Luang Prabang-Ancient Asia Meets French Colonial

Luang Prabang has often been described as enigmatic, spiritual, and sophisticated. The former Laos Royal capital is certainly no ordinary town. This UNESCO protected gem of a place grabbed our hearts from the minute we stepped out of our two-day slow boat trip down the Mekong River. There is a unique vibe here which is difficult to describe or even pinpoint, it goes far beyond any mediocre description. A romantic place, offering a seamless blend of ancient Asian flavors, religion, and cultural heritage, fused with French colonial influences.

Surrounded by lush green mountains, Luang Prabang is strategically positioned at the confluence of the Mekong and the Nam Khan River, the narrow peninsula is like a long finger pointing out into the river waters. The name means ” City of the Golden Buddha Phra Bang”. Luang Prabang takes its name from a statue of Buddha, the Prabang, offered by Cambodia.

This city is a hub of Laotian Buddhism, with its many gilded pagodas ( also known as vat or wat) and an army of orange-robbed monks strolling along its streets. For the soul-searching visitor, looking for calm and contemplation there might be better places to be, but one can’t deny its charm. It is visited by most of the travelers who, like us are doing the “banana pancake trail”, but to us, it certainly did not feel too tourist trodden or lacking in authenticity.

This town has so far resisted the kind of rapid change found elsewhere in Asia, despite its popularity with backpackers, ex-pats, retirees, and Chinese tour groups, it has kept itself free from over-commercialism. It is compact and easy to explore on foot. 

We were only able to stay 4 nights and after two languid days relaxing on our Mekong river cruise, we were not feeling the urge to be cramming in a lot of sightseeing, but rather enjoy it at our own pace. Here are some of the things we learned and enjoyed about this much-loved town:

Indo-Chinese French Villas and Ornate Buddhist Temples

Laos came under French rule between 1893 and 1953 and was integrated into French-Indochina, the French colonial territories in South East Asia. The protectorate of Luang Phrabang was nominally under the rule of its King, but the real power lay with a local French Governor-General until the Kingdom of Laos was granted full independence in 1953.  The French eventually left, but their legacy stayed behind. Leaving their mark,  particularly in the unique architecture design in which traditional Lao wooden structures fused with European Colonial styles.

Luang Prabang has been UNESCO protected since 1995, all new buildings will have to maintain the character of the area.

We really enjoyed wandering around the town appreciating the stylish buildings hidden among lush vegetation. Refreshingly, there are no highrise buildings. In the late 1800s, the French contracted some very skilled builders to develop and build the new architectural fusion of wood and brick two stores, high ceiling, wide wooden balcony villas, decorated with teak and rosewood furniture seen around the town today.

Scattered amid the grandiose French Indochine designs are the omnipresent golden temples. Known as the spiritual capital of Laos, there is no shortage of temples in this town. Many will not charge any admission fee, but you might want to leave a donation. 

 

The amazing pagodas represent well the typical Lao art and craft technique with a dash of polished sophistication. There are over 30 temples in Luang Prabang, beautifully decorated with engravings, sculptures, paintings, and gilded spires. When visiting the temples, make sure to dress appropriately by covering shoulders and knees. Remember to remove your shoes before entry to the temple. Photography might not be allowed inside some of the temples, but there will be signs if that is the case. 

The most celebrated Monastery is Wat Xieng Thong ( Temple of the golden city), it dates from the 16th century, comprising an ensemble of complex structures not found in any of the other local pagodas, it is considered one of the grandest. Built between 1559-1560 by King Setthathirath. We took our time to explore it one early morning since there are lots to see. 

The temples are located within a walkable area, we visited a few just by wandering around town. They usually open between 8 am and 5 pm, many are free to enter. 

Mount Phousi

Strolling around town, one evening brought us to the bottom of a steepish 329-steps staircase leading to a 24m gilded stupa overlooking the town. The steps leading up are just opposite the night market. There is a small admission fee to pay, halfway up the hill. There are great views from the top, and coming here for sunset is very popular so don’t expect to have it to yourself.

There is also a Buddhist Temple at the top of Mount Phousi, Wat Tham Phu Si. This is the highest point in town providing a great 360-degree view and the best place to be for a stunning sunset or sunrise. Be prepared to climb a few steps, but the view is definitely worth it. We ended up chatting for some time to a Brazilian guy who was traveling in SE Asia alone, going in the opposite direction to us. Once the sunset was over, we returned to the town below to explore the night market. 

