Luang Prabang

Our entry into Laos was quite spectacular. Our prop plane had no trouble getting here, and our visa process was flawless. A US 20 dollar bill will get you just about anything in Southeast Asia. We got our bags no problem, as only one plane lands at a time, and there were only 30 of us on it. We walked out the door to the audience of Asian people sitting in chairs waiting room style. They were all just watching the doors, it was great.
Next comes the transportation. I mentioned the tuk tuk earlier, but Laos puts its own spin on that vehicle, and ours was no exception. We paid our five dollars and walked to a truck, with bench seats in the back. There was a canopy cover and we all piled in for the ride! Great fun. It feels like authentic traveling when riding in the back of a truck is required!

So, the consensus after just two days is that Laos is fantastic!

We've toured the night market and watched some great sunsets. Found the book exchange and movie theater - Walk The Line was playing tonight.
Our favorite find has got to be the 50 cent dinner buffet. For 50 cents you get a bowl and a pair of chopsticks and one chance to go through the buffet. The first night we noticed that everyone sitting down was white, so it must be safe. So we grabbed a bowl and headed down the line. They have good vegetable and noodle dishes, but my favorite is the Asian macaroni and cheese!

Today we took the bus up to the waterfalls, which in the dry and cool season were still quite nice. There were lots of pools to swim in at the bottom, and we could appreciate how if you were here in the hot season they would be great, but too cold today. Gorgeous clear water, and we just kept asking ourselves if we were in Hawaii or Bali.

Our little town of Luang Prabang is very quaint and charming. It feels like a little European town, inhabited by Asians, who built the gold, shiny pagodas. They have great pastries and great textiles and handcrafts. We've all bought duvets, which we intend to send home with some American friends in Thailand - too heavy for backpacks.