A Hill Between 2 Rivers

We had a relaxing day in the very tranquil courtyard of the Hotel de la Paix. We met our guide at 4pm for our journey up "the sunset hill"  - my title not the Laotian one. We climbed 328 steps led by Boun Chanh our guide. He is tiny. The steps took us through a temple complex and at the top crowds of visitors get there for sunset. We met many Buddahs on the way (in statue form ). On one side of the hill is the Nam Khan River and on the other is the Mekong. Apparently the Mekong rises in China and flows through parts of Tibet, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and then Vietnam. While waiting for the sun to set and our photo opportunity, we learned a little about Laotian culture from Boun Chanh. There are 3 main peoples of Laos all with their own language - the Laotians, the Khmer and the Hmong. Boun Chanh is of Hmong descent and they come from the hill country. His parents brought the family to Luang Prabang as they value education. All education has to be funded by the family so many children do not go to school. However boys from poor families will often opt to become monks and in that way they receive an education. At one time parents used to choose the prospective spouses for their children but now this has changed. There is marriage between the different peoples but if there has been no education for the children then they will only speak their native language so that tends to narrow the choice.
After getting some sunset pictures we made our way down the other side of the hill to see the night market. They close off a large part of the main road at about 5pm and the traders get going. Lots of textiles, carved wood, silver jewellry, paper products like lanterns and books. It was endless.
Just attaching this photo taken on my iPad as a trial for future blogs.