Sabaidee (hello) Luang Prabang

Every time we return to Luang Prabang (this is our fifth visit) I fear that it will have changed, lost its charm, been spoilt or overrun by avaricious businesses created to extract dollars from hapless tourists. Every time I am relieved to find that the town has such resilience. It's not completely unchanged from how it was 5 years ago but its essence remains.
I think it's something to do with the way the city manages to combine traditional Lao family life with hosting international visitors. Households still live in their simple roadside houses, elders and children gathering in the late afternoon to cook the evening meal over an open fire while the gentle temple drumbeats and bells call the monks to prayer.
What a fabulous town. I love it!

The left-hand side is our garden. Someone has built a house next door but it's currently unoccupied.

Our pad - the Greenhouse Studio.

Rainy season flooding caused by a new dam upstream led to some serious damage along the Nam Khan in August.

The Greenhouse from the garden.

Our private terrace

We enjoy a cold beer overlooking the Mekong at sunset as the slowboats come in to land.

"Our" road.

The local temple.

The ever-present Thorani.

The centre of Luang Prabang as viewed from our garden. So green!