Luang Prabang. The city we had been looking forward to it seems like for years.

The guidebooks and other travelers had been building it up in our imaginations for a long time so when we arrived we wondered if it could possibly be as everyone had made out.

And to our surprise we were not disappointed.

Luang Prabang is a city in Northern Laos, founded on the confluence of two rivers and ringed by mountains. For these strategic reasons it has long been an important city in the power plays of South East Asian politics over the years. Eventually the Lao ethnic group claimed it as theirs and made it the royal capital where kings and queens lived. However because of their tenuous hold over it the Lao eventually moved their capital to present day Vientiane. However by that time many temples and fine buildings had been built and so to this day Luang Prabang is considered the cultural capital of Laos.

It's cultural beauty is only surpassed by it's natural beauty. Surrounded by mountains, and blessed with a small, farming population it is a treat to bike around. No chain stores have reached here yet and the markets are lively and colorful. The food still retains a local flavor in an age when most countries have developed to the point where regional cuisines have been replaced (at least in most places tourists frequent) by toned down national fare.

To drink it all in we spent three full days here. The first day we spent some time walking around the historic town center. We ambled through the temples and enjoyed the chance to talk with some school boy monks. In the afternoon we biked out to a small town outside the city where every house has a weaving loom in the back yard which is still in use and turning out beautifully designed and colored silk and cotton weavings.

The next day we started out to a waterfall 32 km out of town when we had a rather traumatic experience. The road was gravel and bumpy and to get the smoothest ride possible we all biked in a line as close as we could to the shoulder of the road. There were still rocks there though and somehow Sarah hit one and it knocked off her bike sprawled into the road. Deb, in an effort to not hit Sarah, also bailed and so when Jon and Dan looked back there were 2 bikes and 2 girls littered across the road. Luckily no one had anything more than a few scratches and bruises. Continuing to the waterfall would have been difficult though so Sarah and Deb flagged down a truck, loaded their bikes on, and got a ride back to town. Dan and Jon continued on and came to the waterfall, a seven tiered, clear watered beauty. Also, near the waterfall park was an enclosure that houses a young Indo-Chinese tiger that was rescued from poachers and now is on display there.

The last day we visited the former Royal Palace (Laos is now a communist country and the former royal family were imprisoned in some caves north of Luang Prabang, where they died, one by one, of malnutrition and poor treatment). Also we enjoyed walking through some of the beautiful French style colonial mansions that still remain. The French colonized this area and some of their influence still remains. The most visible and tasty reminder are wonderful baguette sandwiches that every one here eats. Also there are plenty of pastry shops with delicious coffee and tasty treats.

So Luang Prabang was a wonderful introduction to Laos and a most pleasant place to spend time sight seeing and getting to know how things work in a fascinating country; Laos.