A very early start for us as we went to see the the Monks Alms Giving Cememony. This traditional Buddhist ritual happens everyday at sunrise and is where locals and tourists give donations, mainly rice, to the monks.
After this we went to the early morning food market which is also on everyday 6am-12pm. Lots of fresh vegetables, fish and meat!
Our next stop took us to the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre which displays local clothing, tools and history of the different ethic groups living in Laos.
With our hotel we got a free boat tour on the Mekong which came with a free beer and snack, count us in! Had amazing views of the sunset and two surprises…
They got you to write down one wish and one burden onto banana leaves and then tie them up. They then released the wish with fish that they say were bought from blind people… very interesting! Then a man in a spooky costume dropped a rock off the side of the boat with the burdens… very different!
In the centre of Luang Prabang is Phousi Hill. Rising 100m up, it’s extremely hot to climb but the view is well worth it! There is also a couple of temples to check out on the way up and down.
One of the famous but surprising evening activities on the Banana Pancake Trail is in Luang Prabang…. bowling! And at £1.72 a game (7x cheaper than at home) who’s saying no?
Also we tried some archery outside. £1.38 for 14 arrows, just call me Cupid! We both haven’t done it much before and also had a few beers so what could possibly go wrong…
Of course we’ve got another new friend in the hotel…
Today we went to Kuang Si Waterfall which is 29km outside of Luang Prabang. Even the tuk tuk ride there is amazing! The waterfall has many tiers with lots of pools you can swim in and the main waterfall is 60m high! The water is crystal clear and is a turquoise colour due to the limestone particles which reflect the sunlight.
Once you get here you have the option of walking up 542 steps to ‘The View’. It was well worth the hike!
Now, you could walk down the same way or for $25 dollars (£19) you can take 5 ziplines through the jungle and past the waterfalls…
Also at the bottom of the waterfall they have a rescue centre for sun bears that have been saved from bile farms. Look very well looked after and lovely big enclosures.
We leave Luang Prabang tomorrow on the high speed train to Vang Vieng which should only take around 1 hour! Let the travels continue!
LittleSandyBeach 
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