Day 2 on the Mekong

Heading to Luang Prabang

Our second day on the boat started with a van ride at 7.30 to the boat. We were on the boat until 4.30pm. Luckily, this was broken up by 2 stops.

Caves and Whiskey

The first to Pak Ou caves, these 2 caves were built several hundred years ago but became famous during the Vietnam War. As Laos was heavily bombed, monks used the caves to keep their Buddha statues safe. More recently current buddha statues are also kept here some before being sold and some by families for a blessing. There are now hundreds of statues all in the different stances.

The next stop was at a village where we tried some rice wine and whisky. The whisky was 50% strength and certainly cleared the airways. There is also the chance to buy scarves but we didn't see any weaving and the guide suggested most would have been imported.

The boat trip was fun, lots of chatty people and not all travelling conversations. A couple of people asked about my NME C86 book. I'm not sure how much a Dutch and American really understood of my explanation of 1986 British Indie scene.

The sun continued to shine until the last 15 minutes of the trip and then it was just a quick downpour.

We saw lots of buffalo both dark and pink, as well as cows, coats and pigs. Just at the end we saw some elephants by the river but they were from the nearby sanctuary and not wild, but still cool to see.

Splashing Out in Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang seems a busy town and we decided to have the first day as a restful one. We did venture away from the pool for dinner and a Laos massage. The massage was great but we read they were supposed to be gentle and all about flow. Karen was asked her preference and given a demo of what it felt like, she opted for medium. I wasn't asked. At times we both felt hands on our backs for balance whilst either the masseuse used her knees or feet to pound our bodies any way they wanted. Certainly got the blood flowing. For both our hour long massages it was £10 plus a tip!

We finished the night at a restaurant that had been recommended to us by Eden on our South Korea tour. We splashed out on tasting menus. The food was good, the starters particularly delicious and the main courses good but not so great. The restaurant stood out as we sat overlooking a lit-up lily pond and the service was fantastic. We've never had a tasting menu before but to have all the dishes explained or curated made us feel very posh!