Idyllic Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang, Laos

It's been an idyllic 6 days here in Laos, I really love it here. So relaxing and chill. All Pommy and I have done is eat delicious cheap food, explore andbuy up at the night markets, walk around the wide boulevardes and marvel at the way ppl observe the road rules. Oh did I mention the massages? The wonderful cheap amazing massages?? I've had one a day for every day I've been here - I've gone through the list of available massage techniques, checked out all the massage places and finally hit the jackpot yesterday as we wandered off the usual roads and found this secluded tranquil day spa. That's where I'll be heading in a couple of hours, to enjoy a 3.5hour spa package... ahhh.... bliss! Pommy is at an intensive 8 hour Lao cooking class right now - we both have our priorities straight for this trip = )

We did manage to get off our lazy asses and do some sightseeing, a few days ago we took a slow boat up the Mekong river to check out some caves and then a minibus to see a popular waterfall. Pommy and I decided to take a little detour to the top of the mountain, so lots of scrambling up, oftentimes on our hands and knees until we made it to the summit and were somewhat perplexed at what the attraction was. I figured there must be something deeper into the forest area, so off we trotted down a muddy path. Wouldn't you know, that path didn't lead anywhere but into this muddy bog that I got stuck in. It was disgustingly gooey as I stepped almost knee-deep in mud and the more I struggled out, the deeper I went. I had visions of being swallowed by the earth while Pommy was on dry land trying to grab me out. Why do things like that only happen to me?

Yesterday we climbed up to the highest point here in Luang Prabang to see the sunset, that was gorgeous.

We don't have TV here and I've been loathed to get on the internet to find out what's been happening. I just love how we're in this little world without much outside influence, but with all the creature comforts that we're used to. The ppl here are friendly and there isn't the aggression and mercenariness (is that a word?) found in Cambodia. After Angkor Wat, I was glad to get out of there...and we nearly didn't get out as at the check-in counter, the airline told us we weren't booked on the flight. After lots of waiting about and imagining another boring day in Siem Reap, we finally got it all sorted out. When we landed in Vientane, I just breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Hope all is well with you all. This will be my last entry for this trip as it nears it's end, we're taking a couple of long distance buses to get to Bangkok on Wed (we ran out of funds and are doing it the old-fashioned way!)

Angkor Wat?

Wow what an exhilirating, tiring 3 days I've spent with Pommy exploring Angkor Wat and the temple ruins! We've been waking up each morning at about 4.30-5am, taking the tuk-tuk to Angkor Wat and watching the sunrise from various choice spots around the area, then spending the mornings going to different temples, climbing up and down the treacherous scary stairs to reach vantage points, dodging scary loud korean and japanese tourists as they come by the bus-loads ruining the serenity, and then feeling faint from hunger bc we missed breakfast. Invariably we would ask our tuk tuk driver to take us to different famous cafes for lunch and then we would head back to our guesthouse for a noon rest. We would wake up in time for a 3pm start, for more exploring, more breathtaking moments as we sweat it out along the different ruins. I've loved every minute of it. Everyone should make it here to Angkor Wat before nature or the over-zealous tourist crowds take over and ruin the beautiful structures. Just a little side note, Angkor Wat is one of the temple ruins (probably the most famous) but the entire area is also called Angkor Wat.

Our first day I was running on adrenaline and both Pommy and I covered so much ground, we battled it out with the masses to see sunrise at Angkor Wat and sunset at Bakheng, a hill top temple that was reknowned for it's sunsets. The highlight of the day however was in Ta Phrom (where Tomb raider was made) and where nature has slowly grown to engulf parts of the temple. It's beautiful, though sobering to see the destruction of nature.

The 2nd day, I soldiered on, though suffering from food poisoning. I felt weak but managed to climb to the highest turret of Angkor Wat for sunset, it was beautiful there. I found it ironic that I would feel so crap on the final day of 2005, it seemed fitting somehow to cap off a rather crap year. But I digress....

The third day - New Years day was absolutely perfect. The sunrise we watched on Pre Rup, it was gorgeous seeing the sky streak with pink, become lighter and the yellow glow of the sun rising, silhouetted by the temple ruins. We also travelled further afield having exhausted all the recommended temple ruins within the region. Since we started off so early, we had the temples all to ourselves which made the experience all the more magical. We travelled back to our guesthouse, debating on just how to spend our final afternoon in Angkor. Pommy wanted to climb Angkor Wat (the temple) to the top turret as I did the day before, and I wanted to see the Bayon again. I also wanted to sit somewhere in front of Angkor Wat and just absorb it all. So I decided to wait for Pommy, writing out postcards and in my journal. A few of the local boys ended up befriending me as I was waiting for Pommy, they wanted to practise their English and I welcomed the unexpected company. So there I was getting a history lesson about Angkor Wat, and just absorbing it all. It was a great way to end my visit, a bonus that the sunset we watched was also gorgeous.

So enough superlatives! You guys must be so sick of reading about how magical and breathtaking it all is - just get yourselves down to Siem Reap and see it for yourselves!

So our plans next - rest some more tomorrow, I'm thinking a massage is on the cards to appease my aching muscles, and then the next day we fly out to Laos to the capital of Vientane. We spend a couple of days there, sort out our transport (bus) to Luang Prabang which is apparently the place to visit. After which we might fly out to Bangkok and spend a few days in Thailand.

Hoping you guys had a wonderful new years celebration - I was suffering from food poisoning so didn't actually do anything (poor Pommy stayed in the guesthouse with me as we fell asleep to the judging of Miss World). The start of 2006 has been amazing though, certainly sets for a great tone for the rest of the year.

= ) P