Ain't no Sunset like a Laos Sunset

No words, right?

This photo was taken atop of Mount Phousi, which is a viewpoint in Luang Prabang where people gather to watch the sunrise or sunset over the Mekong River. 

I'd definitely advise to go around an hour or so before the sun rises or sets, as there are 355 steps zig-zagging 150 metres up to the top, and even for the fittest person, it gets a little tough! Especially as there are loads of tourists to weedle past or through. But with plenty of resting places along the way and the Wat Tham Phousi Shrine to admire at the halfway mark, it bodes well to take your time, drink plenty of water and don't forget to wear mossie repellent! 
There is also a small entry fee of 20,000 kip (roughly £2) and drinks and snacks are sold at the peak.

The Golden Wat Chomsi Temple is at the summit of Mount Phousi, where you can enjoy a full 360 degree panoramic view of Luang Prabang.

My photos and videos don't do the view justice, it's truly an impressive and beautiful sight to be seen in person. You can actually see the sun going down quite fast and creating these gorgeous colours in the sky reflecting in the river. 

Stace x

Chasing Waterfalls

In Luang Prabang, there are two beautiful Waterfalls on the outskirts of town that I highly recommend visiting should you get the chance;
Tad Sae and Kuang Si. 

Kuang Si

TAD SAE

The smaller of the two Falls, Tad Sae is located within a Forest, giving the impression the land is flooded by small rock pools of water, cascading over the limestones to the larger turquoise lagoon below. 

Visiting Tad Sae was part of a tailor made package from a local travel agent, where we cycled the rough dirt roads for roughly two hours through town to the Nam Khan River, which we then kayaked down towards the Falls. 

This activity as a whole cost us 400,000 kip each (which is roughly around £34), but the travel agencies offer various packages best suited to your tastes, plus you can always haggle for the best price. 

Ours included a personal tour guide, stop-off to Phannom village (which is famous for it's weaving and craft production), the kayak tour down the River to the falls, the entrance fee, lunch and kayak tour back to town. 

In total, the tour was roughly around 4-5 hours with a well spent afternoon taking a dip in the refreshing falls and of course, partaking in an instagram-worthy photoshoot!

KUANG SI

Kuang Si is the larger and more popular of the falls amongst the tourists and backpackers. 

As we visited Tad Sae first, we had planned on enquiring at the same travel agents for a trip here, but were lucky enough to encounter a local tour guide with a bus-like tuk-tuk who was taxi'ing tourists to the falls and back for a price.

This may sound slightly bizarre and unsafe, but backpacking in Asia is all about the haggling for a cheaper price, and the various random ways you can bag a tour or an activity just by taking an innocent stroll down the street. 

As I was haggling with the gentleman, I (for reasons unknown to myself) offered him a deal that if I could fill up the tuk-tuk bus of 8 people, he would take us for 200,000 kip each (£18), wait for us and bring us back.

So, myself, Roisin and a girl we met at the hostel over breakfast scurried across the street to the market to find willing, like-minded participants and preferably backpackers like ourselves. 

Luckily, we found another solo traveller and a group of 4 girls. BINGO!

It was almost as if the driver couldn't believe we succeeded in our challenge but he was happy to take us and I joked that he should pay us commission! It's always advised to establish a good relationship with the tour guide/driver/fixer as they are super knowledgeable about the area and trustworthy people just trying to make a living themselves. 

True to his word, he drove us to and from the falls where we basked in the absolute glory of the turquoise blue waters for a few hours in the 30 degree heat, and hiked to the top of the Waterfall in our flip-flops (side note- PACK TRAINERS if this is something you want to do!)

Which, you definitely should do, as there's a beautiful lagoon at the top covered by a roof of forest trees with slivers of sunlight creeping in to create the most gorgeous reflections of light on the water. 

There's also a pretty cool swing in the middle of the pool where of course we enjoyed another photoshoot for the 'gram. 

Both are definitely experiences not to be missed if ever in Luang Prabang. Both Falls are an exotic jungle paradise in their own right.

Stace x

Luang Prabang: First Impressions

So after a horrific, yet hilarious experience travelling, Roisin and I finally made it to Kouansavan Guesthouse in Luang Prabang, Laos. 

After purchasing a bus ticket from a travel agent in Chiang Rai last night, who told us we'd be picked up this morning from our hostel at 6am to be driven to the border at Chiang Khong: Correct...

She then said we'd be processed through the border and get our visas sorted: Also correct...

She then said we'd be taken to their sister bus company in Laos who would take us to the bus station for the bus to Luang Prabang: Again correct.

But what she refused to disclose was that we were the only two people getting the bus, (as the more popular option was the 2 day slow boat journey), and that we would be waiting 5 HOURS for the bus at a rickety old bus station with holes in the ground for toilets, a newsagent selling only crisps and water and a small cafe with limited and rather dodgy looking food options. We obv weren't expecting luxury but overtired and hangry, it was a long time to wait in the sweltering hot sun with not much to do except try to plan ahead for our time in the Country. 

Eventually we boarded the bus where it had about 16 bunk beds and reminded me slightly of the Harry Potter Knight Bus. At first it was fine, watching the sunset over the mountain terrain was beautiful, until it got dark, the aircon was freezing, I couldn't get comfortable as my 38inch legs didn't fit on properly and I desperately needed to pee. 

A whole 14 hours later at 5am we arrived in Luang Prabang and luckily, I wasn't asleep as the driver announced our destination so quietly. 
Knackered and grumpy, we gathered our belongings and haggled with a tuktuk to take us and another couple to our separate hostels. Unbeknownst to us at the time, we witness the Monks Tak Bat Procession, which is the time in the morning where the Buddhist Monks collect food from offerings outside homes. They walk in single file (oldest first) carrying their "alms" bowl. 
People wait for them, often kneeling, and place food, flowers or incense sticks in the bowls. This is a morning tradition for Lay people, which we soon found out from people at the Hostel. In hindsight I wished I'd taken some photos or appreciated it more at the time, as we never got the chance to see it again, but I do have the blurry memory through tired eyes.

Our Hostel has small dorm rooms, a pool, one communal area inside and outside but a good price for the little town. 
We're sharing a room with 2 Irish girls who are on their last leg of Asia, so we've buddied up together and bless them- they've already made us a list of places to go, things to do or avoid. All that they've learned from their travels based on their experiences, which is good for us as we're fairly new to Asia. 
They're also AMAZING at bargaining with vendors at the markets, which is something I want them to definitely teach us before we part ways!

ACCOM: Kouansavan Guest House
ATTRACTIONS: Tak Bat Monks Morning Ritual
VENUES: Night Market

Stace x