Beautifulest Town Worldwide (excuse the making up words!)

Through previous travels, we can predict fairly accurately which places will grab us before we see them. Of course occasionally somewhere isn't quite what you expected but usually that's because expectations are exceeded. Lao was definitely a case in point for us. Anyone who has been to Lao and hears that we were only there for 5 days will be incredulous and all we can say is we know! In our defense, the British ridiculous red tape we've had to go through to get married has taken a good 3 weeks off us in this region and so left us with less of a taster and more of a nibble of Indochina, but it is better than nothing and we're not complaining!


I need to give this a bit of context so please forgive this diversion. When I visited India in '98, the only place outside of Europe I had been to was Eastern Canada. For as long as I can remember I'd had a list of places in the world I wanted to see and Bangkok was at the top as it sounded the epitomy of exotic. But India wasn't on that list and it was only thanks to my friend Priya, to whom I shall be forever grateful (cheers big ears!) that India was my first "non western" (terrible term but the best I can do) experience. Despite some pre-trip wariness, from the moment we got off the plane and into the hot, spicy air of Delhi, I was hooked on the high of culture shock, of seeing, absorbing, learning about cultures as different from my own as possible.


I finally visited Bangkok the year after this, and have to admit I was a little disappointed, purely because it wasn't "as different as Delhi" - very ungrateful I know. I was a bit reluctant when we planned our current trip to return to places I've already been, but it has turned out to be fascinating to see how much and in what way these places have changed in such a relatively short time. Bangkok is even less "different" than it was 9 years ago, but I hope I have a better view of developing cities than I did before - the rate of change is incredible but generally it brings better education, healthcare and associated infrastructures that are fantastic for the people living there.


However, (finally getting to the point, sorry!) when you visit a place like Lao which is still relatively untouched by "western" influences, it can take a hold of your heart in a matter of days, largely because it has kept its own character. That's not to say it is off the beaten track any more. Every facility a tourist/traveller could ask for is available in the main towns of Vientiane and Luang Prabang. Having seen the changes in other places, I imagine even a small town like Luang Prabang could have been even more charming 10 years ago, but it is hard to see how!


The phrase "templed out" is often used in this region and Luang Prabang really is a city of temples, but each one is unique and it is incredible to see so many, so well preserved, so close together. Like the town as a whole, they are each surrounded by an inimitable peacefulness. But the icing on the cake are the monks in their beautiful orange robes. As you wander down a quiet street of colonial buildings and temples, a young monk will cross the street in front of you and the vibrancy of that colour hits your eyes like a drug (or I should say, I assume it is like a drug!). After spending a day in the town seeing them going about their day and spending an hour talking with a young novice at Phu Si who wanted to practice his English, it was a surprise to find that on the following day, the first sighting of those orange robes was still a shock in its intensity.


The Kuang Si waterfalls were more beautiful than we expected and spending a lazy morning on a boat up the Mekong to the Pak Ou caves was perfect. This is another of those places that is so hard to describe in words and impossible to capture fully by camera. I'd say everyone should visit Lao, but to be honest, and totally selfish, I'd rather they didn't!