The People’s Democratic Republic of Lao or just Laos is a beautiful and vibrant little country. While still recovering from the Vietnam War, it’s people are super nice as we observed families and friends having parties every night in their houses, gathered around a table laughing and enjoying a few beers.
We arrived at midday and had our first awful hotel experience. We walked in through the dorm room that had A/C and into a small room in the back with a dirty bed, an outdoor bathroom and No A/C. It was so weird as we were paying over double for the private room and the dorm room seemed better than this. We toughed it out one night and checked out in the morning (bad idea - I had about 30 ant bites from my sleep in our bug infested bed. Just bad. So we hunted for a new guesthouse and stumbled upon the beautiful Sabaidee. Sabaidee Guesthouse was an old 1920’s French colonial guesthouse that was just awesome. A huge room (with A/c!) and a brand new tiled bathroom. Plus the tv had HBO! It was great AND only cost us $20 a night. HIGHLIGHTS OF LAOS This country is full of culture. Influenced by French, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese , it also has a uniqueness of its own that you need to experience to understand. The following are things not to miss in Luang Prabang: The Kuang Si Waterfall - do this during the on season (January-May) as the water is brown during off season. Night Market - one of the best markets ever we saw! It is on the Main Street near the river. Not just crap here either, some really unique things. Utopia Cafe - amazing . We had a few hangouts here! Just order a coffee and take a nap. They have great tunes too! Xieng Thong Temple - only temple worth it here in our opinion (although we were pretty templed out by this time!) Mt Phousi - best at sunset and sunrise Strolling the Mekong River - beautiful ! French bakery hopping - the French influence is AWESOME! Get as many pastries as you can The Traditional Ethnology Museum - learn all about the different Hmong Mountain Tribe culture and how important and amazing women’s work is in Laos. UXO museum - this was pretty heavy and heartbreaking but a must. We learned a lot and read a lot about how unexploded bombs are still terrorizing the countryside to this day La Pistoche - if you are lucky enough to stay at a hotel with a pool - awesome. But if not, you can cool off at La Pistoche for an afternoon. Grab a lounger and a fruit cocktail and chill out. Almost like a Mexican resort swim up bar feel. There’s so much more and I encourage just taking a stroll or a bicycle and check out this beautiful little town. Kuhp jai Luang Prabang! xx