We had a very bus day scheduled for our last full day in Luang Prabang, Laos. The van arrived early at the guest house to pick us up. We went on to pick up an elderly man and his son from Holland, another man from Holland and his Indonesian female companion, a German couple, and a young British girl traveling alone. We set off in a medium size boat for the caves.
Along the way, which started out in the same direction as the ride the night before, we observed more local fishing. These are traps made to catch something--not sure if it catches fish or what.
They are set up on the edge of the river.
We stopped at a small community called Whiskey Village because they used to make whiskey for the king as he stopped here on his way to the caves.
We made a short trek through the village, which now seems to exist to sell stuff to tourists. This man was playing a sort of violin to attract us.
There was a final gauntlet of shop keepers to get through as we made our way back to the boat. My mother ended up buying two embroidered purses.
Then we arrived at Pak Ou Caves. There is an upper and a lower cave. These are Buddhist shrines.
The upper cave was a fairly steep walk up a few hundred flights of stairs. We didn't know how far it was--Mother made it about a third of the way and then had to go back down to rest. This is the entrance. This upper cave was kept exclusively for the king's use and was only lately opened to the public.
This is the main stupa in the upper cave, where the king meditated and prayed.
This stupa is surrounded by a myriad of Buddhas, in various states of deterioration.
There is also a pit where badly deteriorated Buddhas are discarded. They cannot be destroyed, this is like a little graveyard.
The guide was explaining that this nook was used by the king as a place of quiet meditation.
We then went down and then into the lower cave. From the cave I observed the boat dock and Mother resting.
This is the central altar of the lower cave. It affords a nice view of the river.
Looking back into the cave there are Buddhas everywhere.
Here is the view of the river from the cave.
This is me in tourist mode as we continued back to Luang Prabang in the drizzling rain.
Back in town we disembarked and got into a van to take us in the other direction to one of two or three waterfalls in the area.
For some reason the road up to the waterfall was closed. We had to walk around a fourth of a mile up a sloping hill but we made it.
The waterfall was lovely. You could get up right under it. You could feel the spray from where I was taking the photo.
There were numerous swimming places and little ponds.
This is the closest I got to the waterfall--I am visible just to the left of the main fall.
Downstream there was a waterwheel.
One of our group was intrepid enough to try swimming in the lower pool. It is fairly safe in designated areas and there would have been more swimmers if not for the rain.
When we got back we made our way to the old king's audience hall for a performance of traditional Laotian dance. Photography was not allowed until the curtain call. The performance was a passage of the Ramayana about the ring being offered to Sita.
The monkey figures can be seen above, the demon figures seen below.
This was a long exhausting day, but I am glad we packed so much into it and experienced as much as we could.
Along the way, which started out in the same direction as the ride the night before, we observed more local fishing. These are traps made to catch something--not sure if it catches fish or what.
They are set up on the edge of the river.
We stopped at a small community called Whiskey Village because they used to make whiskey for the king as he stopped here on his way to the caves. 
We made a short trek through the village, which now seems to exist to sell stuff to tourists. This man was playing a sort of violin to attract us.
There was a final gauntlet of shop keepers to get through as we made our way back to the boat. My mother ended up buying two embroidered purses.
Then we arrived at Pak Ou Caves. There is an upper and a lower cave. These are Buddhist shrines.
The upper cave was a fairly steep walk up a few hundred flights of stairs. We didn't know how far it was--Mother made it about a third of the way and then had to go back down to rest. This is the entrance. This upper cave was kept exclusively for the king's use and was only lately opened to the public.
This is the main stupa in the upper cave, where the king meditated and prayed.
This stupa is surrounded by a myriad of Buddhas, in various states of deterioration.
There is also a pit where badly deteriorated Buddhas are discarded. They cannot be destroyed, this is like a little graveyard.
The guide was explaining that this nook was used by the king as a place of quiet meditation.
We then went down and then into the lower cave. From the cave I observed the boat dock and Mother resting.
This is the central altar of the lower cave. It affords a nice view of the river.
Looking back into the cave there are Buddhas everywhere.
Here is the view of the river from the cave.
This is me in tourist mode as we continued back to Luang Prabang in the drizzling rain.
Back in town we disembarked and got into a van to take us in the other direction to one of two or three waterfalls in the area.
For some reason the road up to the waterfall was closed. We had to walk around a fourth of a mile up a sloping hill but we made it.
The waterfall was lovely. You could get up right under it. You could feel the spray from where I was taking the photo.
There were numerous swimming places and little ponds.
This is the closest I got to the waterfall--I am visible just to the left of the main fall.
Downstream there was a waterwheel.
One of our group was intrepid enough to try swimming in the lower pool. It is fairly safe in designated areas and there would have been more swimmers if not for the rain.
When we got back we made our way to the old king's audience hall for a performance of traditional Laotian dance. Photography was not allowed until the curtain call. The performance was a passage of the Ramayana about the ring being offered to Sita.
The monkey figures can be seen above, the demon figures seen below.
This was a long exhausting day, but I am glad we packed so much into it and experienced as much as we could.
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