We had six nights booked here, so there was a lot of pressure for it to be good. Luckily we loved this city, with its wooden French colonnial houses with shutters, winding alleyways and views of the Mekong. We spent five days exploring waterfalls, wandering temples and alleyways, eating, perusing markets and teaching English to Laos children!
Day 116: Shopping for paper in Luang Prabang
Chris’s cold was in full swing this morning. Luckily we had no major plans for the day so we enjoyed a lazy start to the morning before enjoying breakfast with fresh warm French baguettes! It’s been so long since we had some really good bread. Simply delicious!
Whilst we were eating we got chatting to a lovely Brazilian couple who are also on a long term trip. Theirs is coming to an end now though. It was fun to chat about the troubles of longer term travel, like the packing up and moving of all your things first, and the loss of proper appreciation for things as you ‘saw one last week’. We swapped tips as they’d spent a few days in Luang Prabang already, and been to Indonesia.
We finally left the guesthouse for a stroll, although the main mission was to find some Sellotape, glue and paper for some Christmas crafting. Not such easy things to find, and a Google search had revealed nothing!
We started by ticking off a couple of the many (32) temples in Luang Prabang. These two include some very old Banyan trees and one of the older Wats in town, Wat Wisunarat and Wat Aham.
We tried the local market, but it sold mainly clothes. Finally passing a money exchange booth we were able to swap our Thai Bhat for Laos Kip so that we wouldn’t get ripped off on exchange difference any more. We also got a sim card here so we’d have some data and then stopped for lunch at a baguette shop on a corner. Still impressed with bread, we enjoyed the baguettes and then sampled some of the Laos sour sausages. Evie loved them, the rest of us weren’t so sure.
Chris was flagging, and shopping has never been something that fills him with joy or energy, so he left for home and the kids and I continued. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten to get the key off us and had to run after us to get it – not the most helpful thing in the heat and he was super lucky to find us – literally spotting us turning a corner as he glanced down a side street! Our planned destination was a large mall with a sizeable market next to it (I think), hoping that we could find something there. Luckily, we passed a stationary shop on route which sold what we wanted. With no reason to go further we figured we’d wander alongside the river back and stop at the Royal Palace believing it closed at 3.30. After checking out the numerous riverside restaurants for those with reasonable prices, we arrived at the Palace at 3, only to find that on Thursdays it closes early! Ah well, we have lots of days here.
On the walk back, we were offered trips by tuktuk drivers and stopped to discuss with one. We arranged a trip for tomorrow (he had to call a friend who spoke English so we could arrange it but we got there in the end!). We could have done it slightly cheaper if we did a shared tuktuk, but you then have to leave at a set time, rather than getting to spend as long as you want there and we weren’t sure how long we’d want to be at the Kuang Si falls.
Back at home we used our paper for some Christmas decoration crafting before going across the road to a local place, where we forgot to ask whether a new food was spicy and ended up with a dish that I couldn’t eat and Chris could just about stomach. Not the most enjoyable therefore! But still, good for clearing the cold right?
Day 117: Kuang Si Waterfalls
The spice seemed to have done the trick and Chris was feeling better.
The Kuang Si falls are a ‘must see’ in Luang Prabang and receive a lot of hype. We were worried they’d be busy, but also couldn’t miss them so had transport arranged to pick us up at 9.30 and take us there.
The journey to the falls took about 45 minutes in the back of the tuktuk and was great; a good chance to see some of the scenery of Laos away from the river, although we were pretty chilly in the wind. The road heads up through hills, villages, rice fields and banana plantations, which was very pleasant viewing.
The village near the falls is now pretty touristy, and the car park is surrounded by the usual stands selling clothes and snacks and an assortment of restaurants.
After paying for entry, the path takes you initially through the Bear Sanctuary. There are a number of bears here which have been rescued from illegal poaching for bear bile. Some of these bears were rescued from a life in a cage, in which they are routinely drugged before having their bile extracted. Not great for the bears.
