Luang Prabang and 2 Days on the Mekong

We spent about 4 days in Luang Prabang (LPB), and in true Laos style, didn't really do much. The Mekong River rolls right alongside the town and there is a fabulous night market with local artisans that we strolled by nightly - and may have done a little shopping too!

LPB was a great place for us to walk around town, enjoy some baked goods at the delicious JoMa Cafe and try to find a little piece of nightlife. Although when the whole town closes down at 11:00, it's hard to really find anything happening in the streets. This sign cracked me up - and it's totally how all of Laos operates.

We did wake-up one morning at 5:15 a.m. in order to see the locals giving alms to the monks. It was quite the thing to see. About 200 monks, dressed in vibrant orange and yellow robes, walking in single file, their faces expressionless, and the people squatted on the sides of the streets to grab handfuls of sticky rice or bananas to place into their little tin containers.


That was the same day we set out for a 2-day boat trip on the Mekong River to get us to the border of Thailand. It was quite a relaxing journey and we lucked out to not have an overcrowded boat - Lani and I got 2 cushioned seats each. We felt lucky! It was a nice way to get through Laos, much preferred over the windy roads by bus. However, it did rain the majority of the trip - and we're not talking a slight drizzle, we're talking a serious downpour! Luckily they had plastic tarps that they could drape over the windows so that the water didn't rush in.

Then we arrived in the border town of Huay Xai and checked in with the Gibbon Experience office. It's rainy season, so who knows how the next 3 days are going to treat us...it could be quite the mucky walk for hours on end, all in search of the monkeys.