BikeLuangPrabang.com

Hiring a bike and explore the peace in Luang Prabang that is the trip of Beck. Let read the entry to know more.

Luang Prabang, Laos

Luang Prabang has definitely got to be my favorite place of the whole trip so far. UNESCO designated the city a World Heritage Site in 1995, and its not surprising to see why when you arrive. Its an absolutely beautiful, laid back town on the banks of the Mekong River in central Laos. There is a real colonial feel to the place, having been previously ruled by the French. The old buildings in the city (though they’re starting to fall apart) look like they’re out of a film set with their balconies, trailing vines and wooden window shutters. I took so many photos of just the buildings! The food here is great too. The coffee is super strong, and they make a brilliant effort at baking bread and other cakes and pastries. It was almost like you were in a French countryside village that had been plonked in the tropics. Even the older Laos women would start babbling in French to us!

[...Read more]

“It was a really enjoyable ride.  We made great time and I didn’t feel like my legs were going to die” – The author told his feeling after taking part in a biking tour.

Nov 11 ‘08

This morning I woke up to the crack of dawn.  It is wonderful to wake up so early here.  Why can’t it be that easy when I have to wake up for work?  We are currently located in Luang Prabang (sounds like Long-pro-bong).  I was just getting use to Thai and now things have been switched up on me.  Good thing I will be moving on tomorrow.

Today I went to the market looking for my kowlam (stickyrice/sugar /coconut milk in bamboo).  No luck, but tomorrow I know where to look and I will stock up!  I’ll probably dream of it, it was that good.

We rented bicycles to ride our 35km to KhuangSi waterfall.  Yeah, I made it about an hour and thought my legs were jell-o.  My head had so many endorphins running I was too numb to have a conversation.  A local villager, his wife, and their 10 day old baby stopped and offered us a ride for very cheap.  They make a trip to the market once every 5 days and today was the day.  They were my angels in disguise!  It was heaven to sit in the truck and listen to Jema talk to him.  He told us about their other 2 year old daughter that wasn’t with them.  She was born something like close to nine lbs (they don’t use pounds but it was 4.5 something - couldn’t be kg, so I’m brain freezing here).  The newborn was a lot less; maybe around 4-5lbs.  He also had a runny nose b/c the temperature had dropped in the last three days.  It has been cooler here, especially at night.

[...Read more]

Karen & Kev hired a bike and cycling around Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is a very small town and is best explored by bicycle.  We wanted to check out some of the sights so decided to hire bikes. This was a bit of an achievement for me as I haven’t been on a bike for about 18 years and I was a bit unsure.  However, just like riding a bike, you never forget!  I was especially pleased to have a lovely, pink, ‘hello kitty’ bike.  We cycled down by the Mekong River and stopped at what is apparently Luang Prabang’s best example of a Wat. I said it is apparently Luang Prabang’s best example of a Wat.  Wat Xieng Thong was built by King Setthathirat in 1560 and remained under royal patronage until 1975.  The temple was actually pretty impressive, considering how many temples we have now seen.  There were loads of Buddhas inside.  My favourite was the giant gold buddha surrounded by lots of little Buddhas!!

Karen on her “hello Kitty” bike

[...Read more]

This is Dannis’s biking tour in Luang Prabang. Read the article to find out his trip’s experience and interest.

August 6, 2007

Luang Prabang is lush. I mean that in every sense of the word. Nestled at the confluence of the rivers Nom Ou and the mighty Mekong I could barely make it out as we arrived, camouflaged as it is amongst the tropical rainforest. Its the size of a large village, and is an UNESCO world heritage site. The area is inundated with temples, wats and stupas and visitors mingle at ease with young Buddhists monks amongst the crumbing French colonial buildings. Nothing really happens in Luang Prabang which along with its location is much of it’s charm. Most of the activities take place in the surrounding countryside and up and down the rivers. The first morning, to get my bearings, I hired a bike. I’ve never been totally conversant with a bicycle, not having owned one as a kid. My first real experience was at the age of fourteen starting a job as an order boy in Wilson Road in Ely for the Home and Colonial, or was it the Bon Marche or even the Maypole? Well one of those now defunct post war grocery outlets. My inability to ride a two-wheeler was matched by my proficiency for physics because the first thing I did was to place a boxed order in the front basket whereby the bike did a perfect forward somersault. I was sacked within a week

This bike also had a basket, the masculine cross-bar was missing, and it was a pretty shade of blue. Negotiating the contraption down the narrow streets I felt like a nervous Miss Jean Brodie or a district nurse on her first day. I know I should have checked the brakes first but I did have the presence of mind to apply them at the start of gentle incline before gaining neck-breaking momentum. They had little effect and as I was going too fast to use my feet I veered toward and inviting bush at the side of the road to cushion my fall. The result was me lying spread-eagled in the bush with the wheel-spinning bike next to me. It provided great amusement to a passing group of tourists. The bike was returned after twenty minutes and I reverted to Shank’s pony.
[...Read more]

This entry details the author biking tour in Luang Prabang

November 14, 1997

Boy with bicycle, Wat Aham, Luang Prabang

Today was Wat Day in Luang Prabang - not that anyone had declared it as such, of course. As I mentioned earlier, Susanne had worried at Angkor that she wouldn’t see enough monks. Luang Prabang, with its 32 monasteries, I assured her, would essentially be One Big Monk. And today was the day we would go out in search of that Monk.

Breakfast at the hotel wasn’t very satisfying - the sliced baguettes were so stale they scratched the roof of my mouth. At 8:30am a heavy fog hung over Luang Prabang, with only the river valley visible in full. Until the sun situation improved, picture taking would be a questionable task. I suggested we visit the royal palace, which was open precisely from 8:30am to 10:30am each day - two hours the Lao government would allow its people a peak into its glorious, yet all-too-recent monarchical past.

[...Read more]