Laos, Luang Prabang

October 11th we started the next leg of our journey as we flew from Bangkok to Luang Prabang in Laos which for us is the 75th country we have visited.  How blessed we are.  Laos is officially Lao People’s Democratic Republic and is a socialist state with its hundreds years of monarchy ending suddenly on December 2nd, 1975 when the communists took over.  Laos is the only land locked country in Southeast Asia with a population of 6.7 million people.  Economically Laos relies on generating power from its rivers and selling the electricity to its neighbors.  Since the 1980’s when the country opened to tourists this has also become a big source of income.  The average wage in Laos is 235 dollars US a month so these people work very hard for their money.  It is primarily a Buddhist country and is Bilingual with the two main languages being French and Lao.  Laos has the sad recognition of being the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita.  Between 1964 and 1973  during the Vietnam War the USA dropped 2 million tons of bombs on Laos.  Many of these bombs lie in areas still unexploded and every two weeks someone is killed or injured by coming across one of these unknowingly. How very tragic and we were told it is often children at play.  As we flew in we observed what a mountainous and green country Laos is with several rivers winding their way through the mountains.  Easy to see why river travel is so important to the people of this country.

Luang Prabang is a city of 400,000 and the old part of the city has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its exceptional fusion of Lao traditional architecture and 19th and 20th century European Colonial style architecture which is remarkably well preserved.  There is not a building over two stories in the whole city giving it a very quaint feeling.  Luang Prabang is the spiritual center of Laos and there are 33 temples which are called wats throughout the city.  The wats are the center of each community and are the gathering place for the neighbourhood.  There are over 700 monks in the city so it is a common sight to see the saffron robed men and boys walking about.  Boys as young as 8 become novice monks to earn merits for themselves and their families as well as to get a free education so especially for the poorer families this is a good option for their sons to get educated.

After arriving late in the afternoon we wandered through the night market which is set up every night on the main street and definitely caters to the tourists. Dinner was a delicious tasting menu at the Coconut Garden which including drinks cost 24 dollars!

Our first day in Luang Prabang we spent exploring several of the wats which were all different in size and the number of monks. The adornments were all beautiful. We visited the Royal Palace which is now a museum and holds some of the beautiful artifacts left from the monarchy.  The mosaic walls in the main rooms were outstanding.  No photos were allowed so they remain in our mind.  We spent some time in the local market which sold every kind of food imaginable. Many locals were sitting on makeshift stools having a bite to eat before doing their daily shopping. Villagers come down from the hills to sell their produce every day, arriving early in the morning as it is first come as to where you set up.  Many looked exhausted which is understandable and several had small children with them. Quite a life.  We went to visit the Center for bomb clearing.  They showed us a short film of the bombings and the work they are doing to clear the land.  Parts of the film were very sobering and hard to watch.  Before dinner we fit in our daily massage which we are really going to miss when we arrive home.  We had dinner at the Three Nagas where we were seated in a lovely private garden with two other tables and entertained by Laos dancers.  A full day.

Busy morning market where locals come to shop

Little one sits amongst his mother’s creations on the sidewalk outside our hotel 

These items are all made from recovered bombs. Now that is recycling!e

Older lady selling her vegetables though she is probably not that old in a country where the life expectancy is 65

Locals having a meal in the market. This food is very cheap to our standards but you have to take into account their wages

Such industrious people 

This lane was lined with the villagers who had come from the mountains to sell their meat and produce

Several sentiments to live by were posted in the grounds of the wats

The temple on the grounds of the Royal Palace 

The three headed elephant is the symbol of Laos

Tuk Tuks are everywhere and always eager to give you a ride 



Two baskets over the shoulder are a very common sight and a easy way to carry a load. About 30% of the people have a car but gas is very expensive so they drive when necessary. Scooters on the other hand are abundant and we saw as many as five on one at a time. Most do not wear helmets and compared to home the children never do. If anyone has one on it is the adult where as we are so protective of our precious little ones.

Alleyways run between the main roads and they are delightful to walk along.  We always felt safe no matter what the time of day.

Small eateries and quest houses were abundant 

This lady is making flower stupas which welcome people to the country or to your home 

Chicken feet anyone?


