Our second boat journey was even more eventful than the first. Two hours in the boat broke down. 

Another two/three hours later, David and I were still sitting on the little beach we'd been stranded on, rather indifferent to the whole thing -- well, we'd just assumed it would eventually get fixed ...that's just how things work in out-of-the-way countries like this --  while our fellow travelers (quite clearly, Tourists) had become rather more anxious and gone off exploring, searching out alternative transport options in a nearby village. They were successful too. We left our poor driver on the beach -- with only the group of baby monks going swimming to keep him company -- while we all took a local tuk-tuk taxi the rest of the way; he even paid half. 
In retrospect their proactively was rather well-timed, as even if the boat had been fixed, we'd never have reached Luang Prabang before dark. And you really do t want to be going downriver without light!
 
Still, some would say our philosophy was correct... We managed to get to Luang Prabang safe and sound, did we not?
 
Luang Prabang itself
 
I loved this town (or city, as they call it). It is very picturesque, with beautiful houses and tree-lined streets; coffee shops are abundant; there are plenty of riverside restaurants; and it offers one of the best night markets we've been to. Altogether it's very boutique-sheek. 
 
Looked on it from a higher vantage point, and it transforms again. The best way I can describe it is as having a rather surreal, movie-esk quality to it. Like parting the trees to reveal the Lost World: mountains, an untamed river wending its way through lush foliage, all bathed in a ethereal light (our photos just couldn't quite capture it).
 
Apparently it's just made it to the 'places-to-visit 2014' lists, but be warned, I give it a year or two to get too big for its own boots. At the moment it is just touristy enough.