We'll be in LP for four days (leaving in 10 days!) and have last minute questions:
1) Any one know if we can pay for purchases in US dollars? If not, are there ATM machines?
2) Any recommended shops for silk and weavings?
3) What was your favorite experience in LP?

I have heard rumors that there is now an ATM in LP. If I were you, I'd take us$ anyway. You generally won't pay for purchases in dollars, but you can change your dollars for kip easily at money changers in LP. Change $20 at a time - even that will give you quite a brick of kip. By the way, kip are worthless outside of Laos, for spend it all or give it away before you go.

There is a weaving co-op not far out of town. The individual weavers are there selling their wares. Do not buy at the Lao-Lao village on the way to the Pak Ou caves, very poor quality.

Many favorites: wandering the wats, talking with the young monks and novices, visitng wats off the tourist track and being the only visitors, the boat trip to the Pak Ou caves and the caves themselves, long lunches on the balcony of the Villa Santi, walking up Mt Phousi... We happened to be there during Hmong New year, and we visited a village where they were celebrating. Very interesting experience.

My favorite experiences - the boat trip up the Mekong to the caves, bike riding in town and on the outskirts, the morning march of the monks collecting alms, relaxing for lunch on a porch overlooking the main street and watching the world go by.
It seems to me we did make some of our purchases in dollars - you get kip for change, though. Don't miss the Royal Palace Museum - not exactly a blockbuster sight but a really pleasant way to spend an hour or two.
Karen

Everyone will take US dollars (and it's preferred). Take dollar bills. The night market has the best deal on silks and weavings, though there are a few upmarket shops now with very, very expensive (and exquisite) weavings and silks. Our favorite experiences: a rafting trip on a river using a tour agency, trip to the waterfall (take a covered van, not tuk tuk because the roads are very, very dusty), and massage at the Red Cross.

Thanks for sharing your info and experiences, it makes my anticipation all the sweeter. Kathie, did you have a driver/guide take you to the wats off the beaten track? And to all: any recommendations for arranging Mekong boat trip? Can we just show up at boat area or is it better to have a good guide? And do we need to make dinner reservations in advance?
Thanks all.

Arranging a boat is easy. There are signs all over town. In our case, our hotel manager (Sayo Guesthous) asked when we checked in if we were interested in a boat trip. We said yes and said his brother had a boat and would "pick us up" the next day at whatever time we wanted. We settled on the time and it turned out that "pick us up" meant that he showed up at the hotel and walked us down to the river where his boat was. I think we paid about $25. He spoke virtually no English, but it didn't matter. The sights along the river are self-explanatory. Here's a link to my trip report (first link) and photos (second link) if you want to check them out. There's a separate album in the photo link for Luang Prabang.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34762799

http://kbutler8.photosite.com/

You'll love Luang Prabang. It's magical!

No, we walked or took tuk-tuks to the wats off the beaten track. LP is so small, it's easy to do. No need for a driver or guide in town. You'll want a driver if you go to the waterfalls or nearby villages.

Also, no need for a guide to the Pak Ou caves. You can bargain with a boatman at the foot of the steps, or can pre-arrange via a travel agency in town. It's so cheap to get a boat to yourdelves, I'd recommend it rather than going with a group. We had a driver who took us to the waterfalls and some villages and he recommended a boatman to us.

Thanks Karen, your trip report was outstanding and the photo super. Your photo organization is so impressive. I still live in the digital dark ages.
And thanks to all posters, we're bulking up on amount of cash we'll bring.

We'll have 1.5 days net in Luang Prabang early next week and then 1 day in Hanoi. First time there but have been to Thailand many times.

Question - what not to miss to make the best use of my limited time there? The wats must be good but we don't want to spend all the time on them, for diversity's sake. e.g. are the markets fun?

We will be staying in Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel in Luang Prabang and Fortuna Hotel in Hanoi.

You can pay in USD and also in baht.

As others have mentioned, there are many upscale shops in towm for buying weavings but your best prices will be found in the night market.

As for favorite experiences, I haven't even begun to put mine into words because it was so special, beyond words, life changing, actually.

I had the opportunity to head up to a remote village for 4 nights. I went 6 hours up the Mekong and then hiked 2 1/2 hours into a small village where I spent 4 days and nights with a Lue family.

I have hesitated to write about my visit to this village because I doubt that I could even come close to portraying my thoughts and feelings about what I experienced. It was life changing. I am now sponsoring a Lao boy, paying for his education.

If you are interested, I will post my report once I have it complete.

ttt

A day and a half? I'm sorry, but it will be hard for you to get a sense of the place in that time.

LP is slow-moving and spiritual. The quiet of the beautiful wats and talking with the monks and novices are special. Do get up at dawn for the merit-making. Walking up Mt. Phousi to the wat on top is lovely, the river trip to the pilgrimage site of the Pak Ou caves is lovely. You want to slow down to the tempo of the town. Walk. Visit wats off the regular tourist track. Have a long, leisurely lunch overlooking the street.

There is a Hmong market and a night market. Both are fine, neither are a reason to visit LP. There is also a weaving co-op out of town, where we found the best quality traditional silk weavings.

Let me another another thought about LP. It's not a place to go to "do" it's a place to go to "be."

Hanoi lends itself much more to see this and do that. Some people love to walk the streets of old town. Perhaps my favorite place in Hanoi is the Temple of Literature. While you are there, you can make a stop at the Museum of Fine Arts (buy some things from their gift-shop - pen and ink drawings, paintings, etc, very cheap) and stop by KOTO for lunch or refreshments (a restaurant that trains street kids for food service work), and stop in at CraftLink, a fair trade crafts shop.

Thanks Kathie and everyone. I'm leaving for Bangkok in a few hours so I'll have my own favorite experience of LP (and Vietnam) to post when I return in January. Bye for now

Have a wonderful time!

thanks kathie for your suggestions. we are used to unwind within a short of time and make ourselves at home with the culture of another country. guess we'll be fine.