Luang Prabang – A Romantic Peninsula

The market demonstrated rice being a staple of the Laos diet as at each end were big bags of it:

We could also see homemade rice cakes drying in the sun all around the neighborhood. They used sticky rice to form the shape and stuck them on to drying racks:

There were several things to experience just outside of town, such as the Kuang Si Waterfall that has a sanctuary for moon bears rescued from poachers. Check out the sanctuary’s website: Free the Bears

Our hiking adventure started with Mindy saying, “Hey I wonder what those stairs lead to”… One step led to another and before we knew it we were climbing rocks up the side of the waterfall, crossing over its very top tier, offering plenty of excitement and gorgeous views…

…and then down the other side with several wooden staircases that became part of the waterfall itself as the milky-white water spilled onto the steps. It was quite refreshing to walk through.

Life on the rivers seems abundant in Luang Prabang, making the banks a great place to people watch. On this day we watched novice monks jumping off a bamboo bridge that was in the process of being built as fishermen came by on their motored-longboats and various people came to the river to bathe, do laundry or wash dishes. 

We felt lucky to be in Luang Prabang just as the town was preparing for “Lai Heua Fai”(Festival of the Fire Boat), to celebrate the end of the rainy season. Evidence of the upcoming event could be seen in every temple throughout the town as monks gathered to work on a float together. These decorated floats become illuminated by candles, lanterns and even electric lights, and sent downstream. We wish we could have stayed for the actual event that happened only two days after we left.

A great way to end our northern Laos adventure was to climb Phousi Hill:

…and watch the sun set behind the mountains on the other side of the Mekong, another well-known thing to do in Luang Prabang.

Laos has become one of our favorite countries for its scenery and access to nature. We highly recommend it if you ever get the chance to go.

Thanks for following. Stay tuned for more Thai adventure now.

Love,
Mindy and Ligeia :):)