Having booked another hostel last night, we moved our bags over to the new place and checked in. By the time we were sorted it was already midday and very hot outside. We chose to spend the afternoon walking around Luang Prabang and check out what this UNESCO town had to offer. It's quite small but the old town is nice. It would seem there is loads happening early in the morning and early evening but the rest of the time it's very quiet. We walked all the way to the end of the little town and got a little Eco car back along the river. I think they're electric and only 3000 kip per journey so pretty cheap. They circuit the town and university. Along the river and nearer the centre we stopped for lunch, choosing a place that was super cheap but could do with a bit of a clean. I had a plate of noodles with bits of carrot and onion with some kind of sauce to cover it and add a saltiness. It was good and filled me nicely.
After food we walked round the corner to the palace museum. I thought I'd be fine without my shoulders covered as this was a museum but no. I had to pay 5000 kip for a cover. You'd think I would have learnt by now that I should always have my shoulders covered and be wearing something to the knee but most of my clothes were being washed. In hindsight I should always bring a scarf with me. However, inside the palace it was quite small but the walls were covered in fantastic designs, mainly using red and gold. Unfortunately, pictures weren't allowed but sometimes it makes you appreciate something more when you have to just look at it. The rest of the things in the palace were a little modern as the family had lived there in the 60s. At the back of the museum was a garage with some old 60s cars that mostly had been gifts from the American government. This made me wonder if the Americans were trying to buy the Laotian royalty during the Vietnam war.
As it was hot (apparently about the same as London at the moment) we stopped for a fruit shake at a stall. Straightaway I went for passion fruit and happily drank it rather quickly. We strolled a bit more round the town, looking in shops and trying to find decent postcards. As it was nearing 5 we went to collect our washing (it smelt so good) and dropped it off at the hostel before going up to the Stupa which sits on a hill in the middle of the town. It's a bit of a climb up steps but we went up a quieter side with a few gold Buddhas to check out on the way so it was quite enjoyable. The Stupa at the top isn't much to look at but the place is full for the sunset. We found a seat and sat and watched it. It was rather lovely, the sun setting into the mountains, but just before it did, some cloud came over and ruined any chance of a nice orange glow. We gave up and headed back down to the market for food. The was a stall selling different noodles and spring rolls and skewers and all sorts! Matt chose some noodles and I chose some deep fried vegetable spring rolls. We would have shared but Matt got spice on his food so I didn't eat much of it. The spring rolls weren't horrible but they had little flavour except for the peanuts that were sprinkled on top. Afterwards we both got a crepe each though; I went for Nutella, banana and strawberry which was pretty tasty but it got far too sickly after a while.
As we were in the market we decided to have a proper look round. I also wanted to get a present for a certain soon to be 19 year old which I succeeded in doing. It's a lovely biggish market with homemade things but it's all quite samey. I think I prefer variety.
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