Ambition to Amble : Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site situated at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers. Our very first impression of the city was food heaven! After about 8hours on the slow boat, we were starving. Our tuk-tuk driver dropped us at the Hmong Night Market where we discovered piles of fresh buffet food down a little alley. There are no fast food takeaway chains in the whole of Laos, definitely the first country we had encountered without McDonalds. What you can find instead is fresh filled baguettes, bamboo sticks stuffed with sticky rice cooked in coconut milk, coconut milk tarts, street grilled chicken or crumbed Mekong fish. Once we had eaten our fill, we walked a short distance and picked out an affordable French style villa, dropped our packs and headed back to explore the markets where endless handwoven textiles, silver jewelry and paintings lined the streets.

Hmong Night Market Buffet, Luang Prabang

We spent some time at the Laos UXO Visitor Centre learning about the devastating ongoing effects of unexploded ordnance. Everyday someone is killed in Laos by exploding bombs left littering the country from the American Vietnam War. Laos holds the very sad title of the world's most heavily bombed nation. Cluster bombs (see picture below) containing hundreds of smaller bombs were heavily used during the war. Specialized teams work grueling hours to clear some of the poorest land in the country, but resources are extremely limited and it is estimated that it will take over 100 years to find and clear all the bombs. Farmers working in their fields and children attracted to the colored bombs are the most common victims. Sadly due to the value of scrap metal, some people take the risk and search for bomb remnants as a form of income. The UXO teams also work to educate school children and village people about the risks!

Cluster Bomb, UXO Visitor Centre, Luang Prabang

Big Brother Mouse is a recent venture to introduce books into Laos. This organisation publishes and distributes books written in both Lao and English to schools around the country. Before Big Brother Mouse existed, reading skills were virtually non existent throughout the country. To this day in isolated rural villages, many children have never seen or owned books. We were lucky enough to visit the Luang Prabang branch and spent a morning conversing with local people including monks, school children and college students, helping them to develop their English skills. This was a very rewarding experience and we learnt lot about the local culture.

One evening we climbed the hill to Phou Si to watch the sunset across the city and the Mekong. The temple on the top of Phou Si can been seen all around Luang Prabang and serves as a guiding landmark.

Sunset from Phou Si, Luang Prabang

We left the city for a day to visit the stunning aqua limestone terraced pools of Kuang Si Falls. It was quite a climb to the top of the falls! Along the walkway is a Bear Rescue Centre, home to some rather large Asiatic Black Bears.