Luang Prabang: getting in and hanging out

Everyone was posing in-front
of the tiny plane

We flew into Luang Prabang, Laos from Hanoi, Vietnam.  Our visas for 'Nam were about to expire (thank you incompetent Korean travel agent) and a 23hr. minibus ride just didn't sound like a good time.  We flew Lao Air for $139 direct.  Pretty straight forward as the airplane was a prop-plane filled with an Australian high school class on a field trip.  The flight came in a little hot for my liking, but it was only 1.5 hrs long and they gave us the usually boxed meal.

The LP airport was basic and a visa-on-arrival cost $23 for 30 days, but the price does vary depending on your nationality.  Also, the taxi from the airport to our guesthouse was fixed and you bought a ticket form the taxi stand before you got in the taxi.  This was welcomed as Charlie made haggling for the fare tedious.

This was the first country where we were going off of a three-year-old Lonely Planet to find accommodations.  We quickly realized the the quality and price of a recommendation changes soon after the book is published.

The first place we tried, Phousi Guesthouse 2,  was in the book, but its quality was limited by a lumpy bed and smelly room.  It was a little more expensive than the books quoted price, but at 70,000 kip ($8.55) for a fanned, double room, we knew we could do better.

Boupha Guesthouse

Though better may have been worse, but to start it didn't smell and the fanned, twin room, shared bathroom had more comfortable beds.  It was closer to the main drag, and the couple that owned seemed to actually care about Renee when she had a stomach bug.  All-in-all, Boupha Guesthouse seemed like a steal for 40,000 kip ($4.88).
That was for the first couple of nights.  We quickly realized that because of the rooms orientation, there was no airflow from outside and the room stayed stuffy and hot even with the fan on high.  A few bugs would be fine considering that we were in a jungle area, but the spider the size of my hand that was relaxing next to the doorway one night was the last straw.  I killed it with two whacks of my shoe, but we didn't sleep too well that night and Renee insisted that we upgrade the next day.

The upgrade turned out to be the most expensive of the three, but it had a/c, tv, and was relatively cleaner.  Renee approved, and she should have for 90,000 kip a night ($11).

The main drag of Luang Prabrang looks even more stunning at night
as the shops are all outlined in yellow Christmas lights.