How can I begin to describe my few days in
Luang Prabang?
Well I must start by saying it has been incredible, even though
it had a bit of a sicky start. A slowly rusting TukTuk bursting with other
travellers picked me up from my Guesthouse and slowly rattles it way to the
Northern bus station in an ever present plume of exhaust smoke. On arrival the
driver takes my ticket from me and without looking at it puts it in a pile with
the others. We are then shown to our minibus which was not what I was expecting
at all. For the amount of money I had opted to pay I had expected a massive and
ancient coach but no. It also turns out there were only 11 of us in a 15 person
air conditioned bus which made things even more comfortable. My fears of having
to suffer through a ten hour ‘terrible journey to remember’ were starting to
lift. It all began well but as the bus began to wind round and round and up and
up some of the passengers began to go a little green. I was waiting for my
tummy to start to turn but it remained calm which was a blessing. It turns out
that the ladies who all became unwell were a group of Vietnamese Travel Agents
who had never before left the borders of neighbouring Vietnam. They were
selling trips to Laos from Hanoi and had come over to sample the accommodation
for themselves. It seems they had also never before taken a long windy bus
trip. More and more they vomited into bag after bag knotting the tops and then
lining them up at their feet like bags of goldfish at the fair. The bobbed up
and down as the bus bumped onwards and the smell circulated the bus.
The journey went very quickly all in all with a
couple of loo breaks and a snack stop coming in at around 8 hours give or take.
I was pleasantly surprised but so excited to reach Luang Prabang that it felt
like an eternity. Once we arrived I shared a Tuk Tuk into town with the travel
agents and saw them get dropped off at a big plush hotel with fancy sign
writing so curly I couldn’t work out what it said. The driver then asked me for
the 4th time the name of my hostel and was very unclear until I
repeatedly pointed at it on a map. He drove round and round passing the night
market which was just kicking off and finally arrived at my spot. I walked in
to a cool room of young backpacker types all talking excitedly about various
nightspots and activities. I wondered if this was going to be a bit rowdy for
me but I didn’t let it put me off. I checked in with a youngish Lao lady at
the reception desk who ask my name glanced briefly at her check in book,
flipped a couple of pages and then gave up looking for any of my information.
The conversation went like this
‘You 3
people?’
‘No just me’
‘You stay one night?’
‘No three nights’
‘You book four bed dorm?’
‘No I booked into the 12 bed dorm’
You see what I mean. Eventually she gave up on
that line of questioning too and showed me to a four bed dorm room and pointed
at a top bunk. I thanked her and she left. There was a girl in the room who I
said hello to and she explained she had booked my bed for a friend of hers and
she said they’d messed her around too by moving her to a different hostel when
she arrived the day before as they were fully booked – she had booked online
and they had just given her place to a walk in. The lady then came back and
showed me to another 4 bed dorm and pointed at another top bunk. This time
there was no objection.
My remaining time in this hostel was just as
hilarious with people coming and going, moving rooms, running around trying to
get internet connection, crashing weddings and generally drinking an awful lot.
All for 40,000 Kip (3 pounds) a night which is a bit of a bargain in my
opinion. The wedding crashing I wasn’t a part of but I did get to witness the
fallout. Two Californian girls were who returned on their knees telling tales
of attempting Laos Karaoke. At this time in the evening I had only mustered
enough energy for a wander round the night market, dinner and of course a
massage. I was ready for bed but this was too good to miss, it also allowed me
chance to speak to some people and get the lay of the land. A Belgium couple
proved very good value with their tales of things to do and the boyfriends
insistence of ‘One more beer darling’ and the girlfriends slightly amused ‘Ok
darling but this one really must be the last’ she knew very well that it would
not be the last. Plus it didn’t seem to really bother her when we had drunk the
hostel dry of beer he got in a Tuk Tuk to go and find some more. I was very
impressed with her humble acceptance.
The next day I took in the town and really
found out what Luang Prabang is really about. Calm. I walked around the town’s
streets and narrow lanes for 5 hours or so taking in the various Wats, Temples
and magnetic French Architecture. The French past time here was not boule but
Badminton, I watched a match between 2 old Laos guys, one young and one French
looking kid around the age of 15. The all squatted, thrust and smashed their
way with European elegance through the game in a manner quite ill-fitting to
the heat. I moved on and watched more as saffron monks with gingham umbrellas
held high to protect their heads from the sun stroll with relaxed purpose to
somewhere.
Watching others allowed me to float through those streets like a
monk on a silent mission ending up in Utopia.
Utopia is a café, bar and restaurant delicately
balanced overhanging on the edge of the Mekong. It is made up of a string of
terraces made out of delicate lengths of wood bound together with twine. Thai
roll mats line the floors with low tables bamboo chairs and sofas.
Everybody whispers here. Calmness drifts across
the vast waters and melodiously permeates its inhabitants. Sarongs draped
across the mats offer the occupants utter comfort while they sit motionless
watching the long boats glide by as a warm breeze caresses their beaming faces.
Butterflies chase one another while dragonflies bob and weave in time to the
soft music radiating from the bar. Men and boys fish by the water’s edge, their
reels jingling like tiny bells as they wind in their prey.
It is heavenly, so heavenly in fact that I
drift off right there on my mat and only awaken once the sun has gone down. No
one bothered me; they just left me there to rest.
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