of what we are trying to show the girls, the people seem happy. A lesson for us all.....