The bears themselves are mainly the small Asiatic Black Bear, or Moon Bears. Small bears with super fluffy necks, and a pale collar, they were mostly lying around, but we got to see a couple pretty close.
As no money from the entrance fee goes to helping to save these bears, they ask for a donation or for visitors to buy a t-shirt. We had no need for another t-shirt so went with the donation instead. Free the Bears works to free bears globally, and was impactful in ending the ‘dancing bears’ of India. Their current work in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia is hoping to end the bile trade here, although it operated in many other countries. We were happy to help such an impactful charity.
These are one of the few falls which are not better in the rainy season as the water becomes too choppy and cannot hold the minerals which create the clear blue pools in the dry season. We arrived to find a couple of people (some having a swim!) and some rather lovely pools around the lower falls.
There are two routes up the falls, one on either side of the river. Everyone else seemed to be going up the main route to the left hand side, so we, of course, headed right, up a jungle path on which we saw no-one!
The route follows the river, so you can always hear the water splashing, even when you can’t see it. The forest is lush and green, and the path interesting and winding, and not too steep. It was all rather delightful. Every now and then you emerge onto the river banks with more pools to view or for a glimpse of the tumbling river.
It didn’t take long to reach the bridge at the base of the main fall, and re-join everyone else. Very pleasant falls, which the kids in particular liked. It’s interesting how we all have such different views on what makes a beautiful waterfall!
The signs suggested a one way round loop to the top of the falls, so we joined the main pack on the path to the top. Not everyone makes it up here, but there were still quite a few people heading up and down. This trail is steep, and very difficult in the wet season I would imagine. At this time of year we had slidy dust to contend with rather than slippery mud though!
At the top you could catch glimpses of the falls, but the real treat was just wandering across the bridges through the pools. Even with a few people up here, it was all rather tranquil and very cool. We sat on a bench for some fruit and enjoyed watching people trying to get onto the swing for a photo, and then off again without falling in – which proved much harder than they had all thought at first!
In the end no-one fell in, but it was very close!
A small bamboo raft goes a few hundred metres up the river from here, and we were thinking of taking it, but after it had been gone for around 20 minutes, and showed no sign of returning, we decided to head back down via an alternative, longer path.
The trail to the cave and restaurant was wide and flat, making for easy walking. We ended up being really slow though, as we kept seeing strange bugs and insects everywhere! There were stick insects, a massive green caterpillar, spiders everywhere, a strange bug which was trying to look like lichen, massive black and yellow crickets and swarms of bees to name a few! I also saw an owl 😊.
Before we turned off this path, we came to a spot where you can return to the river bank. It was like a magical grotto, with fluffy white seeds floating around, beautiful, brightly coloured butterflies everywhere and fish teeming in the clear water.
I think this will be the closest we get to snow this winter!
When we reached the road, we took the left down to the village, rather than the right to the café and caves. It wasn’t much of a road, more of a dirt river! We were lucky that few cars were going up or down as they raised a massive cloud of dust behind them. The dirt road meandered down and out of the hills through the jungle, past massive trees covered with honeycomb and bees (which for a second we thought was a bear in the trees – haha!), before coming to the main tarmac. A few hundred metres back up and we were in the car park looking for some lunch. It was late for lunchtime, and we were hungry but the prices weren’t that cheap, and the spot not that scenic, so we asked our driver to take us back to the riverside in Luang Prabang, where we knew we could eat for less overlooking the scenic Mekong. Much better!
Our late and leisurely lunch meant that we didn’t really need a dinner, so we stayed in and watched a film – Family Friday Film night. We were missing the fish and chips which sometimes accompanies, but at least we had popcorn!
Day 118: Luang Prabang
Today was put aside for exploring the main part of the town, and for visiting wats etc.
