Luang Prabang Part 2 Baan Pila

Having extended our stay in Luang Prabang we decided to check into a different hotel for the last few days - to mix things up a little and experience another side of town. I chose Baan Pila, a new boutique style hotel across the other side of town. Max was horrified to discover there was no TV in the room but I figured we'd easily manage without one for a few days! Baan Pila boutique hotel  Max soon made himself at home 😂 Tom, the manager at Ban Lakkham, had recommended a trip out to one of the small communities (the Hmong) on the outskirts of Luang Prabang for their New Year festival. He arranged a taxi for us to move our luggage  and then take us to the festival. It was about a 30 minute drive and took us into the hills with some fabulous views en route - that was definitely an added bonus 👍 At the festival many of the locals were all dressed up in traditional Hmong costumes and looked very grand. There were food stalls and game stalls (abit like our fairgrounds) everywhere. There was one very popular game in particular in which people were standing in lines opposite each other and simply throwing a small ball back and forth to each other. We were told that traditionally it's a symbol of courtship but it seemed to us that they were all just having fun laughing and talking to each other. What really struck us was how happy, friendly and relaxed everyone seemed. Our taxi driver walked round the festival with us explaining some of the meaning. At one point he started chatting to a group of ladies (I think he was quite smitten with one of them in particular) and asked to have his photo taken with them and they happily obliged. A young lad came up to us and started chatting. He was really friendly and his English was very good too. He told us he was studying to be a doctor although he didn't look old enough to me and suddenly I really felt my age 🤣. He was so lovely and asked if he could take a selfie with us which we happily did. It dawned on me afterwards that I should have done the same 🥲 Hmong ladies in traditional costume  Our taxi driver got in on the action  Lots of official photographs being taken  One evening we decided to take in a show that was also recommended to us - at a small performing arts theatre close by. It was called the Garavek storytelling project, a two man show presenting a selection of traditional Laos folktales, myths and legends. One guy told the stories in a very animated fashion while the other played the khene - a handmade bamboo mouth organ - adding to the atmosphere. It was a really enjoyable experience and only cost about £5. Yet another bargain.  Garavek Storytelling  One final thing remaining on our list while in Luang Prabang was a trip to one of the waterfalls. We had a few to choose from and toyed with the idea of using the hotel bikes to cycle there. The free bikes at Baan Pila, despite looking quite shiny and new, were actually slightly dodgy and we were sceptical as to whether they'd actually get us there and back. We'd taken them out around town and on a repeat ride out to the paper village and Max had to keep fixing the chain on his bike as it kept coming off!! So instead we settled on a minivan trip to the largest waterfall - about a 30 min drive out of town. We were the last on the bus and Max ended up having to clamber all the way to the back to sit next to a really friendly chap from Bali. Unfortunately it was a very twisty turny trip and add to that all the swerving the driver kept doing to avoid all the many potholes in the road it wasn't long before Max was feeling quite travel sick. It didn't help that his friendly companion kept talking about food and was showing him pictures of all the amazing food he'd eaten in Vietnam 🤢.  We got off the bus and took a pitstop to help Max recover before heading up to the waterfall. Now, we'd been given strict instructions by two Columbian ladies who we'd been chatting to over breakfast that we absolutely MUST go in the water! They were in their seventies - very colourful and lively characters who seemed to be embracing everything life has to offer and had been to the waterfall the day before - so there was no way we would be able to face them at breakfast the next morning without having taken a dip 🤣🤣. Looking around at the waterfall I was really impressed and inspired by the number of elderly people who were all going in 👍👍. As it turned out it was really beautiful - albeit slightly tricky to get in (due to the rocks) and I made a rather ungainly entry which Max delighted in capturing on camera! The walk up to the waterfall took us past a Bear Sanctuary (a home for rescued bears) and as we went past a few of them were nonchalantly lazing around in plain sight. They looked very content indeed and I think we were actually quite lucky to see them as by the time we made our way back they were nowhere to be seen. We'd been told there was also a butterfly park further down in the village that was worth a look so we decided to wander down and explore this. The girl on the gate explained all that the site included and it sounded amazing, the only problem being we'd need at least an hour, if not more, to do justice to it and our minivan was leaving in about half an hour. So unfortunately we had to give it a miss, leaving something on the list for next time instead 😉 Luang Si Waterfall  Max is looking forward to his dip 😀 Bears taking an afternoon nap  "What are you looking at?" This one is post dip 😉 Next morning at breakfast the first thing the Columbian ladies asked was whether we'd gone in the water! I knew they would 😉. We chatted to them for quite a while, they were such good fun and very interesting too. We picked up a few tips on Hanoi from them and from another lady also staying at Baan Pila who we'd met and chatted to while visiting a lovely tea shop in the paper village. She was travelling alone and again very interesting - half Irish and half Portuguese she'd grown up in Switzerland and now lived in France. One of the things we talked about was the "can do" attitude we'd all observed from the people in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. For us it started with the tandem arriving that first day in Cambodia on the roof of a tuk tuk! We've seen lots more examples since then of how accommodating and unfazed people seem to be when you ask them something slightly left field. It's been very noticeable and like a breath of fresh air.  We enjoyed a few more glorious sunsets on our last evenings in Luang Prabang too - checking out a couple of new locations to find the best view. It still surprises me how, just when you think the colours have peaked, they keep getting better and better 🤩 Another beautiful sunset - a new viewpoint 👍 Going shopping in Luang Prabang  Cycling round Luang Prabang  Sunset on our last evening in Luang Prabang 🤩 We've both thoroughly enjoyed our extended stay in Luang Prabang. We feel we've experienced many of the things the area has to offer while also finding plenty of time to relax and recharge our batteries.  In Luang Prabang they're very proud of their heritage and their Unesco status and rightly so. It's a beautiful town and I'd highly recommend a visit. The Laotians are definitely more reserved and reticent than either the Cambodians or Thai people but once you get beyond that they are equally charming in their own way. I'm sure we'll notice a change again when we cross into Vietnam which is where we're heading next. We're heading back to Vientiane to pick up the bike and from there we catch a flight to Hanoi. I'll let you know how we get on in the next update 😃