Luang Prabang in Laos, is one of the loveliest and lushest places we have visited. It is about 1200 feet above sea level, hilly and about 5 degrees cooler than Siem Reap in Cambodia.
This beautiful city of about 30,000 is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was part of the French colony of Indochine.
The Lao wooden houses and hints of European architecture are reminders of its French past.
The golden roofed temples are decorated with mosaics and murals detailing the life of Buddha where the saffron robes of many of his humble monks are seen everywhere.
Sitting in a restaurant on the historic Mekong river you can see long, flat bottomed river boats lazily cruising along.
The morning we left (about 630am) the monks were involved in their daily alms ceremony – where people line the streets and give them mostly food and flowers.
This saffron parade was like an early morning sunrise – what a beautiful farewell.
Joan xo