Lantern Lit Night-Market

The Market is set up along Sisavangvong Road every night, which is free from traffic between 5 pm and 11 pm. Under a dreamy dim light, the night market comes to life in all its exuberance. We walked through it most nights, browsing the many stalls where hill-tribe women were crouching over their colorful handmade crafts, patchwork blankets, stuffed elephants, and traditional garments. Haggling is not only permitted, but also encouraged. Not for the first or even last time, we lamented our lack of luggage room for souvenirs, there were so many great articles that would have been lovely to take home with us.

At a nearby side street, steaming on a coal fire, bowls of Fer (a broth noodle soup dish, topped with green herbs and meat) fill the air with the aromatic smells. There are also spring rolls, dumplings, grilled fish being sold on small carts by the side of the road or inside modest family restaurants with plastic chairs. You don’t have to walk far to find the street food here, either at night or during the daytime, when a morning market is also set up in this area. 

We particularly loved grabbing some coconut pancakes as we walked around the market, cooked on a griddle they were hot and delicious.

Lao Cuisine

Lao has a flowery, spicy cuisine, with well-balanced ingredient combinations unique to the region. There are European influences as well as flavors from other Indo-Chinese neighboring countries. It is a great place for doing a cooking class and although we did not partake, thinking back now I wish we had. We did have some memorable meals though, and not always just due to memorable food.

Bouang Asian Eatery –  Situated on the main road, this place had a great vibe with artsy interior decorations. The service was friendly, the music soft and the food looked and tasted delicious. It is a small place, therefore finding a table might not always be very easy, we lucked out, but as we were being served a waiting queue soon formed outside. 

Tamarind – On the banks of the Nam Khan river, we enjoyed a romantic candlelit dinner here in one of their outdoor tables (it is a popular place, so we booked a table the day before). We opted to share a sampling plater with some scrumptious authentic Lao dishes. The wine was also very good.

After our meal, we decided to go for a cocktail at the Icon Klub – described by Lonely Planet as “imagine a place in the afterlife where writers meet and conversation flows freely as the fabulous mixology cocktails”. Well…the conversation did flow freely, but not with writers and free thinkers, but rather with a drunk Irishman from Dublin who decided to adopt us and parked himself at the barstool next to me.

The best conversation we had though was with the bar owner, a lovely Hungarian lady who has been a cocktail mixologist here for over 20 years. She made a delicious and potent Brazilian “caipirinha” for me.

After a couple of cocktails, we made our way back to our hotel to find that a loud Chinese family had moved into the room next door. 

Dyen Sabai – We had to cross a bamboo bridge (only here during the dry season) over the Nam Khan River for our evening meal. Just before crossing the bridge, we stopped to buy our bridge crossing ticket (toll of 7000 Kip return) and we heard a Brazilian couple having a “domestic”, not sure what they were fighting about, but we noticed that she was rather angry with him… 

We decided to let them go ahead and lingered for a bit taking photos of the rickety bamboo bridge, which is rebuilt every year during the dry season and taken apart during the rainy season. Crossing it at night was a little bit nerve-wracking, but very atmospheric. 

Arriving at the restaurant on the other side of the river, we were asked whether we would mind sharing a table with others since the restaurant was very busy.

Happy with that option, we were taken to a cozy area with colorful cushions on the floor and a low table overlooking the river. As we sat down we immediately recognize the arguing Brazilian couple from the bridge…luckily they had already made it up and we had a great night of sharing stories and a laugh.

We were later on joined by another 3 girls ( A+E nurses from the UK) who were backpacking their way to Australia, where nursing jobs awaited for them. 

Utopia – with a name such as Utopia, expectations were high. We visited this lush riverside place twice for lunch. It had a hippie vibe, with lots of nooks and crannies, riverside cozy areas including a wooden terrace with thin mattresses and cushions on the floor overlooking the river. Apparently It can get quite busy, but it was not too bad when we visited, there were plenty of options for places to enjoy some food, drinking, and lounging.  

The food was also delicious with vegan and vegetarian options on the menu ( although prices were a little higher than in some other places). There was chilled music, providing an altogether great place to laze out for the afternoon. Apparently this place really livens up after 8 pm with great music, cocktails, and quiz nights. It does close promptly at 11 pm following the country’s strict curfew laws. We only visited during the day.  

Learning about Laos brutal history at the UXO Visitor Centre

After lazying out at “Utopia” for a few hours, it was back to reality with a bang.

