Having woken up in a nice guesthouse for my upcoming birthday, we had a lazy morning, enjoying some Lao coffee and pancakes by the river. The city of Luang Prabang is focused around the ‘old town’ a small peninsula created by the convergence of a Mekong tributary (Nam Khan) with the main river. It serves as the home of Buddhism in Laos and was the capital until the rise of communism in the 1970. The combination of beautiful monasteries and old French colonial architecture has made the centre of town a UNESCO heritage site.

Having a walk around town, we headed towards Wat Xieng Thong, once the royal monastery built in 1560, where many Lao Kings have been crowned. It had an understated elegance in the beautiful glass mosaic and gold leaf stencilling on the doors. The royal chariot was pretty impressive, although set in a rather intimidating temple with thousands of small Buddha figurines staring down. Following lunch and a few ice coffees, we headed to the royal palace, a beautiful building set in immaculate grounds. The architecture is incredibly beautiful. The French colonial building was built in 1907, then was made into the national museum in 1975. On display were a number of gifts given by various countries – sadly nothing from New Zealand, but there was a small piece of the moon from Richard Nixon!

Luang Prabang had a interesting mix of cultures; colonial French influence with many cafes serving French/Lao coffee with a pan chocolat, contrasting against the 500 monks which are often seen walking between the many Wat complexes.
To top off the hot afternoon we climbed over 300 steps to Wat Chom Si , perched on a hill which dominates the old town. The views of the Mekong snaking past town were pretty cool, however the 30 degree heat was starting to takes it toll – ice coffee and relaxation time !