Luang Prabang isn’t just a city steeped in religion. I think what makes people fall in love with it - is its chill vibe. It oozes charm with its restaurants, bars and shops set in a French Colonial atmosphere. You can easily spend whole days just strolling down its streets, stopping in at a Wat occasionally, talking to a monk, nipping into a shop and then for a coffee or a glass of wine or a BeerLao (very good local beer) or treating yourself to a massage (I have become a foot massage convert), all before going to the night market where you can have a heap of food for dinner at the awesome price of $4.50 (including meat or fish, about 10 different sides and a beer).
But Luang Prabang does not stop there, as I found out. You can also spend a day with the elephants - learning how to mount and ride them astride their head and bathe them in the river, or you can ride an elephant and then spend half a day kayaking or as I did, visit the Tat See waterfalls and then spend half a day kayaking (and only falling in once!). As great as the kayaking was, the next day was even better. We hiked up and around the Tat Kuang Si waterfalls. The hike took over two hours - at times steep and at other times slippery (I only fell once!). Much of it was quite muddy because of the heavy rains that have been falling. After we climbed for about an hour, we crossed over the top of the falls - the sight was breathtaking.
It was as we peered over the top of the falls that we noticed them - leeches - on our feet. They had apparently latched on while we were hiking in the woods. They can be pulled off with minimal pain but have to be flung off your fingers since they latch on wherever they can. I was fortunate to have caught them shortly after they tagged me. Another experience to add to the books!
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