Luang Prabang, Laos

We FINALLY made it to Luang Prabang after 3 days since leaving Chiang Mai. We took a bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong where we crossed the border to Huay Xai. The next morning we got on a boat to Pak Beng. The boat was CRAP!!! The boat was only 5 1/2 hours but we had to get on 1 1/2 hours earlier to reserve a plank of wood to sit on. We arrived in Pak Beng (aka Rat Town) at dusk and found a crap shack to stay. We knew it was going to be bad... but it was much worse!!! The bed had fleas but we were lucky there were no rats! Lorna was really sick during the night and it was even worse because there was no electricity. The next morning we got back on the boat 1 1/2 hours earlier, again. This boat was more up market because it had a few mini van seats. The scenery was nice and shortly after we left we saw a wild elephant on the beach that had come down from the mountains. 8 hours later we arrived in Luang Prabang. We have never been so glad to get some where! We found a cute place called the Luang Prabang Bakery Guesthouse with the night markets just outside. Today we walked to Wat Xieng Thong, the most beautiful Wat in town. It had a royal funerary carriage house with funeral urns for members of the royal family. There was an ordination hall and a rare reclining Buddha. The outside of the building was covered in glass mosaics of village life.