Luang Prabang was just different than anywhere else I've visited on this trip. At first the differences were imperceptible, so I couldn't really identify what was unique about the place. Staying for 4+ days really allowed us to soak up the place, though, and I've tried to gather some impressions.

-- PICTURESQUE. In contrast to Chiang Mai, where we had many fun outdoor/gastronomical/shopping/historical adventures but where the city itself is not especially beautiful, I found Luang Prabang to be really lovely to simply stroll around. It's an accessible small town, occupying a peninsula between the Mekong and Nam Kan rivers, and there's really only two main streets. In addition, it has the status of being a UNESCO World Heritage City, which I presume means there are many restrictions on development. As a result, the low-rise buildings lack the bland architecture we've seen in other parts of SE Asia, and there is a lack of advertising on buildings. Finally, there are still vestiges of French colonial architecture, as well as other French influences, so we ended up finding oodles of quaint shops, guesthouses, cafes, bakeries, and restaurants. There's nothing better than a Lao iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk or a mango fruit shake to refresh you in 90+ degree temperatures!

Nam Kan River, Laos

-- ISOLATED. We explored the town but also did some tours outside of town. Even on those short jaunts, it was amazing to see how mountainous the region is. Originally we meant to reach LP from Northern Thailand via a 2-day river cruise down the Mekong; the same route takes 15 hours to drive. Travel between cities in Laos takes a lot of time and patience for windy, bumpy roads. Along these lines, I was struck by our tour guide on our day of kayaking/elephant riding. He was from one of the local Hmong communities, and for him, Luang Prabang represents "the big city." As we kayaked, he asked me if I had ever been to Hong Kong, and if it is like Luang Prabang. I wasn't quite sure how to answer, knowing that he probably couldn't even comprehend the level of hustle, bustle, and population density of Hong Kong. In Luang Prabang, the most happening bar in town stays open until 11:30.

Lao countryside, south of Luang Prabang

-- FRIENDLY. As I did in Chiang Mai, I found myself letting my guard down in LP. Everywhere we went, people smiled. Even people who wanted to sell to us were remarkably non-pushy. The service was great, our tours did not disappoint, and shopping was a really fun experience.

In addition to these impressions, I wanted to write about our activities (and hopefully post pictures soon). Another special thing about Christi's and my time in Lao is that we met up with no fewer than six other Ross grads. Our friends Neda, Matt, Jeff, and Tanuka (as well as Neda's friend Laura) were on their way through, and we caught them for dinner and drinks at Hive (the very bar that's open until 11:30!) before they left for Thailand. In addition, we spent most of our time there with Karina and Ian, whom Christi traveled with during her Germany semester last year. It was probably the biggest Ross contingent Luang Prabang has ever seen!

On our first day in town, Christi and I wanted to take it easy and get our bearings. So, we did some sightseeing, shopping, and investigating to decide on treks for the upcoming days. We decided to try something a little different, as well, based on guide book recommendations, and headed off to the Lao Red Cross to try their spa treatments. For only $1, we supported their programs and got to try the herbal sauna. Popular among Lao women and men, the sauna promotes good health and skin using 25 different herbs in the steam. Now, why anyone would go in a sauna in 90+ temperatures, I'm not sure... but we bravely headed in anyway!

Luckily, a young Lao woman Deng befriended us, and showed us the ropes (shower in between sessions, wet down your sarong, drink tea now, don't shower after the last session or you'll wash off the herbs, rub your skin with milk, etc.) At first, we were the only "falang" (foreigners) there (two more came before we left), but there were at least 15 Lao. There was a bit of excitement when a ladyboy came in and popped into the men's side of the sauna wearing a sarong and a pink headband. This amounted to a fair amount of confusion when the poor Australian man who arrived after us walked in and right back out, thinking he had read the signs wrong! All in all, Christi and I were completely amused by our so-very-authentic sauna experience. Later that evening before dinner, we took in a performance at the Royal Ballet Theater, which sounds more professional than it actually was, but at least gave us a taste of Lao culture through dance, music, and costumes.

The next day, we ventured out on a Tiger Trails tour to see their Elephant Park Project, ride elephants, and then kayak back to Luang Prabang on the Nam Kan river. The elephants were lovely, and I can only imagine that they are treated better than the ones we saw in Chiang Mai. For starters, they didn't demand bananas and sugar cane every five steps, and the mahouts (elephant trainers) were more gentle as well. The ride was much more peaceful as a result, and we still got to feed Mae Nam (our elephant) at the end.

Now I know how high corn grows...

Christi kayaking

That night, we decided to eat at an outdoor restaurant along the Mekong. Just as we selected the place, there was a dip in the electricity and then... power outage. Like my experience in Cambodia, there were often power dips in the evening, but this time, the power stayed off for at least an hour. It was actually quite amazing how quickly the restaurant lit candles and carried on, managing to cook our entire meal in the dark. (Good thing for natural gas!) The only light other than candlelight came from the headlights of passing motorbikes. I was almost disappointed when the electricity came back on.

Power outage... dinner by candlelight!

Friday was a big day for us, as we ventured to the Pak Ou caves in the morning with stops at local villages along the way. This was a lesson in "you get what you pay for..." we had decided to book a less expensive tour, which meant that our 1 hour longboat ride upriver was in a rickety boat with no real seats and approximately 1 square meter for Christi and I to sit in. As another tourist on our boat said to someone at the dock as we pulled away, "please tell our story if we don't make it back!" Despite a brief stop to re-fuel along the way, we made it to the caves. They are actually somewhat bizzare -- caves right on the Mekong, filled with Buddha shrines. Local children lined the steps up to the upper caves and sold fruit, stones, and other trinkets. Oddly, one girl also had a large black beetle leashed by a string as her pet, and another young girl was playing with her pets, two rodent-like animals (moles?) tied together by their feet. The children were sweet and gentle, but it was sad to see their obvious health problems (a broken or possibly congenitally deformed foot, skin diseases, etc.).

That afternoon, following a lovely lunch at Cafe Vat Sene, I hired a tuk-tuk to visit the Kuang Xi waterfalls. I had just enough time to get there and hike up to see the falls, as well as take a dip in the swimming areas. They were some of the most gorgeous waterfalls I've ever seen -- a tall falls that cascaded down into several pools of clear blue water.

Kuang Xi Falls

more Kuang Xi Falls

Jennie pre-waterfall-swim

sunset over the Mekong from Mount Phousi

On our last morning, Christi and I took a 1/2 day class from OckPopTop, an enterprise that means "east meets west" and employs local women weavers to produce and sell handicrafts in their shops. We learned about weaving and dying silk and even got the chance to create dyes from tamarind, indigo, and sappan wood. Hopefully I'll come up with something creative to do with my hand-dyed silk thread.

Chris and Jen with yellow dye made from tamarind

We checked out of the Sala Prabang and headed to the airport with lots of good memories as well as a few purchases. This is a place I'd happily revisit!

written by  GoBlue on June 17, 2007 from Hanoi, Vietnam
from the travel blog: J-Mac's Junket
Send a Compliment

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Thanks for my own personal travel guide to LP, Laos. It's #1 on my destination wish list.

Erin, formerly of LP, Chicago, now in Nagoya, Japan

written by  Erin Sakakibara on June 18, 2007

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