June 11th, 2010 
cbrodzky In order to get to Luang Prabang from Vientiane, my friend and I had to take a 10-bus ride through the mountains, most of which consisted of bumpy roads and nail-biting bends. I tend to get bad cases of motion sickness easily and rides like this are not good for those with weak stomachs. Fortunately for everyone on board, I was able to hold everything down during the long ride.
Once in Luang Prabang, we had to find a cheap guesthouse. The most expensive hotel to stay at was around $30 USD a night, and if I was still on a corporate American salary, I would have lived in luxury; however, on a volunteer teaching salary, I had to settle on a $5/night room, which had a dirty bathroom, no toilet paper, cold water, and mosquitoes. Even though it was hot outside, I slept with long pants and a hoodie to protect myself from getting bit during the night.
When I wasn’t in the room, I ventured around the town. My favorite part overall was the quaint, small town feel, monks walking around everywhere, and the daily night market. Trying to haggle a good deal on merchandise reminded me of hitting up a flea market in Brooklyn with my grandma (she would have been so proud). Everything was pretty cheap to begin with and I remembered thinking, I can’t believe I’m haggling to save the equivalent of one US dollar, but it’s the way they like to do business.
Overall, I really enjoyed my trip to Luang Prabang. I thought it was more enjoyable than Vientienne and far better than the commute into Laos. Here are some photos from our visit there:
If you would like to view more photos from my time in Luang Prabang, visit my Flickr photo stream by clicking here.
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