Tiny Luang Prabang in the low season offers time to stroll, pedal, lounge, sit, smell and taste. In short, to wander to the heart's content without a schedule to keep or long list of must-sees. Graceful elephants, dusty temples and turquoise waterfalls await, but these can be tucked into a morning or afternoon of nothing much at all.
So we popped into cafes with glorious menus offering fragrant Lao dishes or rustic French fare. We quenched thirst with tall, pale bottles of omnipresent Beer Lao. We politely declined skewers of crispy creatures with tails or antennae.
Shops of silk and cotton textiles beckoned during the heat of the day. A fashion show of shy, lovely teenagers modeling traditional dress from some of the 40-odd tribes in Laos suggested just how deeply the mountainous geography separates people in word, thought, dress, work and play. The swirl of colors, patterns and fabrics also hinted at the Lao zeal for life's pleasures, whether large or small.
So did the rainbow zoom of Luang Prabang's glorified tuk-tuks. And even these maniacal machines match the vibe of the town perfectly...their zoom is imagined, felt in the wind and leaning curves at 20 mph.
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