Sabaidee

Its been 3 months or so since i left the Lao PDR. Already, i'm starting to miss the cheery sabaidees exchanged between strangers that so make your day when you drag yourself out of bed early in the morning to either catch the bus - travel in Laos involves waking up early, or to watch the very spiritual alms giving in cities like Luang Prabang.

Seeing as i don't have much time to completely jot down my Lao adventure here, ill just do a brief overview till i finish my exams end April. After Phonsavanh, i went up north to the regal, wat-lined city of Luang Prabang, where i spent almost a week, strolling its quiet, somnambulant streets and visiting many temples like the Wat Xieng Thong, the most grand of Luang Prabang's many wats. Personally, i really loved the temples across the Mekong - quiet, peaceful, with not a tourist in sight. The only people there were the local villager kids that follow you up on the crumbling stairways that wind up, and offer you flower garlands and flowers picked from the forest as offerings. A boat over and back is around 4 USD. Another place where i've spent a few nights walking through is the night market - really unlike anything else i've seen in my life. Very, very atmospheric, definitely up in my list of best markets ever - traders displaying their wares on mats on the floor, a myriad of coourful scarves, silks, carpets and more, and the neat tungsten lamps in rows providing a warm, orange, glow. Very otherworldly. And to add to that, shopping here directly channels money to local communties, so it's for a good cause too.

Luang Prabang, Luang Prabang. The name itself was magic. The most romantic city in the world, as a recent survey shows. Well it was not hard to see why. I had originally planned to spend 3 to 4 days there, but somehow, time seemed to slow to a stop in this past royal capital - i ended up spending nearly a week exploring Luang Prabang and its richness and beauty.

After Luang Prabang i took a bus north to Luang Nam Tha. A long ride through the mountains if northern Laos. It was here that i spent the most beautiful night of my life, in a Lenten village, population 82, on the edge of the Nam Ha NPA (National Protected Area), sitting with a few friends around a campfire, sipping hot cups of freshly brewed green tea in the chilly night air, gazing up at the nigth sky, the entire universe up there, the indescribable billions and billions of stars and galaxies. Lost for words -all we managed to come up with was "magnifique", repeatedly muttered in utter awe of it all. It was so quiet, and pitch dark, and beside us the Nam Ha trickled softly, tinkling as it flowed past eddies and the pebbles that line the river bed. On its banks, the chorus of frogs serenaded us.

We were graced by a meteor shower - lost for words as "the stars seemed to be moving", before any of us could comprehend that it was a meteor shower. Utterly, awe-inspiringly beautiful. No words could describe it - the most beautiful night of my life.

Above: The Nam Ha, flowing right beside our bamboo/rattan hut. In the morning we would rise and walk out of the hut to be greeted by it. It is, and i think will be a spot, a place that i will never forget. One of those secret places that hold such beautiful memories that will stay with you for a lifetime.



Left: Morning, warming ourselves by the ambers from our campfire the past night.