Here we are again, this time we are visiting Luang Prabang, Laos PDR. Here's my wife, Kanittha, very early in the morning on the airport in Luang Prabang! Of course at this point we aren't married yet, but I've gotten used to referring to her as my wife.
Birthday breakfast right beside the fog covered Mekong River at our hotel, the Grand Luang Prabang Hotel. It's a gorgeous hotel, probably one of the very best in that city. We decided that it would be nice to spend my birthday in another place. Ever since we'd taken the Landmark Forum together in April of 2004, we'd made a commitment to each other — to create a powerful relationship of love and adventure.
This wasn't the first time I'd been to Luang Prabang. Back in 1995, I was with a small group of architects to create an urban conservation guideline for this city. We were working under the auspices of UNESCO, helping to get Luang Prabang declared as a World Heritage site.
Here's Kanittha striking a pose on the way down to the boats along the Mekong River. The hotel was still under construction when I was first in Luang Prabang. It was designed and constructed by a company I used to work for, Habita Architects.
And this is a photo she took on the boat down the Mekong River towards Wat Xieng Thong.
Above is shot of the front facade of one of the minor structures beside Wat Xieng Thong. This particular building housed the cremation chariot of the last king of Laos.
Here's Kanittha saying a quick prayer at a shrine inside that structure.
When we got back from the visit to the temples, we walked around the main street. A lot had improved in the decade since I'd last been here. But, architecturally speaking, fortunately not much had changed. While the signs of prosperity were slowly peeking up every where, the essential urban fabric of the city had remained intact.
In the evenings, the main thoroughfare is closed to vehicular traffic and it becomes one enchanting night market. Very safe, very colorful and so many wonderful bargains to be made and haggled over.
The next day. Ready and excited to go, Kanittha strikes another pose at our hotel. Did I mention that my wife enjoys to have her picture taken... and did I confess that I equally enjoy taking pictures of my wife?
Here we are feasting on a delicious meal in a small restaurant right beside the Mekong River.
Back on the main road sitting at a sidewalk café. Kanittha posing with some beautiful silk pieces hanging to dry just behind her. Laotian silk, in my humble opinion, is perhaps the most attractive in terms of design and colors. Don't get me wrong, Thai silk is beautiful, but I personally prefer the intricate delicacy of the designs of Laotian silk.
From our hotel, which is located in the outskirts, we take a shuttle busy to the city post office, but from there we get around Luang Prabang on bicycle.
We stopped to see the main temple right beside the grand palace, then we climbed up to enjoy the view from high atop the temple hill, on Wat Phousi.
This is a shot of the highest point on Wat Phousi.
Once more back in town, taking some refreshments and yet another outdoor streetside café. Kanittha looks a bit harassed here because she's not used to handling foreign currency. She got totally stressed out when I asked her to hang on to 250,000.00 LAK (Laotian Kip), which is roughly about 26.09 USD.
Now back at the hotel, Kanittha fresh from a bath — washed off all the wandering around town. All cleaned up and ready for bed.
Here we are on a plane again, leaving Luang Prabang, Laos PDR for Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Above is a view from the plane looking out on the province of Chiang Mai.
We spent an evening in Chiang Mai then flew back to Bangkok after that. Above is a photo of Kanittha taking a break in a coffee shop in the heart of Chiang Mai. This trip was officially the first foreign vacation we had together. Although we'd been to the Philippines together, that didn't really count as travel, that was more a family visit. Hopefully, we will have many many more travels together.
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