Day 6 Friday Pak Beng to Luang Prabang

Another day on the river leisurely watching the world go past.

We stopped before lunch at a Lao village. This was more prosperous than the village we stopped at the day before. It was a Buddhist village complete with temple. The houses were on stilts and underneath many were either looms where beautiful scarves were woven or stills where whiskey was distilled. Some in our group sampled the whiskey and most bought a scarf or 3.

After lunch we stopped at some caves where there are thousands of Buddha images. The first cave was crowded, dark and I thought, quite oppressive, so I got out. We walked a short way to another cave in which I did not feel so uncomfortable.

We arrived at Luang Prabang in the late afternoon. The hotel we are staying in is brand new with spacious rooms and a nice feel.

Luang Prabang is built on a narrow strip of land formed where the Namkam river joins the Mekong. It was formed in the 12th century and has had very mixed fortunes since then. There is evidence in the town of Thai, Cambodian, Burmese and French cultures. It was declared a world heritage site by the UN in 1995.