It definitely oozes charm, with its stunning position on the Mekong River & surrounded by mountains. There are great restaurants, tons of cafes, over 30 intact wats, cobblestone streets, colonial architecture, day markets, a large night market and a very relaxed, laid-back feel.
Unfortunately, I spent only 3 nights in Luang Prabang & did not get to see as much as hoped.
I stayed at the most fabulous hotel, Residence Phao Vao, (www.residencephaovao) & I had two divine Lao massages at the hotel spa. The Lao massage is like the Japanese Shiatzu massage, i.e. pressure points. I have included some pics from the hotel.
The local currency is called the Kip & 10,000 kip = $1, so bargaining was weird. You think it's so expensive, but then you realize the 200K is only $20. I'm great at bargaining - from my days in Africa - but I did very little in Luang Prabang, 5000 kip at the most. The Laotian people are so nice & they don't have a lot & I did not want to bargain to in any way demean their goods.
I bought some lovely naturally-dyed silk scarves, two small silver votives so I would have examples of Lao silver & a great Humong jacket at the night market. There is also wonderful woodcarving, but since it was the end of the trip & the weight if my baggage a major concern, I had to forgo the woods.
I found the Lao people so nice. They have a ready smile that is genuine. They are not confrontational, they do not shout amongst themselves & I never saw one agressive driver (either cars, tuk-tuks or motorbikes). I always wanted to go to Laos, ever since my dear friend, Ricky, made an extensive trip in Southeast Asia in the early 1970's & told me that her favorite place/people was Laos. I never felt any negative energy. Is that because of Buddism?
2 comments:
quel merveilleux hotel!!!
ton dernier paragraphe pourrait s'appliquer aussi a la Thailande (hors grandes villes)
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