Luang Prabang, Laos

I had a very good sleep and a great slow morning  - in fact I drank three pots of coffee! That’s the first time this trip! I changed coffins to one coffin across the hall because there’s a window in that room and just having it open makes a big difference.  I had a good visit with a couple of men from the UK and then about noon I got going.  I  had no definite plan, I was just strolling along.  

Along the way-

Typical private homes-

This is quite the job – set up a hammock in your tuk tuk-

I visited Wat Xiengthong which is one of the oldest and most beautiful monasteries in Luang Prabang.  It features typical Laotian architecture and has been restored many times, the latest in 2015.  

The wats are different than Thai wats because here they have a lot of decoration on the outside-

The doors-

The interiors aren’t always great halls-

but Buddha is still the centrepiece in most wats-

Interior wall decoration-

and miniature Buddha images are framed and on display on the walls-

Marigold offerings-

There are 17 points on the prasat - the roof peak-

Mosaics cover the exterior walls-

I wandered and came to a shop selling Kanu bamboo weaving.  The raw bamboo is soaked in a pond for at least a month which gives it strength and durability. The darker the color, the older the bamboo.  No dyes are used in the process.  Once woven, the items are smoked to keep the pests away-

I stopped for a beer along the Mekong and there was a lovely flowering tree-

Another pretty plant-

More Chinglish-

Yum-

Going clockwise from the fish: pig ears, pig skin and pig intestine-

Then I got lost!  I’m usually so good with directions but I was looking for a side street food market where I had dumplings and spring rolls-

and then forgot I was already way past my hostel but kept walking and walking and walking.  Eventually I figured it out but walked 2 extra hours which didn’t do me any harm!

Chicken cages that can be easily moved so the chickens always have something to eat-

Back at the hostel I had a rest, then went out to the night market where there was a lot of different stuff such as lanterns-

paintings-

pencil cases and stuffed animals-

trinkets made from the aluminum from bombs dropped on Laos from 1964-1975-

tea-

pillow cases-

beautiful greeting cards-

and reptiles in happy juice-

There’s a huge food market-

and so many bikes-

I came back to the hostel and am looking forward to another slow day tomorrow!