The first thing on the agenda today is a flight to Luang Prabang, the former capital of Laos. Good news is we don’t have to leave until 10:30 so we sleep in until 8:45, get up for breakfast (2x omlette today, paranoid about the sniggering) then pack and get ready to leave for the airport.
Basic is probably how you would describe the Vientiane airport. We take in the shop and then pass through check in. Following this we have a 45 minute wait where we observe the goings on out on the airfield before boarding the 1 hour flight to Luang Prabang. I had enquired why we were flying what compared to the Bangkok to Vientiane train ride seems a short trip. Apparently there are some “mountains” (if that’s what you want to call them) that get in the way and make it a 13 hour drive. No doubt Tim’s Alfa could do it in 2 but I don’t think that the required 11 petrol stations exist en route. The flight passes without incident and we are soon on the ground and on the bus bound for the hotel. I comment that the modes of transport seem to be getting more upmarket as we progress through the tour, this bus being the best so far, and conversely the earlier train in Thailand being a bit “Auschwitz”.
Luang Prabang has a population of around 60,000, around the same as my home town. Imagining it as the former capital is difficult unless you’ve seen the current capital, where things are marginally busier and quicker paced.
Having checked in to the hotel (a very nice quiet little place made up of a few blocks of appartments) we get straight out again and meet Sak who is to be our guide during our stay in Luang Prabang. A gentle and quiet man (as most Lao people seem to be) he leads us to some places where we can get some takeaway lunch to take on our boat trip to the Pak Ou caves. The caves were originally made by the sea thosands of years ago (though the country has no sea borders any longer) and became places of worship, some locals still believing that they house spirits. At some time they were inhabited by monks though not today, the monks having taken up residence in more comfy surroundings. There are hundreds of different sized Buddha statues in both upper and lower caves, the latter being at the top of a lot of steep steps which cause much wheezing and puffing.
After the caves we sail across the river to the Pak Ou village (sharing its name with the caves) where they make laolao whiskey. The stuff we sample is excellent, and with an eye on an upcoming train journey a few bottles are acquired. We buy a small bottle to take home to show our chums back home which is in a nice looking bottle that Mrs Tom will likely use later to make impressive things for parties. Like some other spirits I’ve seen elsewhere there are bottles with snakes, spiders, insects and other crazy things all jammed inside, and we’re td these are all gathered locally to be used in the bottling.
Back on the boat we head back to Luang Prabang. All around us on the boat trip the scenery is beautiful, full of mountains and green, and lots of snaps are taken. On the way back, the sun is setting and we all try to capture this from various different angles. I got a shot which includes a rather impressive looking wake in the river as a faster craft had just whizzed by leaving its trail. I immidiately show off and bore people with it. Just before disembarking, Darren leans backwards into what he believes is the side of the boat, but is actually the doorway. Being certain for an unexpected bath I grab his arm and haul him safely back over the threshold, and am henceforth carried shoulder high through the town and given the freedom of Laos*.
*There is a good chance some of this is made up. I did stop him falling in though.
After a quick stop back at the hotel where we say goodbye to Sak for the day we are off to the night markets. There are many lovely little trinkets and goods on sale, much better and more attractive than the typical tourist junk you see so much of, and we wander through taking it all in. Our intended destination is the food section of the market where we will eat tonight. Freshly cooked meats, fish, vegetables, soups, rice dishes, curries are all on display. Having been fortunate enough to grab a spot where we can all sit together, each of us takes a wander and picks up different bits and pieces to eat, myself opting for a pork noodle soup, some skewered barbecued chicken, some chicken and vegetable kebabs and a couple of tomatoes stuffed with minced meat and noodles. Mrs Tom also has skewered chicken, adding some of the kebabs and some skewered pork. Of course we have a couple of Beer Lao too. Everyone enjoys their food before we clear out and head for the bakery stalls for some cakes, which we take into the neighbouring coffee shop to eat with a cup of coffee (though summer has what turns out to be an outstanding hot chocolate).
As we head back to the hotel through the market we take another look at the offerings, and Darren decides to buy a hat to keep the sun off his head on our trip tomorrow, replacing the one that if I’m honest I saw he’d left next to the computer in the last hotel but forgot to tell him. Back at the hotel we have a quick drink before what will be an early start tomorrow morning for our trip – a 4 hour trek ending up at the Kouang Si waterfall.