The decorations in front of this temple are getting ready for the festival which we were lucky to be there for

The designs and paintings on the wats are simply stunning 

All of these lanterns are hand made and lit with candles. So labor intensive 

Just so beautiful 

A juice cart being pushed through the streets. None of the vendors were the least bit pushy even though I am sure they could really use the sale 

This river weed dried with sesame seed, garlic and dried tomatoes then fried quickly is a common appetizer and is really delicious 

This industrious pair is making lamps for sale for the festival 

This is a garbage receptical and these are seen all over the city though unfortunately too many find it easier to just drop their garbage.

The bomb retrieval Center 

We were proud to see that Canada is one of the few helping to clear this country of unexploded bombs

We went to hear the monks chanting at sunset

Sunset over the Mekong

Laos dancers entertaining us at dinner at the Three Nagas

The close of a wonderful day

Bhutan, The Tiger’s Nest

As we headed back to Paro we were a little sad as we knew our time in Bhutan was almost over but our visit to the Tiger’s Nest which is the cultural icon of Bhutan still lie ahead.  Before reaching Paro Bill quietly told us their was a room shortage at the hotel and they had to upgrade us.  We had a wonderful suite for our last two days in Bhutan which was a real treat.  The night before our climb Bill gave us an introduction to what the hike would be like.  A six mile round trip, with a 3000 foot elevation gain over rocky and often muddy terrain and a few hundred steps going first down and then up did not seem like an easy task at the best of times and at an elevation of 10,000 feet the challenge was even greater.  My confidence was shaky at best.

Guru Rinpoche is said to have flown to this location on the back of his tigress from Tibet in the 8th century and meditated in a cave here for 3 years, 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days and  hours.  Paro Taktsang was constructed in 1692 and literally clings to the side of the mountain.  It is only accessible by mountainous paths and as our desire to reach it was great off we went.  We set off early in the morning and were the first people on the trail which was perfect.  The path was steep and challenging in places but I used two motivating factors to get me to the top. First was that today was Andy’s birthday and 43 years ago I went through a difficult labour and caesarean and if I could do that this should be easy. Secondly I really wanted to see the Tiger’s Nest from the inside not just from a view point.  As we started the trek the Tigers Nest was hidden in the clouds which was probably a good thing because when you looked up where it sat on the mountain from below it looked impossibly high. As we hiked we got glimpses of it getting closer which was encouraging.  Reaching the view point you felt you could almost touch it yet there were still hundreds of stairs to descend and then climb before reaching the ultimate goal.  What an over whelming feeling to actually stand and absorb the surroundings.  The visit made our visit to this wonderful country complete.

A farewell dinner with our fellow travellers where everyone shared a little of what was special about this trip to them made us all realize how much we had all shared in such a short time.  The joy of travel.

Relaxing in the living room of the suite

The bedroom with a magnificent view over the valley and mountains 

A prayer wheel at the start of the hike up to the Tigers Nest

One of our first glimpses of our ultimate goal

Still smiling. The poles were invaluable to me especially coming down through the mud

Spinning the prayer wheels part way up with a silent prayer that I would make it

Appearing through the mist.  Magical 

Still a long ways to go

Making the journey together 

The frequent appearances helped to keep you going

Eric’s Camino shirt has been to a lot of special places

Looks close but we are still quite a ways away

Hard to imagine how they built it on this narrow bluff so many years ago

The mist literally rolled in in a matter of minutes as we stood there watching. It gave it a bit of a ghostly appearance 

The mist cleared as fast as it came

This is looking up at the Tigers Nest as we climbed down the multitude of steps to get to it

And down even more steps. Seemed almost unfair after the long hike uphill

This shows the staircase down the hill before you do an equal one that takes you up to the temple

The final destination 

Stepping through the doorway to the Tigers Nest.  Once there no photography is allowed.

A look back as we made our descent

The tea house on the way up. A lot of people stop here for a view and go no further

A few people take horses as far as the tea house but it is not recommended as they go on the outside of the trail and people have been known to fall off

Eric at the tea house. We just made a quick stop on the way down to see what the view was like. We did not want to linger long because the number of people coming up the trail was steadily increasing as the day wore on which made it more interesting in spots

Making my way down slowly though the mud and rocks.  Can hardly believe clumsy me made it standing all the way
The view of the Tigers Nest from the beginning of the trail.  It really does look a long way up and it is!