One of the most important things about traveling and visiting other countries is to learn about its history. When visiting this region of Laos, one must not shy away from learning about its brutal past. We decided that a visit to the UXO- Visitor Centre, was very important. The museum is small but very informative. It is free to visit, but leaving a donation is a good way to contribute towards the great work that it does. Alternatively, you can buy a souvenir so we bought a T-shirt for Brian there. 

After six decades of colonization by France, and a brief occupation by the Japanese during WWII, Laos won independence in 1953. But peace did not last long since and in 1958 the North Vietnamese invaded the country to create the Ho Chi Minh trail, during the Vietnam War. The trail was set up by Nothern Vietnamese forces to keep open the supply lines to the troops in the South and into Cambodia and Southern Vietnam.

Keen to close down these supply lines, Laos was subject to attacks by both the US and the Vietnamese Army.  

The US dropped something like 280 million cluster munitions onto Laos, despite the fact that Laos and the US were never “officially” at war. This “secret war” raged from 1964 until 1973 tearing the country apart and making it one of the world’s most heavily bombed countries (per capita). With the equivalent of a plane-load of bombs being dropped every eight minutes for nine years.

About a third of all the bombs dropped by the US didn’t detonate. These UXO (Unexploded Ordnance) are still scattered around the countryside with the potential to kill or cause harm to many people, particularly farmers working the land and children who might find them and not realize how lethal they are. The most dangerous of these are “bombies”, which to kids  look like a little ball to play with. Many people die every year or are harmed by UXO in Laos, and there are many areas that are yet to be cleared before people can safely inhabit the land. 

There is currently great effort going on to help clear the land and also to educate local people about the danger of UXOs. The Lao program is not well funded and although, since Obama visited in 2016, the US has pledged about 90 million USD towards the program, it is far from enough. Laos needs all the help it can get since it is going to take a very long time and a great deal of effort and collaboration to sort this huge problem. 

Big Brother Mouse

Next door to our hotel, there was this great non-profit organization, called Big Brother Mouse. We volunteered our English conversation skills here one morning since they love a chance to practice talking in English. No special training is needed and they don’t mind people speaking English with an accent, like myself. I even ended up teaching then to speak some Portuguese words since they were so eager to learn about my home country of Brazil. They were very keen to practice and learn new English words. It was great fun for us since we were able to ask them lots of questions about themselves, including about what it was like to be a young novice monk living in a monastery away from their families. Many of them aspired to go to University in the future, and some talked about trying to get scholarships to study abroad. 

We found that they all spoke really good English and we were able to talk about lots of different topics. I started off with just one pupil and ended up surrounded by many more.

The organization focuses mostly on publishing books and improving literacy in Laos, particularly in rural areas. Books are scarce in Laos and people don’t usually read books for pleasure. This organization wants to change literacy in Laos, publishing books that are fun to read and therefore increasing literacy. 

In 2016 they received the YBBY – Asahi Reading Promotion Award from the International Board on Books for Young People, recognizing their efforts for over ten years of innovative work to get children excited about books. 

Tat Kuang Si Waterfalls and Tat Kuang Si Bear Rescue Centre. 

We arranged a visit to Kuang Si Waterfall via our guest house. A tuk-tuk picked us up at about 9 am one morning, along with another six people, and drove us for about 40 minutes, 29 Km South of Luang Prabang to an idyllic jungle-like area. We arrived there at around 10 am and the driver instructed us that the return journey would be at 1 pm. 

We walked up to the park entrance and followed the signs to the Tat Kuang Si Bear Rescue Centre, which is just before the Kuang Si Waterfalls. It was breakfast time for the bears and we watched them frolicking and playing with each other. They are usually most active at dawn and dusk.

The center caters specifically for the Asian Black Bear also known as Moon Bear. Many face the risk of extinction due to the loss of habitat, but also because of human exploitation. Bear bile is a traditional ingredient in Asian medicine and is extracted from living Moon Bears that are caught in the wild and kept in very cramped conditions. A metal catheter is inserted into their gall bladders for collecting the bile.

We made a donation and I also got a “Free The Bears” T-shirt here, all for a very good cause. The Sanctuary provides valuable training, employment opportunities, and alternative livelihoods to local villagers, destined to become Lao’s future wildlife warriors.

From the Asian Black Bear Sanctuary, we made our way to the stunning Kuang Si Waterfalls via the well-maintained walkway and bridges through the tropical forest. 

