Luang Prabang

Villages on the way to LP
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Luang Prabang- an ancient royal town surrounded by mountains at the junction of the Mekong and Khan River. Unspoiled by the modern world. That’s what my guidebook tells me…I’m thinking I won’t be disappointed.

Holy shit I can’t believe my feet are on the ground in Lunag Prabang. The bus ride took around 6 hours. I could have got an Air cond mini bus but they were all sold out. So here I am, crammed in an ex- Japanese school bus with people sitting in the isle on plastic stools. There is no such thing as not enough room on a public bus. Locals had wire cages with chickens, bags of cicadas and rice clogged the walk way down the bus. Myself and another traveler are the only “farang”

Paradise
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Another source of interest was one of our fellow passengers, a young teenager with an AK-47 slung over his shoulder. Seems they have armed milita attacks so soldiers will ride the bus at times..But Don't worry Im perfectly safe! I was lucky to sit by an interesting older Thai lady who spoke broken but decipherable English. She now lives in Laos and told me of her life in Thailand. She was so interesting and made me feel like a crappy materialistic American inside.

The bus heads up in the mountains, HIGH up in the mountains. The driver is flying up and around hairpin curves. I look out my window and the only thing between me and the biggest drop off I’ve ever seen is.. well nothing. Complete plummet down the mountain, with not a lot of room to spare between the road and certain death. Whenever we made a bathroom stop (which involved going off the road in the grass) I had to hike over sacks of rice blocking the isle and cross over seats to get out. Even after the hellious ride, the scenery in the mountains at sundown was worth it.

Rice Fields
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Luang Prabang is a dreamy, dusty town on the banks of the Mekong River which is full of smiling children and more chickens. Waterfalls, bamboo rafting and chilling on the banks of the river. They actually have flights out of here. I decide after my bus adventures to go with this option. I cant wait to see the airport here.

Couple of side notes:

1)Luang Prabang:

The people here are some of the poorest I’ve seen, but also some of the proudest and friendliest.

Bamboo rafting gone wrong
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2)While bamboo rafting, my raft split right down the middle in two…Swear I thought I was going to drown.