In a town of 300,000 people, what happens when you have over thirty buddhist temples and monasteries, many historic streets, a beautiful hillside temple, and sit of the banks of the Mekong and Pe Rivers? In the case of Luang Prabang, the World Heritage List adds you to their list and provides lots and lots of money, so that the historic temples, streets, and architecture of the city are carefully rebuilt and managed for cleanliness and aesthetic beauty. The city has all of these elements, as well as people who care about you and care about their culture and care about their city!
I spent 3 nights in this city and loved the days and nights. It was a great city for walking the streets and finding different alleys with shops and restaurants and the occasional hidden temple. The city is one of the most quiet cities that I have ever visited. People drive, people walk, people talk, but the noises do not carry through the city and provides for a most peaceful, spiritual element for the city. Even the Night Bazaar, which in all of the other cities has been a loud, in-your-face type selling atmosphere was like being at a classical music concert....so peaceful and pleasant, it took me by surprise!
While I was in LP, I actually hung out with some Americans (A first on this trip, since being in the Czech Republic and Poland with my friend Rian) for dinner a couple of the nights. They were from HotLanta and had been teaching English in South Korea over the past 4 years. It was interesting to hear their perspectives on teaching in South Korea and who knows may be an idea in the near future for me.
My favorite day in L.P. was the all-day bike ride that took me from L.P. to about 30 kilometers south of town through hills, rice fields, rivers, and eventually to the Tat Kuang Si. The stopping point was a beautiful, multi-level waterfall, where you could swim in many pools and even jump from the top of the waterfall into the falls.....so cool! I met up with the American couple here as well as a group of Japanese girls who were traveling for about 10 days....I can't say this was a relaxing day, but it turned out to be the most fun.
I leave for Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, where my experience in Laos gets even better!
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