Hey Adriene

LUANG PRABANG, LAO (30 Jan - 2 Feb 2005)

At Huay Xai, hopped on a slow boat on the Mekong River headed for the UNESCO-declared World Heritage City Luang Prabang.

The slow boat is a long two-day journey with an overnight stopover at a tiny rural village called Pak Beng. Stayed at a guest house for 80 baht, had dinner by the Mekong, had a Lao massage and saw gazillions of stars at night. A Lao massage seems to be like a Thai massage but less vigorous.

At Pak Beng, was surprised to discover an Indian restaurant there because I never expected to find Indians in Lao. Met the owner Bilel who is originally from Bangladesh. And he has great admiration for my former prime minister, Doctor Mahthir (this was the first of many compliments I would receive on behalf of Dr M throughout my journey!)

Turns out that he has chosen to make Pak Beng his home because the weather's good and it's peaceful out here. He speaks fluent Lao. He still has his Bangladesh wife and two children back in Bangladesh and he visits them every year for a month.

Next morning, resumed journey on the slow boat. Arrived at Luang Prabang in the evening. Checked in at a guesthouse and hired a bicycle to explore the city. Love the place!

Luang Prabang is the former capital of Lao. Lots of wats, also French influence buildings. Kind of like Melaka but even more laid back and far less development.

Baguettes being sold at French bakeries. Road signs and building signs in both French and Lao. The most laid back, peaceful lifestyle I've ever seen. Many many Caucasian tourists and almost no Asian ones.

Very good night market every evening on the main street. Selling paper lamp shades, silverware, Lao bags, smbroidered quilts, t-shirts, precious stones, scarves. All very pretty things. Best of all the people are very gentle, and they don't pressure you to buy. No canvassing and no need to bargain hard because the prices are reasonable.

There's also a small hill in the middle of Luang Prabang, with a temple at the top. You can get a very good view of the whole town and the Mekong from up there.

Highlight of Luang Prabang for me was when I was at a wat and to my surprise, a novice monk approached me. Turns out that he just wanted to chat with me and maybe practice his English. He spoke pretty good English and apparently he'd only been studying it for a year. A 17-year old boy in his second year as a novice. He asked me lots of questions about Malaysia and he also told me about his life as a novice. And how he comes from a small village north of Luang Prabang. And he has to travel 2 hours by bus and 2 hours up a small river to go home.

A sight to behold at Luang Prabang is at 6.30am when a long line of saffron-clad monks and novices walk down the main street of Luang Prabang, chanting and collecting alms from shop to shop and home to home. It's amazing!