The morning dawned foggy, and we planned to head up the hill for the views so we left our departure for a bit until it was obviously clearing. The path up from the side we chose wound through houses. The locals had obviously tired of lost tourists wandering through their gardens as they’d put signs up through the labyrinth pointing to Phousi Hill. Or maybe they were just being helpful.
The path up the hill takes you through a monastery and temple area. These are my favourite kind, with Buddha’s, dragons and many things carved in odd places or settled on the rocks, small temple buildings, mini cave temples and dragon staircases weaving up and down the hillside.
Aiden found an arch enemy in the form of a praying mantis, which really seemed to not like him and would move to face him wherever he was, throwing its arms out in front like it was trying to grab or punch him! It was totally unbothered by the rest of us (we think it was reacting to his luminous t-shirt??!).
At the top there are amazing 360 views and the main temple.
Steep steps took us down the other side to the Royal Palace and the Haw Pha Bang, one of the 32 temples in the city.
The Royal Palace was pretty underwhelming as a building, and we arrived to find that it had just closed – again! This place is hard to get into! This was out third and final time trying to see the palace. We give up!
We’d seen posters about a festival thing, so checked that out at the Heritage House close by. It wasn’t a big event, just some sellers of local handicraft, a children’s drawing competition and some street food really. We spent ages here though, the kids drew and painted their creations, surrounded by local children whilst Chris and I perused the stalls and sat in the shade for a chat. We bought some local deserts after sampling some and more of my coconut pancakes – they are sooo good!
As soon as Aiden was done, he came to join us but couldn’t take his eyes off a group of children near us who were having a discussion about animal facts. I’m not sure where they were all from, but one was definitely American. I suggested he join in so off he hopped. There was an awkward moment when he asked to join in and they looked confused and said they weren’t doing anything…
He saved it though and they were soon all sat discussing what the biggest land mammal was (and similar things). Aiden was in his element!
After eating fried rice in an alley restaurant (a quaint alley, not a smelly one), we continued our walk through the town. An early stop was the Wat Xieng Mouane, which has some nice mural paintings on the front of the stories of the Buddha.
We continued down the street, enjoying the French architecture of the town. Near the end of the peninsula is the Wat Xiengthong. This one has a really different feel and is very different in its decoration to any we’ve seen. Glass mosaics cover the exterior in animals and patterns.
There is also The Royal Carriage House here, which houses the Royal Funeral Carriage.
Right at the end of the peninsula is a bamboo bridge across the Nam Khan River. We didn’t cross in the end as there’s a charge. We could see the river well enough from this bank anyway!
Then it was back down the peninsula to two more Wat’s, although we were hot and a little done by this point so they only got a cursory glance. Nothing massively special about these (to our untrained eyes).
I think we all agreed that this was our favourite town on our travels so far. The old colonial French influence has resulted in dark wooden buildings, with wooden shutters, and engraved balconies. Coupled with cute alleyways, riddled with trees, framed by rivers, dotted with gold-gilded pagodas and with a green mountain backdrop, the town is interesting and beautiful. There are not many towns that can be said about! Wandering around it is a pleasure.
We wandered home, passing one of the top five restaurants in the town according to TripAdvisor. As we stopped to look at the menu, the owner came out to inform us there would be local Laos dancers there tonight.
So, after chilling for a couple of hours in our room, we headed back out for dinner and a show! The dancers came on a couple of times an hour to perform their traditional dancing and tried to get us all up for one. We went, as did a family we were sat next to who are from America, but have been living in Kazakhstan for a couple of years. Apparently that’s the place we should go to fill in our upcoming 6 week hole…
The dancing was entertaining, as we had no idea what we were meant to be doing, and our hands do not bend like theirs. We laughed a lot though!
Another late night for the kids – whoops!
