Across the Bamboo Bridge

Luang Prabang is a quaint (but very touristy) town on a narrow peninsula where the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers meet. It is UNESCO preserved, so the old charm of the french colonial era remains strong. There are dozens of active Buddhist monasteries, so there are monks in saffron robes quietly walking everywhere. There are thousands of guest houses, so there are buckets of tourists everywhere too.

We are staying in a guest house overlooking the Nam Khan river. Our side of the river is lined with small outdoor cafes and across the bank are small villages with farm gardens touching the water. We walked across the peninsula in the afternoon and found that the Mekong banks look exactly the same.

During the dry months (which includes March) the villagers build a bamboo bridge across the Nam Khan for easier access to town. We hiked down the hillside with a spring in our step (no rain today!) and crossed the rickety bridge. I watched some men on a longboat working to stabilize the supports and walked just a little faster. Once on the other side, we hiked about a mile to the Ban Xang Khong craft village where we admired handmade paper products (books, cards, lanterns, etc), silks, baskets and wood carvings. Addi found a little girl and played tag for a while- there is a universal game! We climbed an endless staircase to Wat Xienglek; an active monastery and watched a few monks kick around a soccer ball.

We crossed back over the bridge in the early afternoon and took of 4 of the 5 layers we had been wearing all week. The sun was breaking through and it was warm! We wandered around town- in and out of shops- until we were done window shopping and called it a day.

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