10 things I did during my week in Laos… Luang Prabang, Laos

Day 168-176 Luang Prabang 

Laos was never on my list. I don’t know why. I suppose it’s a country I knew very little about so it never appealed but as I got nearer so many people told me how much they loved it that I had to check it out! And I’m so glad I did. I decided to go to Luang Prabang which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a very French colonial feel as well as a remarkable number of Buddhist Temples. Below is a list of the best things I did during my week there. 

1. Visited the Botanical Gardens We took a boat along the vast, brown Mekong River and wound our way away from town towards the beautiful green jungle and hills. It really is the most lush landscape. The boat dropped us at the bottom of some steps in the bank and at the top was a lovely reception and cafe leading to gorgeous landscaped botanical gardens. Many of the plants weren’t in bloom but I still spent a wonderful hour exploring the different areas and marvelling at the exotic flowers and plants they had. I then did herbal tea tasting in the cafe. Garden porn and tea, what more could you want?! 

2. Explored the numerous temples If there’s one thing they’ve got a lot of its Buddhist Temples. I visited as many as I could although after a while I didn’t really known where I had and hadn’t been (it’s a lot of gold and a lot of incense and Buddha statues!) 

3. Took some time for ‘wellness’ Although I’ve been relatively active during the last 6 months I haven’t really done any meaningful exercise. I get excited when I hit 10,000 steps on my phones activity app but that’s not realistically going to counteract my love of puddings. I decided to start my ‘wellness journey’ with a little yoga at the very posh Avani+ Hotel and it felt amazing! I sweated a lot more than everyone else and felt like cart horse attempting dressage but it was a start… I followed it with a massage at Laos Red Cross which cost me £4.Ordinarily I would have said it was a bargain for such a good massage but my relaxation was rather ruined by the 3 year old child who kept trying to help and sing me songs! 

4. Visited the UXO Centre Did you know that between  1964 and 1973 the US dropped two million tons of bombs over Laos making it officially the most heavily bombed country in history? No? Neither did I. They call it the secret war and you can see why many would wish it to remain so. Nearly fifty years later the consequences are still being felt as tons of unexploded ordanance detonate, killing and injuring innocent adults and children throughout Laos. 

The UXO Centre is a free information centre which exhibits some of the types of bombs that have been collected over the years and explains the amazing work being done to locate and safely remove the remaining UXOs.  It was shocking and incredibly sad but a very worthwhile visit. 

5. Volunteered at Big Brother Mouse Since gaining my TEFL qualification in 2010 I haven’t been interested in putting my teaching skills to use. I’d rather spend time with animals. I relented in Luang Prabang because I was recommended Big Brother Mouse, a drop in English School where tourists and travellers can pop in for a few hours (without commitment) and help young locals to improve their English language skills through conversation and reading.  I ended up going three days in a row and had a great laugh chatting to the young boys who were fascinated that I was a woman, over the age of thirty and travelling the world alone! I taught them the word ‘independent’ … and then I re-downloaded Tinder. 

6. Climbed Mount Phousi Less of a mountain, more of a hill, but worth the climb for the lovely view over Luang Prabang And beautiful Buddha statues on the way up. 

7. Shopped at the Night Market Anyone who knows me knows that I like to shop. I was rather put off though after an encounter with a stall holder at LP Night Market. I was looking for a pair of shorts and she presented me with quite an ugly pair which I politely said weren’t quite right. She looked at me so earnestly and explained that I was “soooo big! Very, very large. Yes?” And that no one else would have shorts to fit such a very large person! She smiled and handed me the shorts again. I very nearly gave her a pep talk on the psychology of selling but it wasn’t worth it so I agreed about my ginormous western arse, said I needed to get dinner before committing to a purchase and made my escape. 

8. Enjoyed the Cafe Culture There was no end of places to escape from the unforgiving heat of the day and enjoy a healthy fruity juice/smoothie/tea. I made it a bit of a mission to try them all. Clearly spending far too much time on my own. 

9. Did a day trip to Kuang Si Waterfall I chose literally the worst day to visit the Kuang Si Waterfall. Having had a beautiful week I left it till my last day when it was raining cats and dog and what is usually gorgeous, sparkling blue water had become an overflowing brown death trap! Instead of getting cute instagrams and swimming I ended up huddled in a cagoul eating chips. Might as well have been in Bridlington but I suppose it was quite impressive.  

10. Ate well! For such a small town Luang Prabang has also of nice places to eat. I suppose we should thank the French for that. As well as lovely little cafes there was some fabulous fusion restaurants where I devoured beautiful salads, curries, sticky rice and cinnamon pork. My favourites were Tangor, Bouang and Cafe Banneton. 

Day 176 Flight to Thailand