Luang Prabang is a pearl of Laos. It's in Laos what's Chiang Mai in Thailand, but even more natural, wild and pristine. We didn't expect much. We stopped mostly because we wanted to find some volunteering work in local guesthouses. And we failed. But the magic of the town kept us in Luang Prabang five more days.
I was writting about green cities many times before. But no one can compete with Luang Prabang. It's built in the middle of tropical forrest. It would be unfair to say there are lots of trees between the buildings. It's buildings between the trees :)
To be even more combined with the nature, you can find quite a decent hill in the town's centre. It's called Phu Si and if you manage all the steps you find one more temple on the top. The view is even more rewarding.
Already since Phnom Penh and Cambodia we somehow cannot go far away from the mighty Mekong river. When standing on it's banks you just start to admire the forces of nature.
But another feeling of wilderness create the tuk tuks. Here they look much more off-road :)
By now we got used to night markets already. The one in Luang Prabang is very clean and organized. The fact the town is on the list of UNESCO world heritage, does it's job. And walking on that market we see snakes. Wait no, it's liquor. Actually it's liquor with snakes, lizards, etc. The lady is waiving to us: free degustation! Of course there was no excuse - not that I would need one :) I won't comment the taste much. But I can say I didn't know how the snake tastes before, and I don't know still :)
Night markets are for the tourists. You can buy souvenirs and other unimportant stuff there. Market for local people opens early in the morning when tourists still sleep. But if you manage to wake up early, you can experience the full width of Lao cuisine. Besides regular things like fruits and vegetables, fish and eggs, you can find also squirels, something with wings that is not a chicken and even a rat!
And by the way, since Vietnam we don't see many stray dogs on the streets. But not sooner than in Laos we saw a restaurant with a big sign inviting to try a Grilled Dog. Hmm, without words we decided to skip this one.
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