The sleepy town that is Luang Prabang

We're enjoying our last day in Luang Prabang. After spending some sun-soaked days among the tourists and locals who give this town its relaxing vibe, we'll be taking an overnight bus to Lao's capital, Vientiane. Unfortunately, we'll be in transport when the gold medal men's hockey match is televised and we doubt they will show it on the bus. We're so proud of how the Canadians performed as the host country of this Olympics (oh, and the Germans were among the top, as usual). Luckily, our eyes were glued to the television when the women's hockey final was on. We found a cafe that opened at 6:30 a.m., so we could catch it live (with the time difference, it's a little challenging to see all of the events).

Two days ago, we saw the Kouang Si Waterfalls, which is about an hour's drive from Luang Prabang. It is multi-level, measuring about 60 m high and has several crystal-blue pools at the bottom where people can swim. We found a secluded swimming hole about halfway down the waterfall. We actually had to hike along one of the falls to get there, but since the water is low now, it wasn't too difficult. Where we swam, we could actually lean over the falls and see down below. You'll see Netty in one of the photos relaxing at the fall's edge. The water was a touch cold, but a refreshing break from the heat of the day. What a spectacular sight!

We also travelled to the top of Phou Si ("Sacred Hill"), which offers beautiful panoramic views of Luang Prabang. There's a temple there and many golden Buddha staues of varying sizes. We thought the photo of Axel with the buddha was very appropriate (he really likes the reclining buddhas for some reason).

The last photo in the group is one of the early morning procession of monks on their way to gather food from the local people. The food donated provides for their only meal of the day. This is a daily occurrence in all of the areas with Buddhist monks. It's a pretty amazing ritual to see dozens of men, young and old, in orange robes marching silently or chanting.

We are about to go and enjoy a freshly made coconut milk fruit shake at a local stand. Oh, it's a tough life...