The main large waterfall of pale turquoise-blue water, tumbling down from the lush tropical jungle above it into the cool limestone tiered pools below, was simply stunning. It almost looked like a tropical painting. It is possible to swim in some of the pools, but take note of the signs saying “no swimming” in certain areas. There are changing rooms and WC near the picnic area.

Wanting to explore further we followed some steps up (left of the main wooden footbridge) hiking for about 20 minutes, to some other more “hidden” parts of the waterfalls and some jungle views. There is also a more secluded and less busy pool at the top, and there were some people swimming there. 

The steps up are steep in places and to be honest, we did not think it was worth the extra effort. The main waterfall and lower pools around the picnic area are the most stunning in our opinion. If we visited again, we would spend more time in that area, rather than hike further up. 

In spite of being a busy tourist place, we really enjoyed our visit. I would recommend coming early in the morning. The park opens at 8 am until 5:30 pm, the entrance fee was about 20 000 Kip (2.5 USD) when we visited in late January 2020. We arrived here at around 10 am, but I think earlier would have been better as when we left at around 1 pm it was starting to get very busy. We arranged our transport via the hotel, but it is just as easy to hire your own tuk-tuk or songtaew so as to give you more flexibility (although it might cost a little bit more if not sharing it with others). 

There is a variety of food and drink stalls just outside the park, by the parking area. We bought a delicious freshly made fruit shake in one of the stalls, but we had to wait a bit to be served since the electricity went down for a few minutes. 

Tips for visiting Luang Prabang in Laos

This place is one of the most popular destinations in Laos and it is for good reason. This pretty town in Northern Laos has a lot to offer. We stayed for 4 nights but we could have easily stayed a lot longer, but because we were just at the start of our journey through Laos and then Cambodia and Vietnam, sadly we had to move on.

We visited at the end of January 2020, during high season, the temperature was a pleasant 26 C during day time, falling to around 20 C in the night time. 

Hotel – Budget hotel prices vary between 15 to 20 USD (hostel beds in dormitories can be from 5 to 10 USD), a hotel with a swimming pool can set you back 50+ USD per night. This town was the only place during our 10 weeks backpacking trip that we could not get into our first accommodation option and had to settle for a less desirable place. Therefore booking a few days in advance might be a good idea. We booked all our hotels in Laos via Booking.com, but Agoda and Airbnb are also popular. 

Food and Drink – There are many excellent bars and restaurants in town, we paid an average of 20 USD for two for some great evening meals at the above-described restaurants. But there are many much cheaper options, the night market, for example, you can get a meal for about 3 USD. Local food is always cheaper, Western restaurants will charge a lot more. 

How to get around – We walked everywhere, occasionally we used tuk-tuks (agree on a price before you get on), also renting a bicycle is easy and very cheap. There are scooters for rental but do watch out for scams. 

Best time to go – From November to May the weather is consistently dry and warm, the average temperature is about 25 degrees C coming down to around 18 degrees C at night, it is also the most popular time and prices are a little higher than during the low season. From March to May it can get more humid and hot. The rainy season is from June to October, hotel prices will be a lot cheaper then. 

Safety – Luang Prabang is a very safe place to visit, but take the same precautions as you would normally, when visiting most places. 

Mobile Phone – We bought a SIM card to use during our travels in Laos. 

Money– There are lots of ATMs in town, some might charge a commission. 

Coronavirus Update – January 25th, 2020

As we traveled through Laos we kept an eye on the news regarding the outbreak of Coronavirus. On January 25th, as we were leaving Luang Prabang going Southwards, we heard that more than 1, 320 cases had been confirmed worldwide including Europe, with 3 confirmed cases in France ( but most cases were in China with 1, 297 confirmed cases and 41 deaths).

The US was beginning to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. Liang Wudong, the 62 years old doctor who first raised concerns about this new virus had died with COVID-19 in Wuhan, where he had been treating many patients with this respiratory disease.

There have been no reported cases of coronavirus in Laos at this stage of our travels. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) assessment of the risk was very high in China, but just high globally. WHO was not recommending any specific health measure for travelers.  We kept our travel plans unchanged and carried on through Laos. 

This pretty, bite-size town is a winner in my book and a definite stop on any travel itinerary in SE Asia. This place oozes charm and character, I wonder who could possibly not fall in love with this world-class place. We left Luang Prabang early morning on Saturday, 25th of January 2020 on a “VIP” bus to Vang Vieng, our VIP bus turned out to be not quite what we expected, but that is a story for another day.