Why not ? Its also one more place to tick off from the book "1000 Places To See Before You Die".
Luang Prabang means "Royal Buddha Image" and is located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the mighty Mekong River.
Luang Prabang has a population of approximately 100,000+ and is teeming with backpackers looking for a bot of lost-culture.
The city is also notable as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The pix:
"The airport is a bit like Kuching airport in the 70's ; totally devoid of anything electronic like the flight info board."
"Our ride."
"You can also use this to get to Luang Prabang, easiest would be via Bangkok."
"Stayed at the Amantaka Hotel. Click here for their website. However be warned that there is NO TV in the hotel and it used to be an old hospital."
"My villa and my colleague's was the old morgue and despite assurances from the manager that they have cleansed the place according to buddhist rites, my colleague still thought he smelled something funny. Me ? I slept like a log...a dead log...muahahaha"
"The pool in my villa..Could this be where the dead bodies were thrown?...*cue: Scary organ music*...haha, am sure not."
"First stop on the itinerary was the National Museum which was also the old palace for the last king."
"Statue of the last king of Laos His Majesty Savang Vatthana...I think."
"The National Museum / Old Palace."
"By the Nam Khan river which leads into the Mekong."
"One way to cool off by the banks of the Nam Khan is to go in, fully clothed, umbrellas and all !."
"My favourite photo....Russell Wong would have been proud ! "
"At the night market where I tried Laos Iced coffee...strong 'puts-hair-on-your-chest' local coffee, condensed milk and crushed ice...PERFECTO !..and all for rm1.40."
"The HUGE night market; only thing is that they all sell almost the same stuff."
"Up bright and early at 5:45am to give alms to the monks, the Amantaka arranges sticky rice for their guests to put in the monks' pots."
"The monks live on alms and a few hundred make their rounds at sunrise walking all over Luang Prabang."
"As a sign of respect, your head has to be lower than the monks when you give alms."
"Quick !! Look busy...more are approaching !!"
"Same day at 8am (Damn early day and 2 things accomplished already!!) we headed on a boat trip up the Mekong River to the famous Tam Ting caves."
"If you have plenty of time you can hire this houseboat for a two night cruise up and down the river....not for me though, too much excitement."
"Our efficient boat driver."
"The tree along the banks of the Mekong where Bono meditated for 333 days leading to the inspiration for the album 'The Joshua Tree.'
"The Luang Prabang prison; not a bad view if you have a cell overlooking the river."
"Water buffalo frolicking near the water not knowing their days are numbered before they become water buffalo meat burgers for export to Malaysia"
"Spot Nelly the Elephant ?"
"The strange pre-historic stick like creature walking along the riverbank, Luang prabang's version of Nessie,'
"Our guide told us that this woman walks along the riverbanks with a long bamboo pole with fly-paper stuck on it, insects are then caught on the stick which are then deep-fried and sold in the markets...TRUE STORY ! Not making it up this time..haha !"
"Approaching Tam Ting caves."
"The cave mouth."
"While getting off the boat ; I saw one of the strangest things ; two fish tied up with string and swimming around a boat; they were not bait but pets !....Almost like dog owners out walking their dogs !"
"In 2008 floodwaters rose to this level; marked '2008' in white but mimimum damage was suffered to the shrines and idols."
"You give a small donation and this girl will give you flowers or joss sticks which you can place at the shrine or you can just make a donation."
"Information on the caves.'
"The Shrine"
"Some inscription paintings on cloth/paper in the shrine"
"Our ride..(view from the cave entrance) is the one at the far end."AND with that it was onward to Siem Reap, Cambodia....
© All Pictures by Headliner unless stated. All Rights Reserved. Not to be used without permission.
Comments may be sent to: therevelation11@gmail.com
Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! The place looks awesome. I would love to go. Then I wait for Rambo to appear. Looks like scenes from his movies. But....I'm not so sure about staying in an old hospital though. You didn't happen to 'hear' anything at nights, did you? ;)
ReplyDeletedont forget to get 'happy pizza' in siem reap! ;)
ReplyDeletenice one mate. Like the scary bit, and the holy bit. Nothing like a little monk to make you all spiritual eh?
ReplyDeletewow..u got to go to lara croft's place...nice. btw kelvin, can u pls email me, i need to ask u something,if possible, don't know ur phone number, its just a favour for a friend of mine who has just been given less than 4 months before her time is up...she's gone through 2 surgeries for breast cancer and actually her doctor wants to do a third one on her, but she refused, she wants to enjoy life till the end and not be sick or die on the operating table. thanks kelvin.
ReplyDelete