On to Luang Prabang (LP), a UNESCO World Heritage site, as I’ve posted before. I must say, though, that I was a bit “underwhelmed” by the city. It’s culturally very interesting, but there was a pall of smoke that hung over the area all the time we were there due to the slash and burn system used by Laotian farmers around the vicinity. The Lonely Planet Guide to Laos warns that March-May is a bad time of year to visit because of all the smoke hanging over LP, and it’s no exaggeration, though the murky atmosphere makes for some beautiful sunsets.
The city is surrounded by mountains, many of which are the sites of numerous temples. The city itself is loaded with historic Buddhist sites dating back hundreds of years. We stayed right across the street from the Mekong River in a room with a balcony. It was pleasant sitting out at night, though LP seems to completely shut down around 10 p.m.
The guesthouse has its own restaurant across the street, where we ate breakfast, but our favorite haunt was the row of food vendors stretching along one of the main streets. We usually ended up buying a broiled chicken or a large Mekong fish from one vendor and then heading down to another who had a kind of Lao buffet. The very substantial fish cost about $1.60, the chicken somewhat less, and the buffet was 50 cents–all in all a great bargain, and delicious, too.
Here Nai picks out a fish (they’re actually larger than they look).
Good food, but it’s not all you can eat–50 cents a pop, not bad!
Of course, it’s not ALL about food. How about a balloon?
Ok, it’s starting to get late here, so I’ll close for now and do some more of LP later.
Related posts:
- New Years Feast I mentioned in my previous post that I could eat Mekong fish all day. New Year’s Day put that statement to a test. It seems that eating fish on that...
- Lao Photos-Food As promised, here are some photos from my recent trip to Laos. I guess we can call this the food-themed post. If you ever make it to Vientiane, one pleasurable...
- Back in Action, Lao Food [Note: edited at 4:30 pm, Monday, Yeosu time.] Wow, looking back at my archives, it appears that this is the longest time I have gone between posts; I’ll definitely try...
