Lao Spirit Resort, Luang Prabang, Laos

What follows is why you haven’t heard from me in a couple of days.

After my 2 day trip on the Mekong I arrived at Luang Prabang at around 7pm. There is no other option than to take the Tuk Tuk to the center of town. After showing the driver where I wanted to go he said, no problem, I will take you there after dropping off everyone else. The center of of town was packed with tourists! They were everywhere. Yes I know, technically I am  a tourist also. But! Not your everyday run-of-the-mill tourist.  So on the way to my hotel we stop on the side of the road and the driver says “I’ll be back in 15 minutes”! 15 minutes later he’s back. And off we go. Lao Spirit is 15 km outside of town. Of course the driver doesn’t really know where he is going. He gets it close though. After stopping at the Elephant Resort (not for Elephants, people only) and then the Zen Buddhist resort, he finally gets the right information. And we arrive. It’s now 8:30 pm and I am tired.

My “hotel” is not a hotel in the true sense of the word. There are 7 bungalows situated on the Nam Khan river. 7 only! All of the people that work here (except one, Leana) are from the next door village. Leana is a work exchange student from Germany. 4 of the buildings here are restored 100 year old Laotian-French style buildings. The bungalows were built new in 2005 and from natural local materials by local craftsmen. There is no A/C and no TV. Thank goodness. There is wi-fi (so I can share). The rooms have a ceiling fan and in the evening the Geckos come out to take care of the bugs. And every bungalow has an open air, outdoor, under the sun, moon and stars hot shower!

30 minutes walking distance is an Elephant Resort (the Elephants cross the river every morning and afternoon and spend the night in the jungle with their keepers). Which I will visit tomorrow.

The view from my veranda.

The back side of my bungalow with the rock area being my shower.

Out door shower!

View from the restaurant

Typical Lao style house that is across the river from the resort.

Cleaning lettuce that is grown on the small farm across the river.

All of the walkways, steps have low level lighting.

There are many birds here but they don’t hold still long enough to take photos of.

No Corona, no Coors light and no Bud. None needed this beats them all.

I don’t usually eat ice cream while traveling. But I made an exception. This is homemade banana ice-cream. Made from local bananas. Yesterday I had coconut ice cream made from local coconuts. Tonight I will have mango from local mangos.

My view this morning. Misty river view.

Now you know why I haven’t posted in a while. I may never leave this place!