Luang Prabang

The quaint streets of Luang Prabang (the capital of Laos during its monarchy) are full of great restaurants, coffee shops, colonial architecture, Buddhist temples and monasteries.   Its status as a UNESCO "World Heritage City" gives it access to U.N. funds for preservation and guarantees it will retain its quiet charm.

I took these shots (below) from the top of Mount Phousi, the highest point in Luang Prabang, where we witnessed numerous wats and, more interstingly, an abandoned anti-aircraft gun.

It can be a small world while traveling.  In Luang Prabang alone, we ran into (or avoided) no fewer than eight people we had previously encountered, including the British girl from the Chiang Mai bus bar, another Brit (Richard) we went to a disco with in Chiang Mai (both pictured), and some dude who experienced a panic attack on the grossly overcrowded bus from Vientianne to Vangvieng and who caused a scene escaping from the bus.

These PSA posters are plastered all over the place (below).  They're not intended to be funny, but the drawings really crack me up.