Colossal Waste: Around The World 2011 Day 19: Luang Prabang, Laos

Today is our last full day in Luang Prabang, which also makes this the last full day of the fam trip portion of Around The World. (For those who care, I believe we are going around the world in 53 days, but that is not based on careful analysis.) We will start our day with a cruise to the Pak Ou caves, place a meal here and there, and then in the afternoon we plan to do the thing that I most want to do and was not part of the Hills of Indochina itinerary; climb Phou Si Hill.

But first, we eat.

Today I planned a banana, nutella, peanut butter crepe. And I thought so far ahead as to pre-cut my own banana.

Breakfast, including said crepe. Amusingly, I asked for a crepe with banana, peanut butter, and nutella. The cook asked, "All in one." I said yes. I was given two crepes, one with banana and one with nutella. It was not difficult to combine their contents, and Barbie went and got the peanut butter to complete the process. And I must say, said combination of flavors is fantastic.

Some people know how to live. Dori chose to have her breakfast by the pool. A mere 30 feet from the restaurant, by a mile away metaphysically. She is, as you say, the genius type.

Barbie said, "Let's go," then needed to grab something, which left my by the door with little to do. I made the most of it and took this picture with the iPhone pressed to the peephole of our door. If only I coud have arrange to have someone standing on the other side, it would have been even more fun.

We headed over to the Mekong River, and boarded the Nava Mekong, headed to the Pak Ou caves.

Cruising in style.

I definitely have what is now called lens envy. But if I had Michael's lens I would go absolutely ape-poop with it, taking close to a thousand pictures per day. It would be an endless obsession that would lead me to rehabilitation facility, for certain.

A boring shot with Slow Shutter, but I am slowly mastering this app. I am certain that if I keep trying with it I will eventually get the results that I am after, capturing stillness and motion together.

We passed a prison along the Mekong. When you see a prison, you take a picture.

Lens envy. This particular shot was taken solely with Anthony Andrews in mind. He and I both share a passion for photography, and I know he would appreciate this Nikon setup.

For snacks, we get River Weed. Yum yum. I never knew how much I liked algae until this visit to Laos. (Silent s!)

There be our boat's Laos flag, with the moon in the center. This is the best shot I have gotten of the Laos flag, and I share it so that you see why Nixon's people were sure to give the Lao people a piece of the moon.

Our destination, the Pak Ou caves.

These caves are filled with Buddha sculptures, as these caves served as a place to hide when Luang Prabang was under attack. And sitting between Burma, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, as well as the interests of China, France and Britain, Laos has been no stranger to attack.

Our guide Oudon (Don) meets up with his mother, who works here.

A woman solemnly praying at the shrine in the Pak Ou cave.

Barbie prepares to give an offering.

If you think that is a lot of Buddhas, just wait.

A view from above. Buddha, Buddha, everywhere.

Many were brought here to avoid destruction when Luang Prabang was invaded.

One of these Buddhas is not like the others.

Yes, I was shocked to see the pink, plastic Buddha set alongside the wooden, plaster and stone Buddhas.

I love catching an iPhone portrait being taken. Especially by an Asian tourist wearing a loud red-white-&-blue baseball cap. Her husband wears a matching cap, making them the idea couple.

We have seen this tradition where you shake numbered sticks until one falls out. Then you take the fortune that corresponds with that number.

Barbie shook three sticks out simultaneously, and Dori, Barbie and I each took a corresponding fortune. Apparently all the fortunes predict good and bad things.

I find the Loa children captivating. Their expressions say very much.

Back aboard, we head back to Luang Prabang along the Mekong.

Chicken coconut soup. No surprise there, except that it was excellent. Even on a boat, you cannot mess up this soup.

Steamed egg roll with minced pork and verimicelli; Marinated chicken in screwpine leaf.

Mekong River fish mousse in banana leaf.

SPecial Lao purple and white sticky rice.

Stir fried sliced pork tenderloin with ginger, onion, mushroom and crispy garlic.

Sauteed mixed garden vegetables in oyster sauce.

The perfect dessert, dragon fruit and pineapple.

At the end of our journey, back at the dock, I could not help but take this shot of this small boat.

Then I took this shot again with Pro HDR. Remarkable difference, no?

After the boat ride, most of our group went on shopping expeditions, either to a metals factory or jewelry or whatever. Barbie and I went back to the hotel, got rid of anything heavy, and then took a hotel shuttle to Phou Si Hill. And yes, that is pronounced Pooh-See. I get to climb P-ssy Hill. Magical.

Three hundred and twenty steps? Piece of cake.

Halfway up sits this Bodhi tree, a gift from the Indian government in 1957, commemorating the 2,500th anniversary of Gautama Buddha's birth. The Gautama Buddha, known as the Supreme Buddha, sat beneath a Bodhi tree and did not move until he had found the truth.

At the top of Phou Si hill, the views are astounding.

There is the gilded stupa of Wat Chom Si, which I have pointed at form our hotel pool over and over again.

Luang Prabang from the 100 meter tall Phou Si hill.

My guess is that our hotel is around THERE.

Tomorrow we will be on one of those.

The Buddha images inside Wat Chom Si. A small temple, but considering it is atop Phou Si hill it is a special place to visit.

Barbie loved the smell of the incense up here, and bought quite a bit. Amusingly, the vendor asked for an amount of Kip that was less than a dollar, and Barbie gave her a dollar to be nice. And then the lady gave her more incense sticks.

If you wanted proof that we were 100 meters above Luang Prabang, this is your proof. For you Yanquis, 100 meters is basically 328 feet.

I forgot to tell you; it took about 8 minutes to go up and 5 minutes to get down. Easy peasy.

We wanted to give this little girl a dollar for being cute as heck, but we had no small bills. Oh... the pain. Remember to always have change when you walked around developing countries.

We walked by Vat May Souvannapoumaram. Like I said, Luang Prabang is simply filled with temples.

Finally... FINALLY... we hopped onto a Tuk Tuk for a ride. Tuk Tuks are the famed Southeast Asian Taxis that are basically motorcycles with carriages on the back.

Now get this. You know all those pictures I keep taking of our hotel signs? Well, when we told our Tuk Tuk driver to take us to La Residence, he had no idea what we meant. We tried and tried to communicate with him, but we could not. And he tried asking another Tuk Tuk driver and he had no idea. But then I remember the picture on my iPhone, pulled it up, and Voila he could read the Lao address in the picture. In a matter of seconds we were on our way.

So, yeah, take a picture with your iPhone of every hotel that you stay at.

The view on a Tuk Tuk.

The Monument Du President Souphanouvong. We have driven past it repeatedly, but finally on the Tuk Tuk we could ask him to stop for me.

There is nothing like an imposing statue of a President. In this case, the President was the son of a Royal Prince of Laos, and he was clearly savvy as he managed to maintain a position in the new one-party Soviet-aligned government.

“The Red Prince” became the figurehead leader of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, and upon its successful seizure of power in 1975, he became the first President of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, a position which he held until his retirement in 1986.

In other words, that statue is of a man born a prince who parlayed his name into being the symbol for a one-party government. And one party government is a nice way to say totalitarian government. This Prince was all kinds of savvy.

Barbie and our Tuk Tuk driver.

I never tire of taking pictures of Lao children. I have noted to others how funny it is that when visiting another country you can innocently take pictures of children playing, but were I to hang around playgrounds in Los Angeles and take pictures of children, I would be very quickly put into the back of a squad car.