Day 22 - Luang Prebang

 After breakfast we were picked up by our guide and driver and taken to the Mekong River for an early morning cruise.  We couldnt see much of the surrounding countryside due to the air being full of smoke from fires.  These are due to farmers burning the remains of the rice crops and from natural fires because Laos is suffering from one of the worst droughts in history and everywhere is so dry. 

 
Smokey view along the river

 
House growing vegetables on the side of the river.
In the rainy season the river will be up to the house

We went along the Mekong towards Thailand and it was very peaceful and tranquil with just a few other tourist boats about.  We first stopped at a small village called Ban Xanghai, where local handicrafts are made including Rice Wine, or Whiskey as they call it.  We walked around the village and saw some typical Lao houses made from bamboo.  

 

 
Typical Lao house

 
Monks getting alms from villagers

 
Village Temple

 
Street in village

We then went to the Pak Ou Caves.  These are 2 small caves where, over hundreds of years, pilgrims have left thousands of Buddah statues of various shapes and sizes inside the caves.  It was quite a steep climb to the upper cave.

 
Highest point of cave

 
Buddha statues in cave

 
Buddha statues in cave

 
Buddha statues in cave

 

We had lunch on board and then went back to Luang Prabang.  We did see some wildlife today.  Not too much but far more than in the previous countries.

 
I was told this was a Wild Chicken.  Not sure about that.

 
Wild Goats

 
Large Butterfly

 
Large Butterfly

 
Very vocal little bird

 
Bird with long tail.  It would not look at the camera

 
Waders

 
Elephant.

 
Water Buffalo swimming in the river

 

After the boat we visited the former Royal Palace which is now a Museum as the monarchy ended in 1965.  There were many royal relics on display including the former Kings cars, clothes worn for official engagements and gifts from other countries.  We couldnt take photos inside the buildings

 
Temple inside the Royal Residence

 
Royal Palace


 
Tree with roots reaching down

 
Statue of last King who resigned in 1965

Finally we visted the Wat Xiengthong temple where there were many ornate buildings to visit and some mosaics including "The Tree of Life" which tells stories to teach how to respect each other.

 
One of the temple buildings

 
Temple building

 
Tree of Life mosaic

 
Temple building

It was extremely hot so we decided to go back to the hotel for a couple of hours rather than waiting for the sunset which our guide said would not be good due to the smoky atmosphere.  I went for a swim in the hotel pool which was lovely and warm.  We then had a cocktail by the pool before meeting our guide again for a tour of the night market and dinner.

 
Hotel Pool

 
Tuk Tuks

 
Mopeds at Night Market

 
Made me smile.  New term for coasters

 
Night market



 
Less than £1 for a large bottle of local lager

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