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Luang Prabang (N. Laos)Nov 26, 2008
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Alms procession at dawn
Fish seller
Local silk weave
A happy return to Luang Prabang, heritage town and former Royal Capital City of Laos. Stuffed with Was (temples), monks and wonderful old French colonial archietecture, we have enjoyed a few days re-discovering nd exploring new parts of thr town, resisting the temptations of the night market wih fine silks and beautiful fabrics, Alan stocked up on jumble to keep himself warm at night. He won’t pass for a fashion victim, that’s for sure! Sadly, after a couple of days, we had to hand the bike back in for shipping back to Vientiane. (You can’t hire bikes in Luang Prabang). However, not before we were able to make a pilgramage to the tomb of Henri Mouhot, discoverer of Angkor Wat. He died in 1863, just before the great French explorer expedition up the Mekong (to find its source) took place in 1863-65. We have read quite a bit about these various mad expeditions which attempted to negotiate the fierce rapids of the Mekong in an attempt to secure French colonial supremacy of the Brits, so this was indeed an exciting moment!
We also came across a big party of the New Year of the Hmong people. Everyone was dressed up for the occasion and many were having their photos taken in front of rather tacky drawings of waterfalls. Still, the costumes were great and the young people really seemed to be enjoying themselves.
