I spent time over the winter holidays in Thailand and Laos, where I saw friends, explored new places, hiked in national parks, and visited temples and historical sites. Starting in the south of Thailand, I made a counter-clockwise loop through the less-visited region of Isan, a couple of stops in Laos, then back into the north of Thailand. I even took the “slow boat” on the Mekong River, but in the opposite direction that most people travel (which made it the “even slower boat”). I didn’t take many photos, but are some of the highlights…
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Southeast Asia 2023 – Laos: Around Luang Prabang
My next destination was beautiful Luang Prabang in Laos, where the entire city and surrounding villages have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nestled alongside the meandering Mekong River, it is filled with numerous Buddhist temples and is popular with both foreign and Lao tourists alike. Every morning, hundreds of monks from the various monasteries walk through the streets collecting alms. The surrounding mountains offer wonderful trails for day hikes to surreal waterfalls and multiday trekking opportunities to hill tribe villages, which I’ll describe in my next post. Despite all these attractions and the fact that I was there for the city’s busy annual Fire Boat Festival (Boun Lai Heua Fai), attended by visitors from near and far, Luang Prabang remains quiet and peaceful – much like Lao culture at large.
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