Falang at a chinese new year in Luang Prabang

I was invited to the first of four days of Chinese new year celebration by the proprietor of my guest house. It was located in the business district of LP in a track depot. We showed up after dark and the whole extended family from up north and down south was in attendance. I was handed a small glass of Lao Lao, 50% rice wine/moonshine re bottled in a Beer Lao bottle. The glass was passed around the table, several more times before we slowed down and just passed beer around.

For food they had freshly killed goat and what at first looked like ketchup poured on top. It was, in fact, the fresh blood of the goat. I opted out of that delicacy...

Under a tent lit by two flourescent lights three card games for cash were going on. In the center were two very large pots and two 55 gallon formerly Shell oil drums boiling sticky rice under a fire fed by logs. The bathroom was anywhere on the perimeter of the property. One of the 6 year old cousins was making a killing selling us bottles of Beer Lao and Lao Lao. As I had to go trekking early the next day I got a ride on the back of a motorcycle back to town.

Good times

Off to trek in the Mountains

Tomorrow morning I'll head off into the mountains with a group of five other likeminded travellers. I'll be back in LP Sunday night.

I bought some compact flourescent bulbs at Phousi market today after my bike ride into the dry rice fields.

Just had a brilliant meal once again on the river bank: spicy fish with rice. Yum!

Hanging around Luang Prabang

I have spent the past few days hanging around Luang Prabang. It is pretty easy place to be. In the morning I get breakfast by the rivers edge and watch the long-boats go by.

The Internet here is as good as in the US except a lot more accessible to pedestrians. I simply walk into an Internet cafe and sit down. It costs about 100Kip/minute or about 60 cents per hour.

There are loads and loads of places to eat in LP. Breakfast is about $3 and so is dinner.

The many Buddhist temples in town are the residences for the novices. The novices are young men getting an education on the cheap. In the morning the novices walk around town in a long line and are given food like sticky rice and sweet cakes.

Biking around Laos seems to be an ideal way of seeing the country. But now it is too hot and dusty. in November and December the temperatures ought to be ideal. Most of the roads are sealed. Long boats on the rivers could be used to get around the mountains.

I will take a three day trek into the mountains with White Elephant Tours. We'll stay in some village in the hills about an hour outside of LP.

Then I plan to head way up north by road and river to the golden triangle area.

The Chinese are building a dam on the Mekong in Laos. I supposes they could use the power and Laos could use the investment. I have determined that they sell compact fluorescent bulbs here in LP so today's adventure will be to find out were. The point being, the Laotians are damming up a river for the sake of wasting a lot of energy on light bulbs. Since just about nobody has a TV or AC, the dominant use of power must be lighting (unlike in the US were lighting is only about 9% of electric power).

I was invited to a Chinese new year celebration this evening. Making rice cakes and drinking beer.

Another wonderful evening

Pictures from today. One of the beautiful temples in the downtown of LP.

This is the guest house I am staying at. It is run by a Laotian-American. And finally a market on the outskirts of town.

Luang Prabang, Laos 12 Feb 2007

I arrived yesterday morning by plane from the capital Vientiane. A quick one hour flight and a much more luxurious alternative to the 9 hour VIP bus. I paid a whopping $5 for a tok tok from the airport, but they had me as I was still tired tom the previous flights jet lag.

It is getting warm in Laos. I think it was 90 yesterday.

I am having a wonderful time. I have a room on the second floor of a 6 unit guest house next to one of the 42 Bhuddist temples in town. Every morning at four AM I will be awoken by the beating of the gongs as the novices begin their day...

Luang Prabuang is a peninsula that reaches into the Mekong river about 300 miles north of the capital. It is surronded by mountains. The air is hazy from the smoke from the burning of fields in the middle of the dry season. The rains will begin again in May, but no relief until then.

Boats used to connect this town to the capital, but since the road was sealed, buses and planes have all but eliminated that conveyance.

I think I will stay here for at least a week as this place seems to be were I wanted to get to.