I'd heard a lot more about the former capital, Luang Prabang, than anywhere else in Laobefore coming here. In fact this is my favourite town so far and I could easily have spent a couple more days here taking it all in and perusing the night market for bargains.

The town has restrictions to trucks and larger vehicles which ensures its UNESCO World Heritage status is maintained. In addition there is a 12.00pm curfew in operation throughout so everything shuts by 11.30pm and any partying backpackers would be kept at bay.

Everything is easy to cover on foot, however tuk tuks are a good way to get from a to b if the heat is getting too much. Try and agree the price up front and use landmarks to determine where you are headed as the street names are confusing, particularly as they often have more than one name depending in who you speak to.

I didn't try the food at the street market on the first night there as a few of us were feeling overwhelmed by local food, so we found a restaurant whilst a few of the group braved the dodgy stomachs! The food did look amazing however and it was so cheap...

I of course braved the early start at 5.30am to hang out in the streets and participate in the 'takbat' alms giving to the monks. Each morning the monks leave the temples and head into the streets to collect their breakfast (!), which is handed out by the locals (or tourists, in our case). I read afterwards (here) that tourists have only recently been allowed to participate, and perhaps now feel a little like I have taken the experience levels too far, particularly as I had my camera in one hand and was clicking away the whole time. I blame our tour leader (just for a change - sorry!), and I should have read up about it beforehand :(.

Kneeling at the side of the road with our baskets of sticky rice, which is the most common donation as it can be made into balls easily, although other food is also given; it was an experience like no other. My only concern at the time (and before reading the article linked above) was merely whether my hands were clean enough to be handling food like this and if I would end the morning with burnt fingers (it was steaming hot!). The monks also chant a prayer after wards, I assume as a thank you or blessing to the participants. 

It's well worth getting up at the crack of dawn to see and participation is definitely recommended, although try and remain less of a tourist and merge in with the locals and perhaps take the photos from the footpath or area away from the those 'giving'.

After breakfast our local guide took us on an orientation walk taking in the fresh produce market, silversmith and Wat Mahathat (temple).

Its possible to become a Buddhist for 1 day, 1 week, 1 month...1 year, anything. There is no time requirement or limit, but its a life choice where during the time as a monk the 5 precepts must be followed.

It seems that the Lao culture is changing and less boys/men are pledging their lives to this religion and instead choose to participate more from a distance. For example, our guide had been a monk for 17 years before choosing to get a job and have a family, which he believes is the best way to ensure a happy life and is a more common choice these days.

A large number of the group, including myself, chose to visit the Tat Kuang Si waterfalls and bear sanctuary in the afternoon, so we were able to charter a couple of tuk tuks for 250,000 Kip between 6. They limit the number of passengers to 6 despite being able to carry more, and there are checkpoints outside of town that drivers have to stop at to ensure they are complying as well as appropriately dressed.

The waterfalls are located 32km from town, and a prime tourist destination so every driver will know how to get there. The area is lush with vegetation and the numerous blue/green pools where you can take a swim are beautiful to wander around and a must for photographers. The entrance fee for tourists of 20,000 Kip, also allows access to the bear sanctuary which is well maintained and a great place to see the bears and purchase bear themed souvenirs. 

This was so much nicer than the bear sanctuary I visited in Bulgaria (see dancing bears post), where the bears were in a mental state following the excessive performances they had been subjected to. Here in Luang Prabang they still looked a little sad but only one appeared to have any sign of being badly treated in the past.

After a busy day, a few of us were accosted into joining one of the group members who insisted we met his new 'lady boy' friend, from a drinking session he'd had the previous night by himself. Of course out of curiosity we went along, but alas there was no lady boy, so we had a few drinks and participated in a thunder storm and power cut for a bit. The towns curfew of course meant everything shut down at 11.30 so we stopped for food and headed back to the hotel.

I'm not sure what happened, but the next thing we knew was that our American friend had brought a prostitute with him in the tuk tuk! The rest of us were shaking our heads and asking him what he was doing, I mean - last night supposedly he was our drinking with a lady boy and tonight he brings back a prostitute!?

Clearly this was all alcohol induced, but quite surprisingly we hadn't actually had that much to drink so couldn't understand why he was in such a state. Fortunately we were all sober enough to convince him to take the prostitute back to her home and leave her there (!), although I think by the time we reached the hotel he had already come to the same conclusion and was drunkenly muttering about being sorry and having a 2 year old, but that this girl was very beautiful!

The whole experience was certainly entertaining for the rest of us but there was no way we would let him get into any trouble. In fact the girls spent the whole night taking turns to check on him to make sure he didn't OD on his meds or choke to death!

Unfortunately a good deed doesn't always get a good response, and instead the following day the rest of us had become responsible for 'it all' and a very different version of the story was doing the rounds.I think that is the last time we will be tagging along to meet a lady boy, prostitute or any other suggestion from that American, even if he did virtually offer to put in a good word for me for a job!