We have an annual Fall Break around Thanksgiving time at HNC, & this year we decided to get away & do something very special – and visit both Laos & Cambodia. We were accompanied by Prof. Jacob Kurien & his wife Mary, who helped us plan the trip…. & were delightful traveling companions throughout the trek (even as Mary’s luggage somehow ended up in Urumqi!)

Luang Prabang monks collecting breakfast alms

The Laos portion of the visit included stops in Vientiane & Luang Prabang (the present and former capitals of the country) – with the latter stop a particularly scenic & beautiful location. We watched monks there collect their early morning breakfast alms directly across the street from our hotel; checked out the early morning ‘fresh market’ offering certain types of foods not readily available in New Jersey (or in Nanjing either, for that matter!); and visited the Royal Palace museum and other key tourist sites. Temples were an obvious attraction as well – including a sunset view from the temple atop Mount Phousi.

Sunset from the temple on Mount Phousi

UNESCO has declared the whole downtown a World Heritage Site, noting it is “an outstanding example of the fusion of traditional architecture and Lao urban structures with those built by the European colonial authorities in the 19th and 20th centuries.” We could certainly see why!