Luang Prabang

Colour is the first of Luang Prabang’s virtues to greet travellers. Pearly frangipanis with their heady perfume, banks of overgrown trees peppered with scarlet flowers, the burnt sienna robes of hundreds of monks and their novices, and resplendent gold and claret wats. The scent of fresh coffee, river activity, produce markets and spicy food soon follows. And then the broader aesthetics begin to unfold. Encircled by mountains, and set 700m above sea level at the confluence of the Nam Khan (Khan River) and the Mekong River, Luang Prabang is now Laos’ foremost tourist showpiece. The brew of gleaming temple roofs, crumbling French provincial architecture and multiethnic inhabitants captivates even the most jaded travellers, and the quiet benevolence of the city’s residents lulls them into a somnambulant bliss (Lonely Planet)

If you want temples Luang Prabang is the place to come. It is very relaxed and such a nice little place to stay.

Every morning people line the streets around 0600 with food and then 300 monks walk around collecting food for their daily Alms. Sometimes they hand the food they pick up to the local street kids. I'm not sure what the significance of this is, but I assume it's so the monks can eat. It's an amazing sight and well worth the early wake up call.


Night market
Selling food at the local night market