Adventures in Guangzhou!

So we checked in for the short flight up north to Luang Prabang and then had some time to kill. We did some people watching and reading until our flight was called and we had to go through security. Kelly realized at the last second that she had her Swiss Army knife in her carry-on and was concerned they'd confiscate it--a reasonable fear in most airports, but I had a feeling it wasn't going to be a big deal here. And I was right. They waived her right through, returning Kelly's smile and not even looking at the x-ray screen as she passed through. I guess it didn't exactly insure my safety, but I wasn't worried. This is Lao, after all. People are too busy being relaxed to worry too much about anything.

The hour-long flight to Luang Prabang went by in a flash and before I knew it we were circling beautiful mountains to land in the former royal capital. I enjoyed the fact that they allowed us to walk across the tarmac to the baggage claim building on our own. In China you will often have to board a bus that will take you from the landing site and drive approximately thirty meters to the arrival gate. Thirty meters. Anyhow, we tuk tuk-ed it to a guest house and began exploring.

First impression--Luang Prabang made Vientiane seem like midtown Manhattan. It was even more relaxed and I took to it immediately. I guess it's easy to sustain this feeling when the population tops out at 350,000 or so--not exactly a bustling metropolis. We walked up the side street of our guest house to the main drag and walked right into one of the thirty three temples in the main city area. Besides being beautiful, Lao temples differ a bit from Chinese temples in that they seem to be more active as centers of study and worship, as opposed to tourist sites. It could be my imagination though.

We walked around a bit more and before we knew it we got caught in the set-up of the extensive night market which takes over a sizable chunk of the main street in town. While shopping is hardly my forte, I will admit that the market looked pretty at night with the lights and colors of the textiles. I wasn't all that into the products (especially since every vendor seemed to have exactly the same merchandise) but a few interesting chess sets caught my eye. I was prepared to bargain hard but when the prices *started* at one hundred and twenty US dollars, I knew I was out of my league.

I was also impressed with the diverse international crowd that was perusing the offerings. According to the guidebooks, Luang Prabang used to be a little known backpackers haven but it's expanded now to include people of all ages, colors, and nationalities. I heard about a dozen different languages and was impressed by some of the older travelers who were visiting. I truly hope that when I'm in my sixties I still have the desire and wherewithal to travel to the less-developed corners of the world. Then again, I hope there are actually corners of the world to go to that have not been overtaken by globalization (i.e., I don't want to see a McDonalds in the middle of the Sahara).

We had a late dinner at a place on the river billing itself as the "Antique House." I have no idea what was particularly antique about the place but the waitstaff was friendly and the food was tasty. We had several people helping us who were all excited to practice their English a bit and they were funny. My favorite moment of the meal came when one waitress came over to pour beers for us. She managed to pour a glass exactly up to the brim, to which we all remarked, "perfect!" with a smile. She smiled back, responded with "you're welcome," and then went directly to her friend and asked, "what does 'perfect' mean?"

Once again, everything shut down around 11pm so we went back and read for a while before falling asleep. Good thing we did, too, because we all woke up the next morning bright and early with the vociferation of the neighborhood roosters. Though less than thrilled, we decided to seize the day and head out right away. We booked ourselves a two day trek through the Lao jungle starting the next day and then went on a walking tour of the old city streets.

We wandered through countless "wats" including the most famous, Wat Xieng Thong. I enjoyed all of the temples but this one was particularly interesting for its architecture, flowers, and stone steps all the way down to the river. I also thanked Kelly for reminding me to wear sandals because you're not allowed to wear any footwear inside any temple building.

Walking into a smaller, less well-known wat, we chatted with some of the monks-in-training. One, in particular, had fantastic English and only had a little over two years of formal instruction. Wow. He filled us in on their lifestyle and some of their routines. I gotta say, it doesn't seem half bad to devote your life to studying and attempting to reach enlightenment. Plus, especially in a place like Luang Prabang, you'd probably meet some pretty interesting travelers. Overall though, once again, I was simply blown away by his English ability.

Before climbing up the hill to see one final wat and watch the sunset, I decided to grab a snack. There were several street vendors selling small baguettes with grilled chicken and some fixins, and it looked quite tasty. I asked one lady, "how much?" She mumbled, "10,000 kip." That's only about a dollar which was fine by me but I wasn't sure I had heard her correctly. As I was fishing out my money, I asked for clarification- "how much?" She said, "okay, 5000." Moral of the story? Always bargain.

After chowing down on the sandwich (worth all five thousand of those kips), we hiked up the long staircase to the stupa at the top of the hill. Despite the massive number of foreigners trying to crowd atop the summit, it was quite pleasant. We lounged around for a while watching the sun retreat behind the mountains and eventually made our way down for yet another tasty meal. All in all, a great day.