I reached Luang Prabang, one of the most “sophisticated cities” in Southestern Asia, after a flight of just 90mn from Bangkok, feeling relaxed and thankful for being away from Bangkok and its maddening crowds. I found LP being a city at my scale. All sights are at walking distance, limited to a small promontory in the Mekong River where as a tourist you are most probably going to spend all of your days. The city is protected from Unesco and offers a great number of French colonial architecture buildings, in a very good state, many of them transformed into boutique hotels or restaurants with a (usually) French owner and top staff. My hotel was Maydoo, it was more than perfect to me. It also featured free bikes in a very good state and I indulged in my free hours, going round and round in the beautiful, green streets. What’s extraordinary is, everything is available in LP when you’re finished with your Wat (temple) extravaganza: a nice espresso, a cosy place for a drink, exquisite eating and discreet night life, a Handicraft night market with lots to buy and eat. I was going to miss that for most of the rest of my journey; places like Le Banneton and its better-than-French croissants, or JoMa bakery café, or Tangor where I felt like staying for the night, sipping juices and licking my spoon for the best Panacotta lime and basil in the world…
But there’s more to do than eating and drinking and cycling in LP. You can navigate the Mekong, to the Pak Ou caves for example, have an elephant ride, or set out for a literary experience with Big Brother Mouse and help local children in remote places get a book. Swim in the Kuang Si falls with a million Chinese. And if this is not enough, remember you’re in the place where according to some the inspiration for Colonel Kurtz in the film Apocalypse Now really lived and fought: CIA colonel Anthony Poe, who used the Hmong to fight the communists and who had the annoying habit of stapling his enemies’ ears before sending them to the USA as progress reports!
I have to admit Luang Prabang is the place I miss most from this trip. Just meandering in the streets, on foot or on my bike, or getting lost in the night with my lost orientation as the only friend but no fear (the place is totally safe), the discreet and polite people. In fact, I could go back right now…

The pictures

The films