Luang Prabang, Laos

 Notes from the journal:

7/5

• Flew on a little prop plane from Hanoi to Luang Prabang, went right through customs with my e-Visa, withdrew cash, and took a taxi through the Loca rideshare app
• Checked into hostel - I was the only one there

7/6

• Ate the free breakfast (made to order) at the hostel and then went to walk around town to see all of the nearby buddhist temples, before stopping to get some Khao Piak for lunch
• Relaxed at the hostel for a bit, then went to the cafe nextdoor to get a turmeric milk drink, which was really good
• Relaxed at the hostel some more, then went to visit another temple on the way to a restaurant that had been recommended (but I thought was mediocre), and then back to the area near my hostel to rent a bicycle for the next day
• Went up Phousi Hill to see the beautiful sunset over the Mekong River. It was crowded at the top but I met Sophia from Canada! After chatting for awhile, we headed down and went through the night market to the “beer garden” esque food portion of the night market. I grabbed a beer and Sophia got some food and we talked for like 3 hours before I realized I had to get to bed for my early wakeup call

7/7

• Woke up before dawn and left Luang Prabang on the bicycle at sunrise. I got to see one of the alms giving ceremonies with the monks and beautiful golden hour views from the sunrise along the country roads (one of my favorite memories of Laos).
• I didn’t really fit on the bike so the ride was long, difficult, and painful but eventually I made it the 30 kms to Kuang Si falls right when they opened so I had them mostly to myself. I was brought to the entrance and walked along the falls, enjoying the peace and views. The falls weren’t as blue (bc things never are in real life) and it was rainy season but they still had a turquoise tint and the multi-level limestone falls were a unique sight.
• An old man wanted me to take pics of him at the big falls but kept making me take more and more, and then proceeded to take one really bad picture of me
• I climbed to the top of the falls and met a couple from the Netherlands who went “omg you were the girl on the bicycle!!”
• The rest of the morning I heard a few people who arrived early and passed me on the road in their transport from town yell out “oh that’s the girl who was biking!” so I guess the 4 hour round trip bike ride was considered an odd choice
• I swam around in one of the pools at the top of the big falls and played around on the swing, before heading back down and swimming in another pool further down the river. I met some guys from South Africa and the couple from the Netherlands came to swim with us too. A bunch of Chinese tourists arrived and started taking pictures and videos for us bc omg caucasians! Who can swim! 
• The falls are a sacred spot for buddhist monks, so even though some pools are open for swimming in the public, it is strongly preferred/recommended that people swim in modest clothes and don’t wear bikinis, etc. In respect of this, I just swam in my long sleeve sun shirt and long pants, and they dried pretty fast on my bike ride back.
• I started the 30 km ride back and first stopped at a water buffalo dairy farm, and tried some caramel ice cream but it was nothing mind blowing. I also went to the Mekong cafe to get some fried river weed (really good!) and enjoyed a stir fry with a beautiful view overlooking the river
• Kept biking back but eventually got poured on and by the end I was so done. Went back to the hostel to rest and then went to dinner and watched the sunset at a restaurant along the river

7/8

• Ate the free breakfast at the hostel and then walked 50 mins to the bus station on the other side of town and eventually found my bus to Nong Khiaw after a confusing series of interactions

Read if I referred you to this post:

• Grab isn’t available in Laos so Loca is the rideshare app used for the same purpose, although it works slightly differently with no fixed fare - although I never had any issues with drivers trying to go off-route to drive up the fare, etc. and all of the final fares that I paid in cash were very close to the expected price.
• The alms giving ceremony seems neat but tourists have completely ruined it and are awful, so I decided not to attend (especially because it feels a bit weird to do that while not being an active participant in the religion). If attending, it is important to keep a respectful distance and not take pictures.
• I’m not sure I would recommend a bicycle as the mode of transport to Kuang Si falls, as you can get a tuk tuk for about the same price, but I really liked going at my own pace, arriving early to beat the crowds, and being able to spend as long as I wanted there, along with making stops on the way back. The falls were definitely worth it though, especially for swimming!
• There are entry fees for most attractions, so I would look up updated prices before going to know what to expect. Free temples in Luang Prabang: Wat Siphoutthabath, Wat Sensoukharam, Wat Pa Phai, Wat Mahatat, Wat Wisunarat