Good Morning.
It is a sunny and peaceful morning here in Luang Prabang. Travel Gal and I got up at 5:30 this morning to go witness the daily alms giving in L.P. We couldn't wake Travel Boy so we locked him up tight in the room at our guesthouse, Villa Somphong. Every morning, the monks of L.P. walk along the main street where they are provided for by the locals. Men and women line the sidewalk, men standing and women kneeling on mats, with their offerings in front of them. The monks, dressed in brightly colored orange robes and freshly shaven heads, each carry a brass pot that is slung over their shoulders. As they walk by, the locals put a small amount of food into each pot - most give a pinch of sticky rice, some give fruit. The monks walk down the street silent, the only sounds you here are rustling feet. Very quiet and peaceful, except for some tourists watching from afar. One idiot Japanese tourist stood on the sidewalk taking the photos directly in their path - and it was a woman, so the monks had to go around (they are not allowed to touch women). Anyway, it was yet another charming experience in this beautiful town.

We arrived here on Tuesday afternoon. Luang Prabang is a lovely area, adjacent to the Mekong River, with mountains as a backdrop. The flight on our turbo-prop plane was great! (BTW, the service on the Asian airlines has been top notch). We had to get a travel visa when we arrived and payment of $35 per person had to be made in cash, US dollars only. We heard some tourists in line say "we don't have US dollars!". There was actually an ATM where you can get them. A driver was waiting for us, with a printed sign that read "Mr. Paul". Our guesthouse is great. Directly across from the river, it has only 7 rooms. We have a queen bed and single, a/c, television, and bathroom with shower. The floors and ceiling are highly polished hardwood - beautiful. There is wood everywhere, which can make noises a bit loud, so we remind Travel Boy to talk quiet.
We walked the main street on our first afternoon/evening. Beautiful. Old buildings, locals walking, and loads of tourists. We are in the very slow season, but there are still lots of tourists (many backpackers). We stopped in a local restaurant - Travel Boy was starving and they had pizza. Before that, I had to get some local cash out of the ATM. The exchange rate is wacky. The currency is called the Kip, and 1 US dollar equals 8000 Kip. So, I actually withdrew a half million Kip from our account (about US$60). While Travel Boy had a pizza and played with a cat (there are tons of cats and dogs here, most incredibly healthy looking), Travel Gal and I had huge beers a $1.25 each. Like seemingly every other town in Asia, L.P. has a night market. Lots of stalls selling stuff, from hand made tapestries and quilts, to metal figurines, silk scarves, handicrafts, and more. We got a couple small things - despite having markets everywhere we go, we have purchased shockingly little. As I tell Travel Gal, I don't want any souvenirs - I am eating my souvenirs. Speaking of which, our dinner that night was amazing. We ate at a gorgeous restaurant called Tamnak. Sat on the upstairs balcony overlooking the street. We had traditional Lao food (Travel Boy had "some of the best French fries ever"). Food was great and the setting was amazing.

Yesterday, we had to get up early for an excrusion. Breakfast is included at the guesthouse and is served on a wood deck, across the street, overlooking the river. There is a very strong French influence still in Laos (some of the architecture, Travel Gal being called Madame in the market, etc), and breakfast proved another - a hot, fresh baguette for each of us. Delicious.

We took a boat trip to see a historic cave. The boat, if you want to call it that, is a 'slow boat', and boy was it ever. It took 7 people plus the driver. The boat was wooden, with planks on the floor, a very, very low ceiling (I hit my head every time) that was covered using an old vinyl advertising sign taken from a shop or store (this one advertised toilet paper). The seats were old wood seats you would find in a 19th century schoolhouse - tiny and uncomfortable. Let's just say it was not a cruise. Our first stop? A floating gas station of course. The ride to the cave was 2 long hours up, against the flow of the Mekong. We made one stop along the way to see a village where they make Lao Lao, a local rice whiskey. They also produce textiles and sell lots of crap. The cave itself was pretty cool. It contains thousands of small buddhas that people have been bringing there for a long time. The walk to the upper cave was a LOT of stairs and was unbelievably hot and humid - we were definitely in the jungle. Travel Gal and I used the toilet - let's just say it was a squat toilet with a bucket of water and a scoop to both clean yourself off and 'flush it'. As Travel Gal said, "if I can pee in there, I can do anything". The ride back to town only took one hour as we were going with the river's flow. Poor Travel Boy was bored to tears and I can't blame him.

We let him pick our lunch spot - a place called "The Pizza", where he proceeded to order a hamburger! We had Lao food so that was OK. In the afternoon we hiked up to see a temple on the top of the central hill - several hundred steps up. I was sweating so bad it was embarrassing. I saw some locals wearing jackets for goodness sakes, and it looks like I just stepped in from a thunderstorm. We needed a break so we went back to the hotel, after having some ice cream, for some much needed air conditioning. Last night we had another great Lao meal, and walked through the hot market again.

Today we are hiring a driver and visiting a waterfall for a refreshing swim.. We fly out late this afternoon to Hanoi. The adventure continues . . .