Luang Prabang Photo Diary
When I first heard that my mom had booked us a trip to Luang Prabang, Laos, I didn’t know what to think. I had never heard of what there was to see in Laos, so I settled with the fact that at least it was a new country to add to the list of those I’ve seen. So the day after Christmas we boarded a 3 hour international flight on a turbo prop plane(!) to discover Luang Prabang, Laos and all it had to offer us.
It was nothing short of lovely. Luang Prabang was once the royal capital and seat of government in the Kingdom of Laos until the communist takeover in 1975. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the the charming little town set against a backdrop of mountains and lush forest still remains practically unchanged.
Personally, I think that Luang Prabang is one of the most fascinating places I’ve seen in South East Asia. The town itself is characterized by an interesting mix of Buddhist temples, monasteries, and French style buildings (since Laos was a French colony of Indochine) many of which have been converted to hotels and coffee shops. They also close down a whole stretch of road every night for a night market where locals come out and sell goods that they make themselves. But what I found most beautiful about Luang Prabang was the Alms Ceremony where all the monks in town get up at dawn and come to beg for food from the locals and a few tourists who decide to take part in this ritual.
Overall, what made Luang Prabang so special is how it all still seems very untouched and preserved despite the large number of tourists the town draws in every year. It’s a great place for off the beaten track type of travels where you feel as though you’re experiencing authentic and real culture.
Luang Prabang, Laos. December 2011
Travel Tips:
How to Get There: There are flights from other places in Laos (Vientiane, Pakse, Jinghong), as well as from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hanoi, and Siem Reap. We took the morning Bangkok Air flight from Bangkok to Luang Prabang, and they were an hour delayed which was not great since we only had a little over 24 hours to spend there. Surprisingly Laos Airlines, which we took from Luang Prabang to Siem Reap was on time, and had very good service. It wasn’t a direact flight however since we did have to stop over at Pakse before heading to Siem Reap.
Where to Stay: Luang Prabang has a variation of accommodations for any sort of traveler, but my family and I stayed at Villa Santi Resort. We were originally booked for Villa Santi Hotel which is in town, but there was a muck up with Expedia and the wonderful hotel manager gave us two villa’s in their resort instead which is located around 10 minutes away from town by car. He was also very apologetic about the mix up so he assigned a car to us without charge the entire 24 hours we were at Luang Prabang. I do highly recommend Villa Santi, but the down side really is how it’s outside town. So staying at the hotel which is on the “main road” in town, a few meters down from the night market, and where the Alms Ceremony takes place would be more convenient. If you are however willing to shell out extra for a car to take you to and from your accommodations, Villa Santi Resort is great.
What to do:
- See the temples
- Shop for silver and hand embroidered bags, shawls, throw pillow cases, bed spreads at the night market on Sisavangvong Road
- Climb Phou Si Hill which gives you a view of the entire town
- Have coffee in one of the many French inspired cafes along the Mekong River and read while you’re at it
- Get a new book at the Tamnak Lao Restaurant Book Exchange. I didn’t get to go, but I read lots of nice things about it online. There’s also something cool about acquiring a new book that belonged to a traveler from another part of the world and then passing on your book to someone else.
- Eat a Nutella Crepe from a street vendor. It was just like the street crepes in Paris!
- Witness the Alms Ceremony at dawn. It was one of the most spiritual and moving things I have ever experienced.
