My first tour ends today in LP, but I have 2.5 more days here to chill, then 2 free days in Hanoi before my next tour starts.

Sharon and Dean, who are also here till Tuesday, and I took advantage of the cool morning mist to hike up Mt Phousi, a steep hill in the center of town with a temple on top. It’s a popular sunrise/sunset hike though we were missing both. It’s rather a maze of stairs and statues and only by chance we found our way out.

We then decided to walk a mile or two to Ock Pop Tok Living Arts Center, a famous place that preserves traditional textile handicrafts (weaving, batik, embroidery) and offers education, lessons, a shop and lovely cafe overlooking the Mekong. We wandered for an hour and had elevenses at the cafe before taking the free shuttle back to the Old Town.

At noon I had to check out of the G tour’s hotel and into the guesthouse I’d reserved for the next two nights. As my room wasn’t ready yet I wandered through the streets and shops of LP and went to the largest of the 14 temples here.

The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a great mix of traditional and colonial architecture. There’s a big cafe culture here and the town really comes alive at night.