After our late arrival into Luang Prabang on Friday night, we're now here to stay for a few days. Luang Prabang is sometimes called 'The Jewel of South East Asia' and it seems like a very pretty town.
(A view of the Mekong from the Peninsula)
Back at the hotel, we found some new accommodation online and then packed our bags and made our way to 'Oui's Guesthouse' which overlooks the Nam Khan river in the old quarter. Along the street, restaurants line the river with pretty lanterns hanging from the trees and there is no shortage of accommodation, from luxury end hotels to more modest places.
(The buildings have a French style about them)
(Veggie patches along the Nam Khan river)
Laos was once a French colony and it was only as recent as the 1950s that the country gained it's independence. However, the French influence lives on in the architecture, food, street names and even the local pastimes. Road side vendors sell baguettes stuffed with cold meats and veggies and we saw tuk tuk drivers escaping the heat playing a game of petanque in the shade.
(Local men playing Petanque, a French ball game)
After exploring the peninsula, we had a Laotian barbecue for dinner. While we were standing outside the restaurant trying to determine how the whole thing worked, a Canadian couple encouraged us to go in, saying it looked a lot less suspect than some other places they'd tried! Sometimes "less suspect" is as good a recommendation as any and so we decided to give it a go. Essentially, each table has a well in the middle that they fill with hot coals and then place a metal container on top. There is a buffet of raw and cooked food to choose your ingredients from. You then use the metal container to cook your food and the well around the middle to make a broth. It was buzzing with people and we had a good meal. We're looking forward to seeing more of the city in the coming days.
(Paul cooking up a Laotian feast)
(The barbecue was popular with locals and tourists)
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