Luang Prabang, Laos: The Best in Pictures

The view from my hotel window. People were working in the fields. What a relief from the smog of Bangkok.

"Pu Si Mountain" - A great view of two rivers and the whole town after climbing many stairs.










Yes, many of these. It's a historic village, yo!








Rules were more strict in Luang Prabang. Is it religion? Small town Laos? The many monks? I'm not sure. But let this warning be a lesson to future travelers! And please be in by 11pm.









The Hmong night market, the only place I wanted to shop in all of Southeast Asia. Loved it.









farang [n] - the word for French/white people b/c we are the pointed nosed who look alike to rural folks
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Here is a new type of TukTuk and motorbikes! Yes, I did receive a ride on a motorbike to a local dance hangout. It was with Pa-tou, our Hmong guide.
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Why you learned the work farang: Pa-tou and I armed wrestled because to his question, "Why are farang so big?" I answered, "Because we are so strong." When I lost the arm wrestling match, not without suspense, he raised his arms in the air and exclaimed, "Lao people." Classic.

The Great Trek!
Day 1: 6 Hour Hike
Overnight in a village
Day 2: 5 hour Kayak + elephant ride

Since Laos has only one ATM in the country, and it's not in Luang Prabang, it was easier to convince my travel mate to use the credit card to purchase an overnight trekking adventure. These two days have impacted me in many positive ways. For starters, you'll understand by seeing the view during our first day on a 6 hr trek over mountains and through 3 villages: 2 Kamu and 1 Hmong.


In the first village, children were playing with tires and sticks. This children took beautiful photos in each village. They loved to see themselves in our digital previews.






A man from Vietnam motorcycled into the village. He would take the villager's picture for a small fee. People were excited.








I could not have been more pleased then to find out our guide, Pa-tou, was Hmong. Traveling to the Hmong villages was a goal of my travels because I have grown up along with many Hmong families who moved to Wisconsin. Pa-tou is in the back of the photo. Another guide is in the front, on the left is a girl he had a crush on... at least until he met us.








The Village of our overnight stay: We stayed at the Chief's home! A two story. The first floor was dirt floor, but they did have a TV. People in the village paid 2 cents each and watched a Thai show together that night. It starred a Thai girl working in a factory receiving a text message from a boyfriend. The pictures show the young men playing a sort of soccer/volleyball over a string for a net. The ball was like a whiffle ball but of bamboo maybe. Also,


Pa-tou cooks with his Hmong friend. The Hmong and Kamu have their own languages, but speak Lao to each other. Sometimes a Hmong would speak in Hmong to a Kamu and everyone would giggle. Interesting that the Hmong stick together and visa versa. Also of note, the small kitchen and cooking over a fire.

Women making brooms, men thatch and hang the house walls.










Shaking rice to take out stones, bad pieces. Chickens nearby.

One of my favorite photos. Here a Lao man shares my travel mates packaged roasted and salted peanuts in exchange for some of his fresh peanuts. East meets West, West meets East. A beautiful thing right here. We all shared peanuts. It was a moment.

I'm on an elephant. Need I say more? Yes. This is an elephant camp, more humane than their other heavenbound option. One of the many times on the trip my travel mate and I learned, in another language, "I love you, only one." I love Laos, too.