Luang Prabang

I absolutely love Luang Prabang, one of my favourite places on my trip so far. I extended my stay and savoured every moment. It is somewhere I could see myself hunkering down for a while and writing a book.

The town is a melting pot of predominantly Lao, Hmong and French cultures; Laos was part of French Indochina until the middle of the 20th century and there is still European style architecture, French patisserie bakeries and cuisine dotted throughout.  

Hmong culture is represented in the markets and shops; their traditional hemp fabrics have brightly coloured psychedelic patterns that remind me of Shipibo art from Peru.  The woods and hills are very important to Lao folk traditions and the Hmong people bring that connection to the land to the town.

In harmony with these flavours there is an incredibly rich Buddhist culture here. Everywhere you go there are magnificent temples, including on  Mount Phousi, a dramatic and striking hill in the center of town.

About 30km from Luang Prabang is a gorgeous waterfall at Kuang Si. We spent a dreamy afternoon here cooling off in a swimming hole and admiring the incredible natural beauty.