The former capital of Lao Kingdom is today a little town on the Mekong river. Sleepy and charming… Not to be missed if you are coming to Indochina. Unfortunately more and more tourist are coming here – it is changing the atmosphere… Hurry up!
I was walking whole morning around the center – there is picturesque Royal Palace with high ornate religious pavilion and more then a dozen Buddhist temples – most of them are inhabited by friendly monks wearing orange clothes. Palm trees, flowers around, sun… Tourist paradise – they have more then twenty little restaurants and cafes, many guest houses hidden in the small lanes. If you do not want to visit all temples Wat Xieng Thong (Royal Family Temple) – is probably the most important and the most impressive. They charge there 10000 kips entry fee.
In the afternoon I took a minibus trip to the Kuang Si Waterfall. May agencies in the town offer this half-day excursion charging from 35000 kips. Be prepared to pay also 15000 entry fee on site. It is worth… The fall with few cascades is about 60 m high. You can swim in one of little pools at the bottom… or to climb the steep path to the top of the first drop… Exciting!
