We flew into Luang Prabang on a Saturday. We’d booked the first flight out of Vientiane, but it was cancelled (we learned this is usually the case on the Saturday morning flight). A two hour delay allowed us to have a leisurely breakfast and poke around the capital a little more.
Despite hearing that the bus ride between Vientiane and Luang Prabang was a phenomenal sight through untouched countryside, we opted for air travel. The bus would take 11 hours and though it’s spectacular, we couldn’t afford the time on a five day trip.
The town of Luang Prabang is an UNESCO World Heritage sight nestled between the Mekong and the Nam Khan Rivers.
You can get lost in the tiny streets reminiscent of its French colonial past.
Despite the fact that this is a town almost totally geared toward tourists, it’s very peaceful and manages to avoid the pratfalls of most tourist towns. Almost all the restaurants, guesthouses, and shops contribute to sustainable tourism.
We stayed at Le Bel Air Boutique Resort and Villa. Love.
It was a 20 minute walk into the main bit of the town. This is actually far in the hot sun, but the Bel Air provides free bicycles which is easily the best way to view the area.
Crossing the wooden bridge was a little harrowing.
Especially the night we walked home and the street lights were off and spiderwebs caught our faces with every step. But this just adds to the adventure!
Our first day we decided to bike to a village about 5km from town (further if you follow Lonely Planet's map which points you in the wrong direction). How many men does it take to put air in a bike tire?
One?
Three?
Wrong. Apparently four.
We peddled into Banxangk hong during a shower which quickly turned the dirt roads to mud.
More adventure!
There are a number of small shops here mostly devoted to hand woven tapestries and hand made paper.
We found a shop, Mut Mee (mutmeetextileshop@hotmail.com), that raises its own silkworms and dyes the silk with natural herbs and leaves. I LOVE the tapestry we bought (though I didn’t take a photo).
This was one of the proprietor’s sons just before he threw a bowl full of water at Mr. Happy (aka Mr. Wet and Happy).
We rode our bikes back to town and feasted on the main roadside food – scrumptious, delectable baguette sandwiches!!!
If you don’t live in Asia, you probably don’t realize the joy I feel biting into this wonderful bread. It’s so rare to find it in this part of the world. Take that Subway!
You can order so many different combinations and they cost $1US. (Our favorites: Egg noodles, tofu, onion, cucumber, and tomato. Brie and tomato. Nutella and Banana!!)
The following morning we woke up around 5am in order to view the alms ceremony.
The monks walk through town and villagers offer them food and water. It’s so beautiful, but has become a bit touristy. We were there in the off season so it wasn’t too bad, but it was sad to see some tourists with cameras getting right up in the faces of the monks and disturbing the ceremony.
Main rules to mind when visiting the Alms Ceremony
1. Stay a respectful distance away from the procession.
2. Don’t buy the rice from street side vendors to offer to the monks. It’s very poor quality and the monks cannot eat it.
3. If you attend, please dress appropriately – women must cover their shoulders and knees. This is a religious ceremony and you must show respect.
Later in the day we took a private boat cruise down the Mekong.
Fill ‘er up!
Some luxurious digs!
We did some temple hopping.
We also climbed Phou Si Hill to take in the views at the Vipassana Temple.
The views were breathtaking.
It's the hot spot to take in sunset.
Magical.
We even squeezed in a cultural show, massages at the Peninsula Hotel, and a buying spree at the Night Market.
I generally opted to leave my camera in the guest house during dinners, but we had some really terrific meals. If you visit Luang Prabang, definitely try out L’Elephant. We dined there for our “special” night out. Their tasting menus are wonderful and the house wine was surprisingly good. We’d heard Three Nagas is very good, but it was always empty when we went past.
We also enjoyed the newly opened Coconut Garden (sit in the rear courtyard and try the Laos tasting menu).
Lots of people enjoy Tamarind, but the night we went they didn’t have a lot of things on the menu (ie noodles!!??), so it was a bit of a letdown.
Mr. Happy and I enjoyed the easy going, laid back style of Luang Prabang.
A young girl hacks open our coconuts.
Some dangerously cheap whisky.
Rice cakes drying in the sun.
Bottle cap checkers.
“Get your baskets!”
We didn’t tick every “to do” box on our trip there, but we hit the important ones – rest, relaxation, and good food.
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