Luang Prabang - Alex's Words

Alex told me yesterday that I didn't do an adaquate job describing Luang Prabang, so I've given her special permission to work her magic explaining the city. Here she is:

"Ryan's short description of the buildings having a 'French influence' to them just didn't the city justice. I was really surprised coming to Luang Prabang. I really had no expectations about what it would be and knew pretty much nothing about it, so when we came here and found this beautiful quiet little city I decided to read into it's history a bit bWhen the French colonized the city they built beautiful colonial villas and buildings. Coupled with the numerous temples (Luang Prabang was where the Lao royal family resided and had their palaces), give the city a very distinct French-Indochinese feel. It's situated in a green valley surrounded by mountains, through which both the Mekong River and the Nam Khan River run, and then meet in the city. Wandering around the streets and in and out of cafes and artisan paper and textile stores, it's a place that feels truly exotic. I think this is in part due to how little the city has changed since colonial times. Somewhere along the way, Luang Prabang became almost completely forgotten about, and there was little interest in the city until the 1990s, when both tourism and a UNESCO world heritage listing in 1995 rout it back on the map, essentially. Until 15 years ago there wasn't even electricity or running water! It's seriously a remarkable place. It's hard to not feel far away in an exotic land when you're walking along the Mekong lined with tall palm trees and colorful colonial homes. And it's really cool that places like this still exist, and in the case of Luang Prabang at least, are protected heritage sights."

Well said Alex.