Yes 2 weeks in this small town may seem like a lot for most of the backpackers traveling thru. I stayed in a wonderful hostel and so many people I met only stayed a few days while coming and going from either Vietnam or Thailand. It was a great spot to hear about peoples travels, many of which are solo females. Staying in a hostel also afforded opportunity to have people to plan to do things with. I rather enjoyed that aspect. I found many of the solo female travelers inspired me with their stories and places they have been to. Very few Americans out here, mostly Europeans and Canadians, well of course plenty of Chinese but none at the hostels as most are in large groups, on tour packages.
Luang Prabang, is the old capitol of Laos and now a UNESCO city, the entire city. If you are looking for temples (Wats) this is your place, nearly every street you will see a temple, peaking from the mountain tops you will see golden domes. As you sit in cafes and restaurants you will see young men/boys in their monk attire walking thru town. To enter the Wats you need to be modestly dresses with shoulders and knees covered although no one is really policing it and you see many women walking in with short shorts.
There are 2 rivers that converge in town, the famous Mekong that travels thru multiple countries and the smaller Nam Khan, of which my hostel had a terrace that overlooked. Both are muddy bottom so appear brown, not appealing to enter but the menus reflect what is in the river with Mekong fish and River weeds as a delicacy everywhere here. I wish you could see thru my eyes at how beautiful this place is.
The town is small enough to walk, although myself and some bunk mates did rent bicycles and enjoyed the day cruising around the outskirts of town, I also had the privilege to share a scooter and headed to the famous Kuang Si waterfall my 2nd day here. Like all of the countries in this area, there is a night market that sells a myriad of items to take home with you, most booths repeat the items of the booths before them, painted coconut shells, elephant pants and shirts, bags, and other nick knacks including aluminum key chains and bracelets from bombs that where dropped on this country during the “secret” war that ran into the 70s. Those I think where the best item above all,
The food in Laos did not appeal to me as much as in Thailand. The spice and flavor was missing at most places even when I said spicy ok. There is a wide variety of places to eat from western food, mostly burgers and fried chicken to french cafes and bakery shops. The street food did not seem as safe to eat as in Thailand so I didn’t try any food carts other than the juice smoothies. The prices can also range depending if you are eating on a street with many tourists and shops or off on a side street or further from the main strip. Plates can range from starting at the 15,000 kip places I enjoyed more of and found the higher priced placed did not mean better food, just more expensive food. Luckily most places you stay at include a free breakfast.