Day 119: Ziplining through the trees at Nahm Dong
Today was a treat for the kids, an early Christmas present. We were due to be picked up by the shuttle bus to Nahm Dong Park at 8.30 so we rushed breakfast, and then waited. And waited. No bus. After asking our guesthouse to call for us and check (we were worried as we’d moved the date after booking – had the message gotten through?) and being assured it was on its way we waited some more. And waited.
In the end it turned out they’d had some issues with the transport. I’m not sure if it got going again, or if we were taken out in a freelance tuktuk, but we were eventually picked up an hour late. Not a good start!
The ride out to the park was almost as much of an activity as the park itself! Over half of the 10km distance is on a very rough dirt road. Our tuktuk had seatbelts, which we’ve never seen before, and padding going up the sides, which again, was not common. We soon found out why – with the cage on the back of the pickup lurching wildly left and right through the potholes, we were thrown about all over the place! Evie loved it, Chris and I found it somewhere between hilarious and tortuous, and Aiden was having fun until his head went back hard and hit the metal between the cushions – ouch!
Luckily we arrived soon after, and were treated to a welcome drink of juices flavoured by local flowers, and a walkthrough of the site by the lovely guide who spoke amazing English. Made all the more amazing as he’s self taught and only started learning four years ago, by listening to and talking to tourists at the hotel he worked at.
The ziplining guides were out with another group, so we wandered down to the treehouse, and the viewpoint, enjoying the beautiful scenery and the peace and quiet – hardly anyone was here. From the viewpoint we could see the previous group as they completed the last two lines. They seemed to be having fun!
Having previously had a fear of heights, Aiden was a little unsure about whether or not he would enjoy this. We’d combined the high ropes and ziplining courses, which meant he got to have a little taster as we made our way around the short course. He’s definitely more nervous than Evie, who loves all things action seemingly – our little adrenaline junkie – but he did great (although I had to wait until he was off before I followed or I wobbled him around and he’d shout at me – whoops!). There was a little zipline on this course, which Aiden tried and enjoyed. Phew! Not sure what we’d have done if he’d refused the ziplines after!
The route to the ziplines was over a few suspension bridges. The great thing about this park is that it’s located on a hillside, with a deep, steep sided valley where the river has carved a course down. This makes for excellent views from the crossings – and the ziplines!
Covering 800m in total, the 6 lines vary in length, with a couple of big ones crossing the valley. With epic views as you fly through the trees and then way above them, there can’t be many better places to try this!
Aiden had a good time, although, being short, he had a job getting up to the ropes. The guide had to try to lift him and clip him on the line at the same time. Then reaching the brake, which is at the top, was quite a stretch for him! Luckily, he’s so light that he never built up enough speed to need it when he reached the landings. For the fully grown people, the brake was a necessity to prevent you crashing into the tree platform! I’ll admit I wussed out a bit on the first one and braked early. I almost braked so much that I didn’t make the platform! Nailed it to perfection on the last one though 😊.
The only downside of the ziplining route down the hillside meant that we had to walk back up again with the harnesses and gear. Luckily, the path followed the stream and was very enjoyable. Spotting some benches and a swing by some falls we vowed to come back later.
By now it was lunchtime, so we sampled the menu here. The sweet potatoes were amazing (or maybe it’s just been so long since I ate one that I’d forgotten how much I loved them?). The other food was pretty good, although, having finally tried the Papaya Salad which people keep going on about and which seems to be very popular with tourists, we’ve decided that’s not for us.
Our lunch spot was idyllic, with water flowing over the rocks behind, and steps leading down to the pools of water so we could soak out feet after the hot climb back up.
Our shuttle options were to go back now or in four hours. We opted for the latter. This was a much better place to hang out than the guesthouse! Once we were full we headed out on the other trails, wandering through their beehive exhibit, where we learnt a lot about bees, and then on to the caves down some ridiculously steep steps. Initially the caves were a bit disappointing as you cannot go in, the openings appear too small. The formations here are pretty amazing though, like the rock is flowing down over the ridge.
