There are cities or places which, simply because of the sound of their name, evoke a special image or feeling, even if you have never been there before. Luang Prabang is one of them for us.
Luang Prabang is surrounded by green mountains. Right there, where the river Nam Khan flows into the Mekong, is the small old town on a peninsula. With a little more than 30.000 inhabitants it is really small, but nevertheless it is Laos' fourth largest city. Here another, much slower pace seems to be beating. It's a leisurely pace, sometimes the streets seem almost extinct to us. With many walks, several bicycle tours and a motorbike tour we explore Luang Prabang and its surroundings. It has a long history as the seat of the kings of Lane Xangs, the first Laotian empire (14th century) or as a French colonial city. Since the old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was extensively restored both the colonial houses and the many temples. This is well done and beautiful to look at, but the old town almost seemed like a museum village to us. As nearly every house is a boutique-hotel, an upscale guesthouse or a restaurant, there is hardly any everyday life taking place here. The tourists clearly dominate the picture, also at the evening sunset on the Phu Si, Luang Prabang's local mountain in the middle of the city. Sometimes they are just too much for us, but after all we belong to them as well.
The peninsula can be reached over some interesting bridges: over a pedestrian bridge made of bamboo and over the former motorway bridge, which nowadays is only used by pedestrians, bicycles and mopeds. And even if the side way seems adventurous for the pedestrians with its partly loose wooden planks, it is without question the safe alternative to the middle lanes.
In the surroundings of Luang Prabang there are several waterfalls to discover, some of which have little water at this time. But the trip to the Kuang Si waterfall with its many cascades and a nice walk through the forest was really worth it.
Not only the midday heat leads to the fact that we can find ourselves well in the leisurely, quiet life of Luang Prabang, before we continue after five days to the next station.