Laos. Luang Prabang: Spring Festival 2020

Getting to Laos was a long and complicated story involving a few weeks in Vietnam with Mam and Dad, a deadly virus outbreak, 4 cancelled flights through Thailand, some important paperwork that needed collecting and a lot of changed plans. And that's the short version! 

I left Mam and Dad in Hanoi and flew into Luang Prabang to meet up with someone official and get my paperwork sorted. It was a very very short flight on a tiny plane. At this point the virus had its claws into China but wasn't really a problem anywhere else in South East Asia yet, travel was pretty easy and very civilised. 

I landed, got my VISA and jumped on a bus into town. As it turns out, the airport is only a few miles outside of the town, walking distance, but with a big bag and lunch time heat, I decided against it. 

My hostel was a very small and nearly deserted guest house down a small alley that lead towards the river. It was a little tired looking, especially after the luxury of Vietnam, but clean and comfortable. The owner was very chatty and helpful, she didn't like that I was on my own so she would sit and have breakfast with me every morning. 

Paperwork sorted, it was time to explore and chill. The town itself is small, can walk from end to end in about half an hour and across in ten minutes. It's surrounded by water and full of bars, restaurants or cafes with river views. One odd little side effect of the virus was that a place which is usually crammed with Chinese tourists and buses, was completely deserted. The high street had a ghost town like feel at times and the locals were desperate for business. I spent my time wandering from bar to cafe to restaurant to bar with a book and watching the world go by.
Laos had long been on my travel list but I wanted to do the place justice and not just race through like I had been forced to do in other countries. I know lots of people who had been to various parts of the country and had loved it. I instantly loved the laid back, chilled pace of the town, the locals are some of the nicest I have encountered and the food was fantastic. A little hit or miss at times but mostly very very good. (see above for proof)

LP is a small place but is surrounded by some very interesting and beautiful scenic spots. My favourite was the waterfalls about an hour outside of town. I joined a group bus that was heading out which turned out to be plenty of time and fairly convenient, if uncomfortable. The falls are actually a trail of five or six that all lead into each other. With the bright blue water, it was stunning! 
 We had about 2 hours at the falls to explore before heading back into town. I had a lot of fun watching 2 people trying to take the perfect picture of themselves in the water and fall over many times. By the time they had taken the picture, their audience had grown considerably and they received a round of applause.

I ended up spending 4 days in LP before beginning my journey towards the capital and eventually a flight back to Kunming. I wasn't yet aware of how many times my plans would have to change.