Bye Bye Mundane Life!!: Luang Prabang

Getting off the boat was such a great relief that we relished the idea of a good wander and stretch of our legs…allowing us to check out all the best spots to find perfect the best deal on a guesthouse….ensuite room complete with TV and fridge for just $5!!! We’d arrived into the town just as the night market was setting up and Chris had to work pretty hard to stop Georgie’s eyes from wandering….the most amazing array of quilted bedspreads, linens, silks, etc. Not much of interest from a mans point of view, so with Chris the quiet spectator Georgie set about searching for the best deal – not that we really wanted to be carting around a kingsize duvet cover for the next 2 months but they were just too nice to resist!!! The night was rounded off by coming across a perfect street stall selling a vegetarian buffet for the bargain price of 25 pence (the same price they charge elsewhere for a coffee!) – it was set to become our staple dinner every night in Luang Prabang!
Full of energy and raring to go the next day we explored the whole of the town, which seems to have a different Temple (Wat) on every corner…we soon realized that once you’ve seen one you have pretty much seen them all, so to the fill the rest of the day we walked out of the town under the hottest Sun we have ever known (got to be pushing38 degrees! With no breeze!) to wander around another local market – this one more fresh produce than bargain clothing so not too much temptation there ( the sight of raw meat sat in this heat covered with flies does wonders for the appetite!). Not wanting to leave this beautiful town but knowing there would be nothing to keep us here for another day we realized we’d have to put our hands in our pockets and fork out for one of the organized trekking tours. That evening we sampled the local rice whiskey ‘LaoLao’ (officially illegal, but sold everywhere) which cost a whopping 60pence a bottle – the perfect preparation for a long trek tomorrow!
After a hearty breakfast of the staple 'spicy noodle soup' we were tossed about in the back of our TukTuk for an hour as we headed into the highlands with our very own guide, Chau! First stop was at the side of the track to collect a couple of freshly picked pineapples from the surrounding pineapple fields - these were far and away the best and juiciest pineapples we have ever tasted! We then started our trek through several Mong villages (local tribes people) before entering the jungle! With our own guide we were able to get the low down on everything and anything, from local eating habits,to politics, to how to survive in the jungle! It turns out Lao people really like their meat...well more specifically anything that comes from an animal (any animal: dog, goat, squirrel, small birds, insects) if they've killed it they eat it (all of it - feet,head, skin, innards, etc....in fact they prefer all this to the meat itself!). He took us through the very heart of the jungle along animal tracks that only allowed clearance of 4 foot so lots of stooping and clambering through undergrowth...but our hardwork was rewarded by the bountiful supply of jungle fruits that were acquired in the process, our favourite being the 'Jack Fruit' - texture like meat, taste indescribable but good! The crescendo of the the trip was arriving at a huge, multi-tiered waterfall with swimming hole and rope swing....making for a perfect way to cool down and relax after our days hike! That evening we packed our bags ready to move onto pastures new tomorrow!