Laotian Decompression

This is where you come to leave it all behind. Luang Prabang is chillville. Once the capital of Laos, now it is a backpacker paradise with inexpensive guest houses and cheap delicious food - buffet dinner at communal tables on the street costs 10000 kip (exchange rate is 7400 kip to one Cdn dollar). Our more private restaurant dinner served at a table under the stars overlooking the Mekong Riiver consisted of crispy fried vegetarian spring rolls, chicken pad thai, green curry on rice, two big (they come in small or big not large) bottles of Lao beer and bottled water. Cost 83000 kip. 

The Buddhist temples are the great attraction here. Having never seen one before I am overwhelmed at the scale of the structures as well as the Buddah's themselves. People's devotion is displayed at the morning procession of the Monks as well as at daily prayers to the individual Buddha's - there is a Buddha for each day. 

Atop a mountain in the centre of Luang Prabang is Phu Si, a Buddhist temple reached by climbing 400 steps. At the start we purchase a bamboo cage with two small birds it to be released for good luck at the top. 

It's not that easy to release them. But with a little perseverance off they go. The cynic in me thinks they are trained to return to a cage where they are recycled into the ones for sale to foreign tourists. Nah. If you can't trust a monk who can you trust?

The other attraction here is spa. Its relatively inexpensive compared to home and the settings are positively otherworldly. Think message table in a Monet painting of lillypads with the smell of sandalwood incense wafting all around you while you are served ice cold spiced tea by petite Laotian woman who are treating you like God's gift to the world. Cue big sigh. Yes it's that good. So having been turned into a marshmallow and it's only 3 o'clock in the afternoon the only thing left to do is take a nap until dinner. 

See what I mean about decompressing here. Tomorrow we might do something.