Luang Prabang, the magical town!

I have visited Luang Prabang twice, a very beautiful town in Laos and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is well preserved, full of French colonial houses and Laotian eateries, shops and massage parlours. The town is nestled between the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, and is at an elevation of 1,000 feet, all of which makes the place very cool and fresh! You can hire a cycle for 3$/day and move around at will, or take a mountain bike or kayak to the beautiful waterfalls nearby. These pics are the highlights of my trips!

Town centre

Beautiful houses

The empty, scenic streets are perfect for cycling!

Mount Phousi is a small hill at the centre of the town. After climbing to the top, I had a stunning view of the entire town, surrounding mountains and rivers. I took the longer way (400 steps) up as the sun was beginning to set and caught the sunset from the top. Watching the sunlight mingle with fog and clouds, and play on the little red houses and the river was just beautiful! I came down by the shorter route (150 steps) just as the night market was being set up.

View of the Mekong while climbing up Mount Phousi

View of Nam Khan river

Luang Prabang town

Sunset over the Mekong

Luang Prabang's famously amazing night market

where you can find cheap clothes, silver jewelry, souvenirs and a tasty buffet for 1.3$!

There are three waterfalls near Luang Prabang - Kuang Si (largest and most famous), Tad Thong and Tad Sae - clear, pristine and straight out of a fairytale!

Tad Sae waterfall has many tiers, which are great for relaxing, swimming or hiking

Kuang Si waterfall has steps on this tree, from where you can jump into the pool

Almost surreal!

The highest level has a bridge which gives the best view of the waterfall. I stood there for ten minutes and was completely drenched in the water spray!

Daredevil monks

Lots of benches to relax, when you are tired of walking!

View from a cafe halfway up the fall

Asian bears are kept in a protected reserve near the entrance to the waterfall. They have hammocks, tyres and jungle gyms for their entertainment!

An amazing part of Luang Prabang is the countryside! It is completely different from the town. The views are of rice fields, mountains, lotus ponds, small farms and villages. I stayed at the Villa Santi resort - it's quiet, peaceful and somewhere in the middle of the countryside.

View from the room after sunrise

A great place to sit forever!

By boat from Thailand to Laos

One can go from Thailand to Laos by flight, train and (if you have lots of time and are looking for something adventurous) by boat! The Mekong river forms a natural border between the two countries in some parts. On one side of the Mekong, you have a Thai town called Chiang Khlong and on the other side, is the Laotian town, Huay Xai. It takes 5 minutes to cross the river from one to the other.

At Huay Xai, we got the visa-on-arrival for Laos. From here, we set out by boat for Luang Prabang, an amazingly beautiful town in Laos! It was a small speed boat which takes 8 hours for the journey and is mostly used by local people. Many tourists like to take the bigger boat that takes 2 days to reach Luang Prabang.The views throughout the journey are spectacular! The Mekong is bordered by mountains on both sides, and we passed villages, farms and local people going about their work.

The views are breathtaking, and you will soon fall in love with the place!

The small and very cramped speed boats!

It's hot as hell, but the wind and river spray make up for it!

The bigger slow boat

You can spend the night in Pak Being village, during the 2 day journey from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang

The water is as smooth as glass!

And the sunset over the river was just stunning!