Day 1
Instead of taking the popular Luang Prabang slow boat, I decided to veneer off the beaten track and go north a bit to Luang Namtha to avoid having to backtrack.
Got myself a coffee in the morning (45k) plus a local noodle soup for (30k)
In no time, we got to town and got to walk around a bit to find some local snacks.
The second round food was much better
Day 2
Biking day, though first was to gather info around the trekking tour. I also ended up moving to a guesthouse where has a restaurant attached to it for the same price. This was also where the German couple and I were going separate ways, they wanted to spend more time in Thailand whereas I wanted to finish Laos.
Got myself two cups of coffee and arranged a bicycle for (50k)
As usual it’s the journey not the destinations which are worth visiting.
With no time, it’s lunch time.
After this we went to the temples in town.
Nothing bad, I was just not very impressed of anything at this point.
Met up with some Austrians and went to the night market.
Then it’s dinner again after failed to find a more local place (I think in this part people just don’t eat out as often)
Day 3
Trekking day! First was to go to the local market to shop for some food for the tour.
Soon we arrived at the park and started trekking.
Soon was lunch, our guide grilled some Tilapia! Absolutely delicious!
We continued trekking a bit more
We had a bit time to swim and shower
Time to set up our Bamboo hut for the night!
We had great camp fires (was really cold). Though fun to sleep on top of the banana leaves, it was nevertheless freezing even with the double sleep bags.
Day 4
Waking up from the chirping birds and running river
Another amazing meal, that egg scramble was nice, so was the tomato soup (no in the pic)
We hiked about 20 kilometers spread in two days. After arriving in town, we invited our guides for BeerLao. After a brief break and shower, we went out for dinner and closed out the night. (100k for dinner with tips, 72k for the beers!)
Day 5
Waking up a bit under the weather probably from the cold night camping and also the Lau Lau (local rice whiskey) probably wasn’t helping either. Decided to stay in Luang Namtra one more night.
Got a latte while chatted with a German and a Dutch who are here for holidays. Went out for lunch and was excited to finally find some local restaurants and food!
Later I walked passed by my a local vendor. One lady there speaks exceptionally good English, who’s helping her cousin with the selling. Both are from Luang Prabang.
The laundry was 100k, and was definitely the most pricy laundry I have paid so far.
Day 6
Luang Prabang here I come. First was to catch a shared taxi (100k) to the train station which was about 30 kilometers from Luang Namtha. For some reasons, the hotel (who booked the tickets for us) thought was a good idea to arrive almost 3 hours before departure time. At least we had some nice chat at the station.
The train was running about 160km/h and had one stop before we reached Luang Prabang. Definitive a refresh from the regular Laos transit standard.
In almost no time (1:20) we arrived at the Luang Prabang train station which is slightly out of town about 8km to the city.
I got a ride (35k) seems standardized and delivers us directly to our hotels.
Quickly checked into my hostel (funny how little people spoke English despite being such a tourist hotspot, 110k per night due to fees associated with online booking. Quite steep for a dorm.)
I was a bit hungry at this point especially after having a big BeerLao in my hostel hoping to catch a conversation with someone.
The quality of available good food and coffee is just much higher in a touristic town.
Went to a local Wat in the city center before catching a coffee break.
One of the highlight is this local stupa which sits at the highest point in the city center which overseas the Mekong
I sat at the stupa until a bit after sunset before I took a stroll around the night market
I got back to my hostel and chatted with some French speaking girls (one’s Indian descent but grew up in Mauritius and speaks Chinese, English, French and Hindi was the most fascinating one)
Day 7
Chill day with a bit of a walk with the French girls
We decided to take a walk across the neighborhood.
In no time, it’s lunch time.
Then we found this local temple which happened to have the monk washing ceremony
Walked a bit more at the riverside before heading back to hostel for a break.
Finally, it’s dinner time!
It’s just another “meandering” day.
Expenses
| Week 9 | ||||
| Day | Food&Drink | Lodging | Transportation | Other (tickets/tours etc) |
| 1 | $21.43 | $9.87 | $13.75 | $0.00 |
| 2 | $12.00 | $9.38 | $3.13 | $0.00 |
| 3 | $0.63 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $35.54 |
| 4 | $4.50 | $9.38 | $0.00 | $41.79 |
| 5 | $4.81 | $9.38 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 6 | $10.94 | $6.77 | $21.38 | $1.00 |
| 7 | $5.94 | $6.77 | $0.00 | $1.88 |
| $60.24 | $51.54 | $38.25 | $80.20 | |
| Total | Grand Total: | $230.22 |
Nice Laos adventures! The mystery olive-like fruit appears to be taraw palm fruit for dessert 🙂
hmm. It doesn’t taste like anything I’d use for dessert however 🙂