Liz & Doug After Work: Wandering the streets of Luang Prabang

An arrangement of paper umbrellas

Luang Prabang grew on us - we opened our senses and took in what was around us. We walk along the Nam Kham and Mekong Rivers and checked menus at the numerous eateries perched on the banks of each river. The main street is easily walked, similar to Hoi An in Vietnam but without aggressive merchants and tuk tuk drivers.

Along the street were travel agencies (many offering elephant adventures), restaurants and cafes, food stalls, handicraft shops, mini-marts, a few art galleries, an elementary school, the library, the palace (now a museum) and wats. In short, a walk down main street covers culture, consumerism, and cravings.

Stalls selling crepes were common

A unique stall - we took a pass on this. Out of view -
sign assuring customers that the snack is "good"

The library was buzzing with activity. On the grounds we watched the rehearsal of a puppet show. It was to teach about hygiene. The library recruits volunteers to have English conversations with young people. An apparent challenge isn't so much the English vocabulary as it is handling with accents from all over the globe. Pictured below are two rooster puppets we saw on the palace grounds - not part of the puppet show but this feels like the right place to include them.

Along the streets in Luang Prabang and Vientiane are spirit houses, where the household spirits dwell. Each house is different. It may have food, drinks, and other objects to keep the spirits happy. These spirits seem to have settled for devotional objects.

This fish cage was in the courtyard of our guest house. If money flies in it will never leave.

Less seen are beggars. They never go beyond making gestures that they want money or food. During our 2nd stay in Luang Prabang when most of the Chinese New Year tourists had left we were approached by young children selling nondescript trinkets. With the wave of hand, indicating "no," the children moved on.

Boy with his wares

We were in Laos during dry season. The entire trip we were impressed with how dry and dusty everything was. Wet or dry, day to day life in Laos can be a challenge. Pictured below is a bamboo toll bridge across the Nam Kham river. The bridge disappears during rainy season and is rebuilt during dry season. We didn't cross river - so no details about the toll.