Seizing the day

We didn't have many expectations for Luang Prabang, but when we left we were gutted we didn't spend more time there. This post includes: How to get to Luang Prabang What the atmosphere was like Kuang Si Falls The Alms Giving Ceremony  Coffee tasting The Utopia bar How much we spent The beautiful Mekong River at sunset Atmosphere Classed as a world heritage site in 1995, Lurang Prabang is the ancient capital of Laos. The town is full of charm and quaintness with its beautiful French-indochinese architecture with hints of modern influences. It feels like it's a place that doesn't know what to do with all the attention it gets, but doesn't care at the same time. Comparing it to other places we’ve been so far, I’d say it’s got the chill vibes of Pai mixed with a bit of Chiang Mai, but not as busy. To get around town I'd highly recommend hiring a bicycle. It's not too busy on the roads, unlike it's neighbouring countries Thailand and Vie...

If you're thinking of travelling to Laos from Thailand or visa versa, then I'd strongly suggest taking the slow boat down the Mekong River. It's a beautiful way to see rural Laos whilst chilling on a boat for 2 days. This post includes: how we got to the border town, Chiang Khong how we chose our cruise what the boat was like what we did over the 2 days overall impressions Docked at Pak Ou Caves Getting to the border town, Chiang Khong We took a massive mini bus trip from Pai to Chiang Khong, a town on the border between Thailand and Laos, where we stayed the night before our cruise. The bus trip took about 9 hours and we didn't feel totally safe or comfortable during it. The driver was on his phone constantly, overtaking people and was generally rude. When we reached Chiang Mai we changed mini bus and unfortunately I got the middle seat at the front, which had no seatbelt. Anyway, despite this they did stop a few times, which included a short st...