Bamboo weaving and snake watching

Tuesday 16^th February

Luang Prabang is still an incredibly beautiful and chilled place to be. This is our fourth time here and there are still new spots to discover, favourite haunts to revisit and new things to learn.

This temple has a particularly regal dog guarding the entrance.

One of many picturesque alleyways

One of the temporary dry-season bamboo bridges across the Nam Khan, with the Mekong in the distance.

When we walk up to the Peaceful Chedi on a nearby hilltop and look back at the town it's amazing to see how green Luang Prabang really is.

OK so it's hazy but you can still see Mount Phousi, the hill that forms the centre of LP

The Peacefulness Chedi

 A couple of days ago I went on a day's bamboo weaving course at Ock Pop Tok, a lovely weaving centre in a stunning spot on the banks of the Mekong. I completed a place mat (which can go alongside the silk one I wove 2 years ago!) and a small basket.

My ever patient teacher, Dao.

View over the dry season Mekong.

Meanwhile Trevann's been producing some very beautiful artwork. The garden at Thongbay bungalows, where we stayed for 3 days, made a great studio to work in.

Our bungalow overlooked the Nam Khan river so we could watch the local fishermen going to and fro.

Back at the Greenhouse Studio, our AirBnB room, which we have for the final two weeks of our stay, we were surprised to find the shed skin of a snake on the balcony wall.

 And the next day we spotted its owner, peaking out from a hole in the retaining wall.

We watched as he slithered off into the next door garden.

 This week we went on a trip to local popular beauty spot Kuang Si waterfall and the nearby Butterfly Park. The falls are spectacular, dropping in stages through a series of azure pools.

A chilled out moon bear in the nearby Bear Rescue centre.

They have a natural fish spa - the fish are free to come and go as they wish.

And finally, on a slightly sombre note, on the way back from Kuang Si we called in at Khoun & Khone's bungalows. It was sad to see them now abandoned and derelict.

Our old bungalow being overtaken by the jungle.