Hi,
Still planning my trip which is coming up shortly in 3.5 weeks. After much reading here and in some guide books I have decided to add Luang Prabang. I am considering hiring a guide for one of my days in LP. Aside from the waterfall and the Pak Ou cave, is there any must see place? Any villages or towns of interest?
Also, I read in a posting about getting your hair washed and a head massage in LP ~ names of any places? I LOVE a good head massage, just makes me weak in the knees.
Thanks in advance for your help. can't wait to go!
vikinggirl18

You really don't need a guide in LP. We just went and hired a boat that took us to the silk village and the paper village. It was a wonderful day. Most of the time, you will just wander. There's a very good massage place (I forget the name) just down the street from the Tamarind restaurant. That's on a street parallell to the main drag, one block closer to the mekong river. You'll have a great time. You don't need to plan anything.

One of our favorite things to do in LP was to sit in one of the cafe's along the Mekong and have a Lao sandwich and fruitshake for lunch. The trees are shady, the weather perfect. Its the most relaxing place.

Much of the reason to go to LP is to soak up the atmosphere... wander the streets, sit in a cafe, visit wats and talk with the novices. For me, having a guide in town would have taken away from my experience.

I'm not looking for a guide in the city itself. I'm looking forward to a few days to wonder and look on my own. I am however asking if there are places out side of town to go see and if it's worth hiring a guide for.
Thanks, Vikinggirl18

I had the best one hour massage at Red Cross, a few blocks over from the main drag. Don't forget to go to Jomas Bakery, run by a lady from pennsylvania. We did the silk village, paper making stuff. I wanted to rent a bike, but somehow couldn't. Take a boat across to the other side and wander around, we met some people who did this. Actually, just walking around the whole area was wonderful. Alana

If you need to go to the waterfall and caves, you can easily arrange that when you're there. there are lots of places where you can get a day tour.