The slow boat mooches into what can only be described as a mud bank with steps carved in the baked earth, Luang Prabang the crew shout, off! All of the passenger expectations must have been different from what they saw, confused people looked from one to the other with raised eyebrows, did we hear right? Yep, the baggage was being thrown onto a plastic jetty and soon everyone was wading in like a shark feeding frenzy. Gradually the baggage mound melted and guess what...my backpack was no where to be seen! Matt had secured his so I ventured back onto the boat trying to give my best mime of 'backpack missing', awards should have been won I tell you. Boards were hoisted and luckily my pack was lodged way back in the hull skulking from the light...phew, I can breathe again. We launch ourselves up the muddy slope to join the line for a tuktuk into town, we are in the back-end of beyond and this is a very clever ploy to boost tuktuk trade.
Arrival in Luang Prabang is like arriving at an oasis of calm and all things "chi".
This place is a very different beast from any we've visited so far. Mellow, calm, rustic-chic with a flavour of Parisian cafe and Laos simplicity all rolled into one. Not too cool for some silliness though
Everywhere you wonder in town brings you back to the Mekong running parallel with the town and offering a multitude of restaurants, hotels and guesthouses shaded by the trees.
We spend the first full day walking around the town, exploring the various neighbourhoods from fancy housing and hotels to shacks and makeshift food stalls. We even discover a KFC!
Nights are awash with colour, food and the most incredible odours imagineable. The night markets sell an array of local textiles, clothes, scarves, bags etc., row after row of similar goods but all ripe for a barter. I am now the proud owner of some silly Arabian stylee trousers complete with sagging crutch...yes yes Caz I know I said I wouldn't buy the 'saggy drawers' but I couldn't help it!!
The only draw back so far is that before 11am and after 4pmish it is really cold, I'm sure of no sympathy on that front from all in the UK. Day 2 brings the most beautiful surprise...
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