By Tom
Luang Prabang, Laos
Laos is not known for much of anything among countries of the world, which is a shame because it is a wonderful place with warm, friendly people. To visit is to step back in time. It is one of the poorest countries in the world; eighty percent of the population works in subsistence farming. In the absence of a well-developed road or rail system, rivers still serve as the primary form of transportation. Julia and I got to experience this first hand after crossing into Laos from Thailand when we took a two-day slow boat journey down the Mekong River.
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| A slow boat conductor moves boats around in port |
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| The Mekong River |
At first, we passed towns and farm fields as we floated along the border with Thailand. But as we got deeper into Laos, the scenery turned into steep hillsides with thick, lush rainforest on both sides of the river. Occasionally, we passed small villages with bamboo huts, women in conical hats washing clothes on the river banks, and one time we even saw a young boy on the back of an elephant as it helped lift materials for men building a structure.
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| The sun sinks below the horizon from the slow boat on the Mekong |
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| The beautiful Lao countryside |
After two days on a hard wooden bench, we were grateful to arrive at the former French settlement of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and possibly the prettiest town I’ve been to ever. While colonialism was as dehumanizing in Laos as it has been anywhere in history, it has left an interesting mixture of food and architecture. In Luang Prabang, steep-roofed, ornate Buddhist wats stand alongside classic French villas, and meals may include a noodle soup with a baguette on the side.
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| A Buddhist wat in Luang Prabang |
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| The historical downtown of Luang Prabang |
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| A French villa |
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| More lovely houses in Luang Prabang |
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| Etc... |
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| A pleasant place for some evening dining |
We’ve been enjoying the night market, the architecture, the food, and the pretty surroundings. Luang Prabang isn’t a place in which you have to do all that much to enjoy it –to simply be here is good enough. It is a clean, quiet, laid-back place with friendly people living a slow pace of life. It should be first on every traveler’s list of destinations.
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| Beautiful decorative crafts at the night market |
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| Lanterns at the night market |
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