Luang Prabang
We arrived in the former capital of Laos on the day before New Year’s Eve. The town was absolutely packed for upcoming festivities and it was apparent that the few remaining guesthouses that still had any rooms available had hiked their prices substantially for the influx of people. Luckily we managed to find a reasonable guesthouse close to the centre of town, but many people who arrived the next day really struggled to find accommodation.
Luang Prabang is jam-packed with boutique hotels, cozy cafes and gourmet restaurants. Its like a town straight out of a Mr & Mrs Smith catalog (oddly enough, they don’t actually have a guide from Luang Prabang).
New Years Eve was spent at Hive, a local bar/club, and most of New Year’s Day was spent nursing a horrible hangover; a result of Lao-lao, the local moonshine, and too much Beerlao, although I think the Lao-lao was more to blame. Lao-lao, by the way, is one of the most horrible spirits known to man. In my hazy recollection, it tastes pretty much the same as surgical spirits.
One morning, I got up early and gave alms to the monks. Every morning at day-break, hundreds of monks and novices stream out of the many wats and receive alms from the residents (and tourists) of Luang Prabang. I hadn’t planned to participate in the ceremony, only to watch, but a crafty local entrepreneur quickly seized upon me, jammed a basket of sticky rice in my hands and commanded me to kneel down and wait for the monks to pass. Of course, she demanded payment for the rice. It was exorbitant, but surely it would be wrong to haggle over the price of alms for Buddhist monks? Before the rational part of my brain could respond the sucker part of my brain had handed over the cash.
We also visited the amazing Tat Kuang Si waterfalls, about 30 km outside of town. The water the most incredible turquoise colour, caused by the large amounts of calcium in the water. This calcium deposits itself on everything along the river, and the edge of the waterfall is constantly being built outwards by it, creating wonderfully overhung pools above each waterfall.
On the same trip to the waterfalls, we also visited Pak Ou caves, but were less impressed by the caves than by the waterfall: they were definitely more of a tourist trap and a bit overpriced for what they were.
All-in-all, we absolutely loved Luang Prabang. No doubt, it’s expensive by Lao standards and very touristy, but its UNESCO World Heritage status has protected it from much of the crumbiness that tourism attracts, and the town manages to retain it’s wonderfully laid-back-yet-sophisticated charm.
Photoset on Flickr / Slideshow
Subscribe to our Feed