Luang Prabang -- its changing, but its still nice

After Chiang Mai we flew over to Luang Prabang in the north of Laos. The city is really really chilled out and has a lot of charm. I was last here about 30 months ago and it has changed quite a bit. The one thing is the prices of things -- I would say things have gone up by about 50% (its still dirt cheap) and transport around the country is up about 200%. When I was last here the place was developing and now I have seen the result of this development.

There are ALOT more swanky cafes and bars and there are alot more higher end guest houses and proper hotels. Its good that it has not developed into a hole like the Ko San area and alot of care has been taken to keep the look of the city. Part of this maybe dictated by the fact that the entire city is a UN World Heritage Site.

The previous visit i was unable to see the Tad Sae waterfalls because of the season but we were able to to go this time. They are very beautiful waterfalls that are not particularly high but are larger in breadth and have multiple levels to them. only once we climbed up the water did we discover that they pipe in water to the one side of the falls so its complete from end to end. They really are stunning and it was quite serene to see this in that surrounding.

The following day we took in a few temples (there are over 40 in this small city) and relaxed and took it easy. we visited a book exchange where an aussie woman uses the $1 you pay for a book exchange for the orphanage. We donated some more money and the amount would give the 400 kids milk for an entire week. They are in desperate need of funds and i strongly encourage any of you that read this to contribute as the funds go straight to the kids, no middle man, no large ngo's, straight to the kids. $20 can go a really long way!!! The website is below:

http://www.lao-kids.org/

On our last day Amy got hit with the flu really bad so i took the opportunity to climb to the top of Phousi Mountain (its 400 steps) it has amazing views of the two rivers and the city as a whole. It really was really a site to see.