Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is an old French colonized town, all the guesthouse are gorgeous old French buildings that line the Mekong delta river. It's such a beautiful town to wonder around, there are also many Buddhist temples that line the streets. The monks walk the streets in amongst all the tourists but they stand out with their bright orange robes on. In Laos every male must do a mandatory service as a monk to be considered a man in society, so you see them as young as 14. Also if your life is not going to plan (bad business deals or illness) men can commit to a 2 week monk service to be "reborn" into a new life and start over.

As the money is running out, we are using this week to lay low and relax and spend less if possible. Utopia is a river side cafe/bar where backpackers gather during the day to read/nap/chill whilst taking in the beautiful surrounds of the river and forest. 1L beers are $2 so this has been our afternoons well spent the last couple of days.