Luang Prabang - Bye Bye Asia!

Breakfast at the JoMa Bakery
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After the relative simplicity of Southern Laos, Luang Prabang was a very welcome stop for us both.  Yes it is more touristy - but after 4 months in Asia we had both pretty much exhausted our capacity to rough it!  We arrived on Laos Airlines (not at all the scary flight we thought it might be - actually quite comfortable) quite late after a 2 hour evening delay.  Once again we were slightly over-charged getting an airport transfer (mini-bus) into town (we paid US$5) but such is life!  We had hoped to get a hostel room in the centre but our late arrival made that tough - the three places we tried first were all full.  Eventually we found one a little out of the centre in a nice quiet neighbourhood (see seperate review).

Beautiful detail at the National Museum in Luang Prabang
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After checking in and dropping our bags we walked back towards the centre of town to find a bite to eat.  One thing you should really not miss in Luang Prabang is the BBQ fish - this local speciality is cooked up by dozens of local street vendors and served hot off the coals on a bannana leaf (we got large ones for just under US$2) and is best eaten with chopsticks (buy your own set!) with a fresh french baguette (also sold at almost every vendor).  Thanks to Eva for tipping us off to this treat!

Elephants, Waterfalls, Kayaks and Great Food - Oh My!

Rob's getting his first manicure & pedicure
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Another gourmet tip is to make sure to sample the breakfast fare at the JoMa bakery (20m from our hostel!) - where the Bacon and Egg Bagel and the Muesli/Fruit/Yoghurt is even better.  We were also very happy to meet up with our Aussie friends Phil and Kirsty (you may recall we met them in Vietnam and again in Cambodia) - to  celebrate we all went out for dinner where we tried a Laos hot-pot barbeque - not quite as good as the ones in Vietnam or China.

It may sound like we spent most of our time in Luang Prabang eating but it was also a very active stop!  We booked a combination elephant riding safari/waterfall swim/white-water kayaking trip with Tiger Trails (one of the oldest and best operators in town) which was superb!  The elephant experience was magical - these are former logging elephants that have been rescued and rehabilitated - and we even got a little wet as they waded with us into the river shallows as part of the 1 hour ride.  The Tad Sae waterfall was equally stunning - turqoise pools with crystal clear mountain water that just beg you to jump right in (which of course we did!).  The 3 hour kayaking trip was also great fun - although by the end of the ride we were sitting much lower in the water (the kayaks had leaked and were much heavier) and with sun setting we were getting both chilled and tired.  The combined adventure was definitely worth the US$40 each.

Traditional BBQ & Hotpot dinner with our friends Phil & Kirsty
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For our last full day in town we negotiated with a tuktuk driver to take us out to one of the other superb local waterfalls - Kuangsi - about 45km out of town.  We arrived around noon and on the way from the parking area to the falls we passed the Bear Sanctuary and the Tiger Rescue Centre where I fell in love with the local black bears and Denise fell hard for Phet - the magnificent juvenile Tigress.  The falls themselves are hard to do any justice either with words or even with photos - they are simply incredible.  We had been told about them by our Irish mates, Hilary and Ronan, who had explored them when they were on their own Round the World Trip: they had discovered a section of the falls well off the normal tourist track where you can swim in the most pristine pools imaginable, with your very own "infinity pool" experience (and had in fact chosen their wedding date to commemorate that day!) so we were under major pressure to find their private Eden!

The BBQ & Hotpot
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We did - with the unwitting help of some local monks who snuck off the path to do exactly what we had planned!  We won't describe the exact route on the blog since we wouldn't want tons of people descending on the glade but if you really want to know then send us a message and perhaps we will reveal the secret!! :)  In the meantime you will need to make do with these incredible pics! Thanks again to Hilary and Ronan for sharing this perfect moment with us.

Luang Prabang was officially our last stop in Asia!  After more than 4 months it was time to pack our stuff and head for Australia!!!!