The Charm of Luang Prabang
We advise you read our rantings and raving about Laos in general as this post really is just focusing on the things we did in Luang Prabang. But there is so much more to know about Laos in general.
Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage town that is centered on a narrow peninsula with the Mekong River running on the west side and the Nam Khan River on the east side. Most of the visitor infrastructure is centered on the peninsula but there are many surrounding villages and areas that comprise the broader city and region. We mostly stuck to the peninsula area except for our waterfall adventure.
The main part of town on the peninsula is very walkable and even has sidewalks (not a given in Asia). There is no discernable public transit so alternate forms of transport include hired vans/cars and the legendary tuk-tuks, which are everywhere. You can also rent bikes or motorbikes, and this was ALMOST one of the places we decided to get back on a motorbike, but were ultimately deterred by the potholes and countless travelers who were walking around bandaged and bruised from presumable motorbike accidents. Traffic around town is slow, as in, there are no stop signs or stop lights, people just go at their own pace.
The city is filled with a mix of French colonial architecture and charming local architecture, each street sorta feels straight out of a movie set. We couldn’t get enough of just wandering around the charming streets from one side of the peninsula to another, strolling, and enjoying the peace and quiet.
There are tons of cafes, restaurants, and shops selling local handmade goods. Restaurants serve a variety of Lao and global cuisines (we found some of the best pizza of our lives here) and they have an abundance of street food, particularly at their nightly market that runs along the main street every evening at 5:00pm. That is how slow the city moves that they can shut down their main artery street every night at 5:00pm.
Here are some of the awesome things we did:
UXO (Unexploded Ordnance) Visitor Center: This is a must-visit to learn about the difficult history of the “Secret War” in Laos as it relates to the Second Indochina War (the Vietnam War). During the war the Ho Chi Min Trail (which supplied the North Vietnam army) ran through Laos and Cambodia. This made Laos and Cambodia a target for bombing from the U.S. (at a rate of about one bomb every 8 minutes…) As a result, Laos became the most bombed country per capita in the world, in history. More bombs were dropped on Laos than in all of WWII. Many of those bombs were cluster munitions or “bombies'' that were dropped indiscriminately across the country. Those that didn’t explode (more than 30%) still lay in wait, undetonated, throughout the country. To this day people (including children) still die from these bombs as they are discovered in fields, on the sides of roads, and even near schools. The massive presence of UXOs across the country also has a crippling effect on the development of the country, hard to build roads when construction crews risk death. So, needless to say this is important context and history that U.S. history books didn't teach us… The UXO team is doing incredible work to disarm and dispose of the thousands of bombs still lurking in the country, making it safe for rural towns, families, and children to live, work, and play. The museum gives you more info and shows you real life (disarmed) bombies and other munitions, as well as survivor stories of those injured or affected by bombs.
TAEC Museum: TAEC stands for the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Center. This unique museum focuses on the many diverse ethnic cultures and peoples in Laos. It features traditional handmade clothing, textiles, jewelry, handicrafts, and household items to show how these various indigenous cultures live and work. I can’t say enough about the important work this museum is doing and elevating, particularly around ensuring these ethnic communities are not taken advantage of in the fashion industry (through cultural appropriation and misappropriation). It was eye opening and inspirational. A must visit for sure, but you can visit their website to learn more about their work.
Phousi Hill: A hill in the middle of town. This short but steep hike up leads to some beautiful panoramic views. There is a buddhist temple on the mountain too. Many people climb the mountain for sunset. We went in the early afternoon and had a great vantage point of the city and surrounding mountains and rivers. Worth the hike.
Each of these takes about an hour.
Some things we did that take a few hours included:
Orange Robe Tour: We heard about this tour in our YouTube research. During our first stint in LP we actually weren’t able to do this because it was fully booked. When we opted to return to LP we immediately got online and booked this tour. We weren’t disappointed. Buddhism and Buddhist monks permeate society not just in Laos but Thailand and to some degree Cambodia too. We had so many questions about monk-hood and this tour answered them ALL. It was led by a former Novice (someone studying to become a monk) and it offered a truly unique glimpse into what it means to enter monastic life.
Mekong Sunset Cruise: There are hundreds of people offering sunset river cruises of all shapes and sizes. Everything from small fishing boats to large party boats. As we would sit and enjoy the sunset over the Mekong each evening you could see the various boats float by. We found ours by walking down by the river (insert Chris Farley joke here) and seeing what caught our eye. The River Sun Laos was a large luxury boat, and was made extremely nice by the fact that we wound up being the only passengers of the evening. Not by design (though they do offer private cruises too), but for whatever reason the other two people (of up to 50 possible) never showed up. We cruised along the Mekong basking in the sunset across many of the boats' comfortable seating areas, as well as enjoyed a delicious meal. It was quite the magical experience.
Arts & Crafts: Inspired by our visit to the TAEC Viv decided to join a local crafting class at the Ock Pop Tok Living Crafts Center (though there are several offerings around town). This was a truly magical experience learning some of the indigenous textile crafts from locals. Viv opted for an embroidery class because of her current obsession with embroidery, but they offer many classes including weaving, batik painting and indigo dyeing. It was quite the moment for Viv when the instructor complimented her on her general embroidery knowledge (how to thread a needle) and even asked Viv to teach her how to do a wagon wheel rose stitch when Viv showed her a piece she was currently working on. Truly one of those once in a lifetime experiences.
Each of these required some pre-planning either by purchasing a ticket or scheduling a visit.
Lastly there were a few things we did by “tour” that we recommend.
Temple Hopping: We did this as a “self guided” tour in that we just walked around and looked at some of the MANY buddhist temples throughout LP. Some of the more famous ones include Wat Xiengthong, Wat Sensoukharam, and Haw Pha Bang. It was quite the site to see some visiting monks and novices taking their own pictures, even showing Ryan a good photo angle from his phone, at Wat Xiengthong given its historic significance. What makes Luang Prabang even more magical is that more than half of the beautiful temples we have come across we stumbled on randomly. Any short stroll down the cozy streets could have you stumbling across a beautiful temple or shrine.
Kuang Si Waterfalls: For this we booked a driver through our hotel who took us the 45 minutes to the waterfall, waited as we visited, and then drove us back. This is the driver that expertly weaved through the absolutely crazy pothole streets referenced in our Love and Laos story. While a bit more expensive, we were ultimately glad to go with a driver rather than navigate on motorbike or in the back of a tuk tuk as we saw many people do. This waterfall was breathtaking but we will let the pics do the talking. Tickets include a short ride by electric car to the waterfall area where you then walk through the forest to get to the various waterfall levels. You can’t swim at the main waterfall area (in the middle of the cascade of several levels) but you can hike up to the top for additional views, or down to many of the lower cascading pools for a swim. Beware the fish like to nibble on your feet. Nothing harmful but did scare some tourists.
These didn’t require much pre-planning but did require research to know where to go or what to do.
Some things we opted not to do but either found through our own research or what we saw various local tour companies offering.
A visit to the Royal palace
Pak Ou Caves
Lao Ballet
Party at the Bowling Alley
The Living Land Farm - rice harvest tour
A quick note: Laos has a nationwide curfew of 12:00am (midnight). Because of that, there is little nightlife in Luang Prabang, though in our research some said the Bowling Alley was the happening spot for nightlife. We are not sure what happens after midnight as we were in bed before then most nights, but on the few nights we were out later than normal the streets were quiet and particularly peaceful. Also, guest houses close their fences at midnight so you can’t leave (and will wait till you get home to lock up as we found one night when we came home at 11:30pm).
Here is our Google Map of Laos!