Thursday, December 23, 2010
Ban Pakbeng. Yoga: standing warmup practice. Breakfast at the hotel. Back on the long tail boat. Played a card game called Quy or Tien Lien with the group. Lunch on the boat. Stopped at the Pak Ou Caves. Arrived in Luang Prabang. Checked in to Villa Tavandeng. Shower. Walked through the night market, had a Lao dinner at a local home. It started with a little ceremony in which strands of cotton were tied around our wrists for good luck. This was my favorite meal so far on this trip because it seemed very authentic, was very delicious, and also provided sufficient vegetarian options. (I tried 2 of the meat dishes anyway, and they were tasty.) Afterwards I was too tired to stroll the night market more or see the town's nightlife, and I returned to the hotel.