Luang Prabang

What a beautiful little city this is!  Situated on a peninsula formed by the confluence of the Mekong and Khan rivers, this little riverside town has all the charm and serenity of the best retreat villas in the world.  The pace of life, friendliness of the people, and natural beauty are hard to match. 

We arrived late, around 9:00pm, and went straight to our hotel.  MyDream Boutique hotel is set back from the Khan river about 100 meters upon a small cliff and is surrounded by beautifully manicured gardens.  There was some music across the river that was a bit loud, but the hotel concierge assured us that it was a wedding celebration of some sort, so we didn’t think much of it...it turned out to be a bar across the river, that thumped each night reverberating around our room...oh well, I guess nothing's perfect!

The following day, we lounged around the hotel, eating breakfast and swimming, before heading into town to see what it had to offer.  Borrowing one of the free bikes, we rode the short 15 minutes to the town center.  No horns, no crazy drivers, and wide roads were a welcomed change from the madness that we were used to in all the other Asian cities we'd visited.  The only challenging part was crossing the old bridge that had large cracks in between its planks waiting to swallow our thin bike tires.  Luckily, we made it across without trouble. 

Huge Sandwich $1

Once we entered the town our first order of business, per usual, was to get some lunch.  We stumbled upon a row of sandwich and smoothie stalls so decided to avail.  Anna and I each got a huge sandwich and large fruit smoothie for a combined $5, and they were both delicious. 

Wat Huangphon

After our fulfilling lunch we decided to ride our bikes to the most prominent Wat in town, Xien Thong.  Here we ran into quite a treat, outside of the usual beauty of the Wat, the King of Thailand’s daughter, the princess, was visiting the Wat at the same time.  An entourage of dignitaries, military personnel and media moguls accompanied her.  At first, we had no idea who or what all the fuss was about, but after some investigating we discovered that we were in the presence of royalty.  We felt obligated to greet her, and get a good photo, so we joined the other 'receiving women' until she exited.  Everyone noticed Rosemary, of course, and the princess herself gave a little nod in our direction.

Thai Princess

Reception line for princess

As we left the Wat, we rode by Phousi Hill and decided to do the 380-step climb, and it was well worth the trek up.  The summit provides 360’ views of the valley below displaying the beauty and isolation of Luang Prabang. 

$2 all you can eat

View from Phousi Hill

The relaxing atmosphere of the town, good food, night markets and bike rides highlighted the rest of our stay in Luang Prabang.  On our final day, I woke up early and went for a little bike ride.  This provided an interesting insight into how the city comes alive, and it allowed me to see some of the lesser visited streets and alleys.  This short ride was one of my highlights because it offered an excellent overview of the simplistic beauty that Luang Prabang has to offer.
As we were leaving, sadness befell us for we knew that Luang Prabang is a town close to our hearts.

Paper Making "Factory"

Rosemary's a hit at a local school

Morning Alms Giving

Mmmm Beer