Day 149 – Luang Prabang
Museums and Mountains
We checked out of Thatsaphone Guesthouse today and walked to the nearby Downtown Backpackers Hostel 2, which was a little out of the tourist strip. We had to walk through a street market, which takes up the entire street at night time. During the market is contained to the footpath.
Welcome desert!
Today we got ourselves a SIM card from a stall at Dara Market. We got a Unitel SIM with 5GB and 15,000 LAK (Laotian Kip) worth of calls at 400 KIP per minute for 150,000 LAK / $24.40 AUD. Different stalls at the market had different offers so it is worth asking a few.
We then walked to the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre which cost 25,000 LAK / $4.07 AUD per person. The centre is small, but is a good introduction into the culture of Laos and especially the traditional types of musical instruments.
The final activity for the day was a small hike up Phulsi Mountain. The mountain has a temple on top. There is a story, that the mountain was actually bought from Sri Lanka, according to a legend. The entrance costs 20,000 LAK / $3.25 AUD per person. It took around 20 minutes to get to the top. At the top, we were rewarded with views, all around Luang Prabang. It would be nice during sunset, but according to someone we met at the hostel, its very busy.
A short way up Phulsi Mountain, there is a temple, Wat Pa Houak with beautiful fading murals on the interior walls. From the temple you can see the grounds of the Royal Palace, which is now a museum.
Murals of Wat Pa Houak Views of Haw Pha Bang Temple inside the Royal Palace
