May 25: Luang Prabang

Our first impression of Luang Prabang, when we arrived last night, was that there are a huge number of foreigners compared to Vientiane. It's certainly more of a tourist spot, and many folks who visit Laos fly directly to Luang Prabang, skipping Vientiane altogether. As much as we enjoyed Vientiane, I think that's a mistake.

We spent most of today avoiding rain and walking around town, familiarizing ourselves with the city. It's certainly more compact than Vientiane, which makes it an attractive place to walk. The main part of the city is set up between two different rivers and is really quite beautiful. There are still lots of old French colonial buildings, and plenty of temples to see. The highlight of the day was climbing the 328 steps to the top of Mount Phousi to see Wat Chom Si, the temple at the top of the mountain. The view of Luang Prabang is fantastic from up there, even if it did take me *huff* *gasp* a bit *puff* longer to climb than it took Shelly. Still, if Brad were along for the trip, he would have raced her to the top, I'm sure.

In addition to a few inquiries about tomorrow's activities, the afternoon was spent drying out after being caught in torrential rain coming down the 328 steps.