Laos and Bangkok

After 10 days on the road, I'm back in Aceh. I spent 5 relaxing yet activity packed days in Luang Prabang, sandwiched by 2 blissful weekends in Bangkok.

Luang Prabang is nested in a valley in north central Laos. The old town is located on a peninsula wedged in between the Mekong and the Khan rivers. When Laos opened its door to tourism, UNESCO deemed Luang Prabang a world heritage site to protect its 500-year old Buddhist temples and French colonial charm. Eco-tourism has also picked up, with many agencies offering multi-day trekking trips through hill tribe villages, kayaking down meandering rivers, hanging out and bathing elephants, mountain biking down dirt paths, and combination of any or all activities to your liking.

I ran into 2 woman, an American and a Brit, both independent travelers as well. We were all on the same plane from Bangkok and coincidently were all staying at the lovely Apsara along the Nam Khan. Over the next 4 days, I went on an elephant ride (bareback), drifted down the river in a bamboo raft (its maiden voyage), wandered aimlessly around town, stumbled across beautifully preserved temples and stalked cute kids with my camera. I took a Laos cooking class one day and learned all about traditional ingredients and put together a yummy pork fried rice salad. In the evenings, a colorful evening market unfolds on the main street and Hmong women set up shop to peddle their intricately embroidered wares and shiny Laos silks.

The only downside to my time at Luang Prabang was the haze that covers much of Northern Thailand and Laos this time of the year. Due to all the rice burning and slash and burn agriculture, the entire place was covered in a gray haze. It was kind of like being in Jakarta, minus all the cars, concrete and pollution.


For the weekends, I was in Bangkok. Linda had a housewarming party the first weekend, and I had a great time seeing familiar faces and meeting new friends. The second weekend, K was in town from Banda and it was nice to hang out with Aceh friends "off campus". We had a great time bumming around Bangkok's shopping malls, eating Mexican food, and enjoying all the amenities a big city like Bangkok had to offer!

Click here for my online album from the trip.