Luang Prabang

Dear readers, welcome to our blog! This is already post nr. 50! Thanks for the kind comments we have received over the last months. We are still trying to make the most of our free time here so we managed to squeeze in  another city trip during a weekend in March. This time, w escaped to the quaint town of Luang Prabang in Laos, or officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Laos is a land-locked country squeezed between Thailand and Vietnam. A large fraction of the border with Thailand is the mighty Mekong river. Laos was part of French Indochina until shortly after WWII and is under communist rule since 1975, but has slowly opened up to the world in recent years. Luang Prabang is on a peninsula in the Mekong river and is the former royal capital and has a lot of charm, with a mix of gentle  French colonial and ancient Asian buildings. The highlight of the town is the magnificent temple Vat Xieng Thong dating from the 16th century. Saffron robe clad Buddhist monks are omnipresent in Luang Prabang, especially in the temples of course. Otherwise, the town if famous for its lively night market in the main street which is also lined with sometimes surprisingly trendy cafés, restaurants and shops. The town is a great place to explore the Mekong river valley and we managed to catch a boat ride to explore the Pak Ou caves, where thousands of Buddha statues are stored. Other highlights include the great local and French food and BeerLao, the local beer which is one of the better ones in Asia (having won medals at an international competition in Brussels!). In a nutshell: a great place to relax after a long week!