This morning, we fly to Vientiane (Capital of Laos). Upon arrival at Vientiane airport (about 2:40pm), our local representative will meet you there, then we drive to hotel. After hotel check-in, enjoy the rest of the day at leisure. Vientiane is the capital and largest city of Laos, on the banks of the Mekong River near the border with Thailand.The city contains many temples and Buddhist monuments with Pha That Luang, a Buddhist stupa, one of the most famous in Laos.

Local tour guide will meet you at hotel lobby this morning, then we drive to visit the oldest Wat Sisaket with thousands of miniature Buddha statues and the former royal temple of Wat Prakeo built to house the famous Emerald Buddha Image. On the way to the famous and sacred structure of That Luang Stupa, stop to take some pictures of the imposing Patuxay Monument, Vientiane's own Arc de Triumph.

In the afternoon visit the Buddha Park where hundreds of Buddhist and Hindu sculptures brought from India are displayed.

After breakfast, we head to Vang Vieng via Nam Ngum Lake with hundreds of small islands. En route we'll stop to visit Ban Bor Village. After a delicious lunch at a local restaurant overlooking the Nam Ngum Lake, we will have about 1.5hour boat trip on Nam Ngum Lake. Then continue driving to Vang Vieng. This afternoon, we' ll visit Blue Lagoon which is very picturesque and the water has an incredible beautiful color.We can even jump in the lagoon from a tree ( equipped with ropes and ladders to climb) and that's good fun. Near the lagoon, there is a cave named Tham Phu Kham. To discover this cave, we need good shoes as it can be very slippery and good torches with battery as the cave is very dark if we want to explore tunnels. The main cave is quite impressive and huge and you can see a bronze reclining Buddha.

Afterwards we drive to hotel in Vang Vieng.

This morning, we visit a local market and then Tham Chang Cave. Afterwards, we drive to Luang Prabang. Arrive in Luang Prabang at late afternoon. We go to climb up to top of Mountain Phousi for sunset and enjoy an overview of the town and Mekong River.

Before driving to hotel, we will have free time to walk around the Phousi Night Market catering to tourists with every kind of souvenir you could want and closes at about 22:00. Particularly good are the duvet covers, cushion covers, and pillow sets.

This early morning, we get up early and watch Alms Giving Ceremony. It's really a sight to behold - rows of orange robed monks walking along the sidewalks and stopping for alms. We' ll get a better understanding of local people's piety towards their religion.

Back to hotel to have breakfast. Then we drive to Wat Sene. The temple was built in 1714,and is also known as the The temple of Patriarch. The doors are carved with gilded figures of divinities and mythical animals. The windows are adorned with gold stenciled balusters. The monks work on the restorations of these temples.

Continue to Golden City Temple built in 1560. This temple is generally considered to be the most historically significant and magnificent of Luang Prabang’s temples. With a sweeping two-tiered roof and elaborate mosaics, this large temple epitomizes the classic Luang Prabang style. 

Before lunch, we board a cruise and upstream in Mekong River. We' ll enjoy nice view of tranquil countryside and explore mysterious Pak Ou Caves used for the worship of the river spirit until Buddhism spread into Laos along the southern route from India. And gradually, over the 60 decades, more than 4,000 Buddha images – mostly the standing Buddha of the Luang Prabang style – have been placed in them.

 
Later take a stopover at the small village of Ban Xang Hai, where the local rice wine is distilled.

Royal Palace was built in 1904.(Visitors need to dress appropriately, otherwise they won’t be granted admittance.) Inside the museum, the royal living quarters remain as they were when occupied by the royal family. Interestingly enough, many locals believe that the palace is haunted by the spirits of the royal family.

After the tour, we drive to hotel.

This morning, we drive to visit Kwang Si Waterfall which is a three tier waterfall about 29 km south of Luang Prabang. The falls begin in shallow pools atop a steep hillside. These lead to the main fall with a 60 metres cascade.The falls are accessed via a trail to a left of the falls. The water collects in numerous turquoise blue pools as it flows downstream. Most of these pools are open to swimming. Some visitors getting their thrills by jumping off of the shorter cascades, or off a tree whose branches extend out over the water.

On the way back to hotel, we' ll visit Living Land Farm company surrounded by mountains and rice paddies. Vistors will be shown how rice is grown on the farm, experience the life of a farmer and try our hands at some of the activities. Or just view it all from their traditional Lao rice house balcony which is surrounded by rice terraces and our organic vegetable farm. All vistors can join in and there are great photo opportunities. After 1-day tour, we drive back to hotel.

We leave hotel (at about 9:40AM), then drive to airport and fly back to Shanghai.

  IN LUANG PRABANG

DAY4-DAY7