the first part of our journey, 13 hours on a sleeper bus from mengla to luang prabang. it is a spectacular one. it begins with meeting casey who is onboard already, and andrew, whom we had met briefly in the bus station before boarding. there are a few other foreign travelers as well, and faced with the unknown, we sort of gravitate towards one another crossing the border. it is a long process but we are patient, and eventually we are on our way. the scenery is stunning. untouched land, remote villages, a winding and narrow road leading us further and further into laos. lunch is in oudamxay, and i manage my first (i think!) vegan meal. many more stops, one a bit daunting (military guards board the bus and when they spot stephen next to me, they start pointing at him and suddenly we are the focus of their attention. stephen is sound asleep at this point, and is confused as to what is going on. he pulls out his passport, and as soon as they realize it is a foreign one, they don't even look at it and move on to another passenger at the back of the bus), one a bit repulsive (a market with live animals that don't leave that way, some of which find there way onboard....) , and others less memorable. it is a long journey, and leads to much introspection.
we arrive in luang prabang in the dark, and after andrew negotiates a tuk tuk ride for us, he, casey, stephen and i find somewhere to stay for the night. after checking in to our separate rooms, we all meet and go in search of dinner. another simple and inexpensive meal, and the opportunity to get to know our two friends a bit better. it is quiet here, concealed by the dark, yet to reveal itself.
we wake and decide which way to venture out. andrew and casey have gone out already, so we decide to just wander in search of food, internet, to get our bearings and to set eyes on the ever elusive mekong river. several things are striking. we discover kop noi and are introduced to the stay another day initiative.
we continue our wandering, struck by the lack of local businesses and residences along the way and are overwhelmed by all the foreign tourists we pass. we turn onto the main street, and find expensive restaurants, tour companies, currency changers and tourists everywhere. we hadn't realized until now that our adventures so far have been absent of such blatant tourism, and in the strangest sense, this is our first 'culture' shock! we decide on a place for lunch, then wander off this main street in search of the mekong. when we find it, it's banks are dotted with bars and restaurants, and our first opportunity to get down to its banks is at the ferry dock. it is hard to convince the many boat operators here that we aren't interested in going anywhere right now, we just want to see the river, so we snap a few quick photos and continue on our way.
slow wandering leads us to phu si, the 'mountain' in the center of the city. we decide to climb to the summit, spectacular views and stunning sunsets in mind. too early for sunset, we decide to venture down the other side and skip it. luckily we run into casey and andrew at this point and reascend the mountain for what becomes a truly spectacular sunset. afterwards, we all discover the night market and make our way through the wares to the food where there is rumour of a vegan foodstall. we find it among the many other varieties of food, and have a super cheap meal in a vibrant and lively setting. the rest of the evening is spent at a bar enjoying our company and settling in to the feel of luang prabang.
casey, stephen and i have decided to take our first adventure on the mekong together today, andrew leaves for thailand this afternoon, so doesn't join us. the destination, the pakou caves 2 hours away. the slow boat down the river the real draw, and the most interesting part of the trip. a quick stop at a touristy textile village on the way. then the caves (a repository for buddha statues), a bit crowded and underwhelming. we arrive back in luang prabang for lunch, and have a really great meal at a little indian restaurant off the main street. we all make our way to check email, and part ways for a bit. dinner, the night market! the nights are a bit hard to seperate writing this so long after the fact, but we spend all of them with casey, in the night market, tea and drinks at the guesthouse he has moved to, really nice conversation. luang prabang is growing on us.
today we venture out of the city center to some artisan villages nearby. slow walking, the local environment more interesting then the touristy set up of the villages. choose a different route back and splurge on lunch at tamarind. visit wat xieng thong then wander back to the mekong and join casey for a drink and sunset. we all decide to attend a performance at the children's center, and get to experience our first baci ceremony before the puppet and dance performances. dinner? where else, the night market. our evenings the highlight of our time here.
our last day, we leave for vang vieng tomorrow. no real objectives today, food, wandering, massage, photos, the night market for dinner. no sign of casey today or tonight, and just as we think we won't see him before we leave, we run in to him and his friends that have just arrived from cambodia after dinner. another night of tea and drinks at casey's guesthouse, one of his friends joins us. a really nice last evening in luang prabang.
