Our time in Laos started on a low. After two very difficult travel days (post to follow by LK... only her humour can do it justice) we arrived in Luang Prabang to discover 1) Canadians have to pay for most for a Laos visa of any country in the world (Bummer!) and 2) We had been robbed in Thailand and couldn't even scrape together enough cash to pay for our visas (Much bigger bummer!). Luckily, the Luang Prabang airport has an ATM and the most lax security system in the world because we strolled through customs sans passports to grab cash for our visas.
When we went to pay for our visas, things looked a lot brighter. There in line with the biggest smile was our friend Taha Bandukwala from home. He and his friend Emma had just flown in from Siem Reap and we were all united in this tiny Laos airport. We paid for our visas and headed to a hostel that Taha had recommended to him called SpicyLaos. It is a beautiful old World Heritage House that has been converted into a Dorm Hostel.
Once we were settled, we went to explore Luang Prabang. All of us fell in love with this city for its timeless and uncommercialized appeal, its French colonial influence, and for the 36 temples and thousands of monks that add to the spiritual, peaceful vibe that LPB exudes. We arranged for tours for the next day, and found a small restaurant along the Mekong River to catch up with one another and try out the BeerLao.
The next morning we were up at 5am to go to the Alms giving in town. At sunrise, the monks walk single file through the town on their way to prayer. While they pass, we are able to give to them food items for their lunch that day. After Alms, we explored the morning market and saw everything possible for sale from live snakes and lizards to sting rays, fish still jumping around, and even barbecued rats.
We went back to the hostel for a quick nap, and were picked up at 8am for our excursions. We drove out to the Mekong, then took a 'jumbo' (a long skinny wooden boat) to the Tat Sae falls. These falls, made of tumbling limestone pools, move through a tropical forest toward the river. We spent a few hours swimming (and dancing of course) in the falls before we met our elephants.
We had arranged to bathe elephants so we (some of us more hesitantly than others!) climbed on to their rough, hairy backs, and waded them into the deepest pool of water at the falls to scrub them and play with them. Gillian and Emma had a rather impatient elephant who bucked them off and would not cooperate which was a little scary, but these women are not faint of heart. They got back on and finished the job.
After our morning in Tat Sae with the elephants, we went back to town and bargained for transportation to the famous Tat Kuangsi falls about an hour away. We hiked from level and level and a few of us made the difficult and very slippery hike to the top of the falls. To cool off afterward, we swung from a rope Tarzan-style into one of the Falls' pools.
We rushed back to Luang Prabang to change and walk to a temple where the Monks were conducting their evening meditation and prayers. The prayers are done through chanting and we had the opportunity to sit in the back of the temple and listen to 70 or so young monks chant. The temple was breathtaking but the young monks were so moving that we all felt a wave of peace (as corny as it sounds) rush over us as we sat. It was definitely an experience of a lifetime. I really can't do it justice on here. We had the opportunity to meet the head monk after the chanting and learned more about the buddhism and meditation, which was amazing also. We also learned some of the novice monks are as young as 10 years old!
After the chanting, we met up at a french restaurant that had been recommended to us by an American couple we had met at the airport and that we ran into again the night before. We each enjoyed a 3 course meal including steak and potatoes with roquefort, wine sauce, and dijon, and soup and salad for about 8 dollars each. AAAAAAMAZING!
With full bellies, we wandered through the massive night market to pick up souveniers, then headed back to the hostel, exhausted from an incredible day.
The next morning some of us slept while others went into town for relaxing Lao massages. We caught up for lunch, said our farewells to Taha and Emma, then headed to the airport for our flight to Hanoi.
Tomorrow morning we are off to Halong Bay for a 3 day/2 night cruise through the islands.
All our Love,
C, L, G, and J
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