Matt had been so kind as to book Josh and I a room in Luang Prabang for the night because they were arriving 12 hours before us. What he failed to do, however, was tell me the correct name of the place.
After spending 10 hours on a bus, we only arrived after dark and spent over an hour searching for a guesthouse that didn't exist; until another backpacker finally understood what we were talking about and brought us to the right place.
There, we met up with Matt and Till who were enjoying a drink with fellow travelers and proceeded to have a night out on the town.
We started at the handicraft night-market to grab a bite and book our onward ticket to Huay Xai, our northernmost destination in Laos.
Then we went to Utopia Bar, easily the busiest and most popular of all Luang Prabang's backpacker-friendly bars. We enjoyed some drinks there before the bar closed at midnight.
What most people do after Utopia, is go to the local bowling alley and continue to drink there because there is some bizarre loophole in the communist constitution of Laos that exempts bowling alleys from the same rules and curfews as other bars.
Go figure.
We, on the other hand, opted to buy some beers and enjoy a nightcap on our guesthouse patio.
Luang Prabang is renown throughout Laos and the rest of the world as the spiritual heart of the country. Not only is it a UNESCO World Heritage site, but it houses thousands of Buddhist monks and countless temples and monasteries, some dating back hundreds of years.
Our first stop was Phu Si: a hill providing beautiful views over the peninsula and the Mekong river.
Phu Si is also home to That Chomsi, a modest yet beautifully located temple.
For the remainder of the day, the four of us visited numerous temples and monasteries; and marveled at the unique architecture and displays of monastic life in the former capital of the first Lao kingdom.
At a certain point, Till and Josh got bored of temples and monks and went off to grab a drink. Matt and I continued to explore the furthest reaches of the peninsula and stumbled upon Wat Xieng Thong.
Wat Xieng Thong was built in 1560 by King Setthathirat and represents the template for the classic Luang Prabang temple.
Matt and I continued our tour, stopping to admire several stunning views of the Mekong before heading back to join the others.
That afternoon, Josh and I went to do some last-minute shopping and snacking in the market before saying our final goodbyes to our German travel buddies.
After having spent less than 24 hours in Luang Prabang, it was already time for Josh and I to hop on yet another 10-hour bus ride, this time our destination being Huay Xai on the north-western border with Thailand.
While this is a relatively uninteresting city, it is the base for exploring Laos' most adrenaline fueled adventure: The Gibbon Experience.
Imagine zip-lining over one-hundred feet in the air, above pristine Laotian jungle, inhabited by a unique and rare primate, the black-crested gibbon.
Now imagine no further, I will tell you all about it!
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