On the way back down, we gave the little tunnel a look. Could a person fit in there? What was through there? Exploration with a torch appeared to show a tunnel that went somewhere. Did we go in? Of course we did!
There’s a proper cave in there, so we all followed into the space beyond where there was plenty of headroom and some more odd cave formations.
After exiting, the path carried on down steeply, then out of the trees into the open and back up a whole load of steps to the height we’d just come from. It was about this time that we realised that the day had really hotted up. Mornings are cold here, but it’s over 30 degrees by lunchtime. Not step climbing weather!
Our path retuned to heading downhill under the shade of the trees and wound around between some example houses of the three main peoples of Laos. These seemed to be lived in…
We’d decided to take the outside trail back, which took us up a ridiculously steep hill. The kids were slipping constantly on the dust and loose leaves – a pretty awful combination at this time of year! We made it though, and then enjoyed the pretty flat path back to the main area. At least we got all the climbing over and done with quickly!
On the way back we came across this massive tree, and were surprised to see a ladder of sorts going up it! Asking the guide later, he said there is honey up in the tree and they go up there to collect it!!
Time for a nice cold mango smoothie before chilling out at our spot by the waterfalls; reading whilst the kids played in the stream. Ideal.
Feeling nicely relaxed, we boarded the tuktuk for the return leg. This time we were stuck behind a logging truck for ages, eating its dust. Literally! We were breathing through our clothes for most of it, and needed a shower when we got back in. Not sure why we bothered getting a load of laundry done yesterday – it all needs doing again ☹.
We were all beat, so walked all of about 100m to a restaurant thing, it was more like a garage. We were drawn in by the promise of a Spaghetti Bolognese for 15k kip (just over £1) which we knew would make the kids day – they miss pasta!
It was pretty ok considering, and the kids thought it was delicious. Nothing on the menu tempted us though, so Chris and I had the pork curry at the Bamboo Garden restaurant (again). Two restaurants in one night! Still, we all got what we wanted – the curry was cheap and delicious.
Day 120: Teaching English with Big Brother Mouse
We nearly missed today’s activity as our breakfast baguettes were stale so we had to wait whilst they replaced them (with some super fresh, extra delicious, warm baguettes – it’s sooo nice to have access to great bread again!).
Luckily we walk fast, so we arrived at the doors of the Big Brother Mouse offices with one minute to spare! Big Brother Mouse is an organisation which are trying to promote reading in Laos, as many children here do not learn to read and write during school. This has gone from publishing books here and promoting reading, to include English translations in books, and to setting up schools for children to learn English. They even help locals who want to improve their English by providing a place for enthusiastic travellers to meet with locals and chat. We’d decided to spend a day of our time at their school, 20 minutes outside of town. Back down the same dirt road as yesterday! Luckily, their transport is a proper minivan, with windows and proper seats. Score!
We wanted to do some volunteer work whilst we were travelling, using our time for good and all that, but it’s not actually been that easy to find anything. Many sites either require more of a time commitment, or do not take the kids. So to find this place where we could help for as little as an hour or two was great.
Initially our group was over 10, which is much larger than normal, so they had to organise an extra tuktuk to take the rest whilst we luxuriated in the minivan. There were a group of around 6 Malaysians who turned up, but headed off after lunch rather than staying the whole day.
The school itself was fairly standard, it looks quite like a school to us, but is probably pretty modern and very large by Laos standards. There are 300 children here!
On arrival, we were briefed on how the various teaching tools (cards, books, posters etc) are used, and then taken down for an hour of learning with the pre-schoolers. What an hour – they are crazy! Each group was only with us for 15 minutes, before they were switched with another class for us to go again. Each time they stood in a circle and we had to go in the middle and think of a song to sing or a game to play. We were rubbish! Even the kids couldn’t think of many songs to sing. At this age they don’t really speak any English so we needed a song they knew or could copy very easily. Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes it was!
Split into smaller groups with around 5 children each, we tried to read a story, although they kept trying to turn the pages for us. Then we had cards with some animals or foods on them which we could show and tell them. They knew some – favourites were the lion and the cow. One group insisted on doing the cow horns action and roaring for most of the session to pretty much any animal we showed – little monsters! They were cute though!
After we’d been through the three lower school classes, we were returned to the upstairs for a break. Then our time was spent more with the teachers, improving their English by playing a game with them about the world. We had photos on cards, and a multiple choice of four countries they were linked to. We learnt a few things too!
Then we were invited to the mat to be shown a little of the Laos language. They have many examples of where the same sound can mean three different things depending on the intonation! This must be a very difficult language to learn as the differences are subtle so you’d say the wrong word so easily! We had to try to say which one he was doing by listening and it was hard!
Then, rather randomly, we were taught some sign language. They have a man there who is mute and is presumably a teacher as some of the kids had shown us their signing earlier. Whilst we’re not sure why they teach sign language, we enjoyed trying to learn some. We had a book listing some animals and actions, and had to try to figure out which one he was signing. Much easier to learn than Laos!
Lunchtime followed, with a bit of a break for us and a chance to chat to Sacha, the owner, who is from the US originally. When he travelled here 12 (?) years ago, he was surprised and saddened by the small amount of books here and the levels of illiteracy. So he did something about it! Something must be right as they are expanding massively, with many parents wanting their children to come to this school, either because they see the benefit of their children knowing English, or simply of being able to read and write. There is a fee to students here, which is around four times that of the standard schools, so I guess this is a private school of sorts…
After lunch it was time to head up to the older classes in the expansion building up the hill. After our standard game or singing in the circle, we had posters, books and cards which we used for todays theme of colours. Evie and I were together. She loved it when she found a plastic stick which she could use as a pointer and rap on the floor when they weren’t listening – haha! The abilities of the students really varied, from some who knew almost all of it and were happy to shout out the answers, to the really quiet ones and then the ones which were not so well behaved!
When the time was up, the speakers would play some music, and they all stood in lines to do some sort of dance routine. They should introduce that in English schools!
All pretty exhausting! Aiden commented that being a teacher was hard work – maybe he’ll appreciate his teachers a little more now!
We returned to the main area where there were older students and the teachers who were keen to play board games with us or just generally chat to practice their English. Definitely the easiest part.
By the time we were dropped back off in Luang Prabang we were pretty worn out! Teachers – we salute you! Time for a cold drink on the riverside as the sun set. This was our last evening in Luang Prabang after all.
As we’d not made it to the Night Market here yet, we decided to wander home the slightly longer way home through it. It’s massive though! We passed endless vendors, selling all sorts of lovely trinkets and clothes. I saw some nice dresses and had to remind myself that I don’t need them! There’s no space! We did get Evie one though, as her dress is not temple acceptable, and the split up the side, which came to around her knees when we bought it, is now somewhere halfway up her thigh… She loves it – it’s black.
We also purchased some bamboo straws, as we’re not having much luck telling people to bring drinks without straws (we asked for no straws or lids on the drinks which came with the kids burgers and they gave us no salad, but provided straws and lids!). Hopefully if we can show them the straws they may understand our ramblings…
Whilst the kids had been planning to go back to the restaurant from last night for the pasta again, they spotted burgers for a reasonable price so we relented. They did at least have salad in them (after we’d asked them to add it back in – they looked very confused!).
Chris and I had no need for a burger, we were after that delicious curry from last night, so back we went!
Despite having planned to get back in time for the kids to carry on their Christmas craft, it was actually bedtime by the time we got back. Ah well!
After our lovely five days in Luang Prabang it’s time to move on to our next destination, Vang Vieng. Once the Party capital of Laos, its meant to be a lot calmer now. Let’s see… (coming soon). Or read up on how we got here during our lovely 2 day cruise of the Mekong.