November 28 to December 6, 2019
We had heard so much good on the city that we were afraid of being disappointed. The truth is that it blew our expectations…
Population 400,000
183 km from Vang Vieng (4h trip)
340 km from Vientiane (7 to 8h trip)
But let me introduce the city to you…
History Bubble: Long time ago, Laos (or Lan Xang – the million elephants kingdom) was composed of 3 kingdoms : Luang Prabang (in the north), Vientiane (in the center) and Champassak (in the south). Luangmeans capital. Prabang (or Phra Bang) is a Buddha statue that was given in 1359 by the Khmer king (Cambodia) to his son-in-law, Fa Ngum, the first Lao monarch. The city of Luang Prabang was the capital of the North kingdom.
This city is mysterious with an infinity of temples, traditions and mythology. It is vibrant with cafés, shops and its famous night market. It is magnetic with an incredible natural décor, amazing food (again!) and a global feel-good vibe that got us addicted.
Luang Prabang is surrounded by mountains, crossed by the Nam Khan river and flanked by the Mekong river at the north. It was pretty nice to cross paths with the Mekong again after Vientiane and the delta in Vietnam. For the first time in Laos, we could see its waters while walking on its banks. It is much narrower (a hundred meters) than in Vientiane (a few kilometers wide).
Mekong River
Nam Khan River
Michel, our friend met in the Mekong delta, said he considered Luang Prabang to be a «living museum» and now we so much understand what he meant. On every corner there is a temple, a shrine, a stupa (structure containing Buddha relics). We had time to visit a bunch of them while we were there without it being too overwhelming.
A few wats and temples in Luang Prabang
Wat Xieng Thong, magnificent with the tree of life mosaic
Tak bat
Every morning between 5:30 and 6:30am, monks call to alms. Bamboo mats are laid on the sidewalks across the city and saffron-clad monks walk barefoot, in processions, with a bamboo basket. They demonstrate their vows of poverty and humility while townsfolks gain spiritual merit by the act of respectful giving (placing tiny balls of sticky rice in their begging bowls).
What impressed us the most (except for how early we woke up that morning) was the quiet atmosphere almost surreal across the city before sunset.
Lana still talks about the monks she saw that morning…
Traditional storytelling
We were eager to learn more about the origins of Luang Prabang and it was the perfect setting. A storyteller told us the origins of the traditional lao khenne instrument, created by a young girl who wanted to imitate a bird song that she loved so much she could not live without. The instrument sounds like an organ actually.
We also learned the origins of Mount Phu Si. Phu means mount and Si comes from Si Da, a Queen who had requested her subject to fetch a certain kind of mushrooms from Sri Lanka. After 2 unsuccessful attempts, the subject brought back the mountain top so that the Queen could find the mushrooms herself.
A must-do in Luang Prabang is to go up the Mount Phu Si at dusk to enjoy the magnificent sunset.
Mount Phu Si
Views from the Mount Phu Si
Sunset
As you can see, it's a pretty popular spot
Traditional Arts and Ethnology Center
It gave us a good overview of the 3 ethnic groups in Laos and their 60+ sub-groups: the Lao Tai (63% of the population – live in the plains), the Lao Theung (live in mid-altitude mountains) and the Lao Soung (migrated from south China and Tibet – live in high-altitude mountains).
The museum is well documented and explanations are very clear. A good exhibition on musical instruments (with reeds) shows the importance of music in the Lao culture but also the emergence of various kinds amongst the ethnic groups.
Getting lost in Luang Prabang is a delight especially in the backstreets where hidden cafés are located such as the Utopia overlooking the Nam Khan river.
This is also where we practiced yoga at 7:30am, outside on a wooden deck overlooking the river. Temperatures were just perfect with the sun warming our bones up, the sounds of a waterfall and rooster crow accompanying our flow… life’s hard! Grant you, this one will be hard to beat ;-)
Night market
Quite extensive compared to Vientiane’s (where we were disappointed by the lack of handicrafts), there is plethora of merchandise and most of it is hand-made. From scarves or sins to tea, magnets and keychains, one can find anything and be sure it’s local. Of course, there is food (we can’t starve in Asia): coconut pancakes, banana pancakes and fresh juice. This is too good to be true!
What is striking though is the number of babies, toddlers and kids with their parents working on the market, in the cold. Every night, instead of watching TV or hanging out at the house, they follow their parents. We saw an 18 month-old boy who was eager to explore while his mom was doing business so she had to run after him because he was walking away on the scooter parking lot. We even saw a 6 or 7-year-old girl carrying her little brother on her back in a baby carrier to help her mom. These were reality checks for us on kids’ lives in Laos but also on how privileged we are in the West and how we should not lose sight of this even in recent days of strikes...
We went through Naema and Lana’s clothes and gave a few items to a lady working on the market who was always there with her 2 girls probably aged 6 and 8.
Giving back
Laos is amongst the 45 poorest countries in the world. To this day, many rural areas do not have running water or sanitation. Education is fragile due to lack of resources and educators especially in remote areas. When we got to Laos, we quickly realized that people do a lot with very little.
To help improve the Lao’s quality of life, many NGOs and humanitarian initiatives are set up across the country. In Luang Prabang, they have a good representation and tourists can donate and/or contribute knowing that it will go directly to those in need.
Library
The girls are always craving for books. We hung out there and they read in the English books section.
There is also an initiative to buy books for remote schools (where they cruelly lack resources) and once they gathered enough books, they send the “book tuk-tuk” or “book boat” to deliver them. The girls picked a book for donation.
Tourists are also invited to donate their old books. An exchange can be done with a book of their collection and a 20,000 kips donation (2$).
Red Cross
Money is raised by giving massages. Donations go directly to improving the lives of the poorest villages in Laos. Salah took advantage to relief his shoulders and back pretty tense from all the backpack carrying.
Big Brother Mouse
An association who promotes reading and encourages visitors and foreigners to come speak English with Lao folks. From 9-12pm and 5-7pm every day, they match English and Lao speakers in their office. Material required is minimal: just chairs, and it makes a big difference! By speaking English, the Lao can work in the tourism industry, the main one in Luang Prabang, and open up to the world. While Salah was getting a massage, I went with the girls and conversed with a 24-year-old girl, a teacher at the Big Sister Mouse (a school in a village 20 minutes from Luang Prabang). I asked about her culture, her class and children and got to learn a lot while the girls were reading books in … Lao. 😉
VolunTours
Nathalie, a Lao friend from Montreal put me in touch with her friend’s cousin who grew up in the US and returned to Laos 10 years ago. We met with Song and his wife the day before we left and had an amazing time getting his perspective on the country, culture and needs. But before delving into that, he told us his story. Until he was almost 5, he lived with his family in a wooden house facing the Mekong river, now a coffee place where we actually had lunch. His family fled the country in the 70s, like many others, and his parents and siblings ended up in Wisconsin while his Dad’s family ended up in Montreal. He came back to Laos as a young adult, and came back to live in Luang Prabang 10 years ago. Song and his wife founded VolunTours, a company that helps developing villages all around Luang Prabang, and he explained their philosophy: first set up running water, then sanitation and lastly develop education. The company functions on donations and volunteer work but construction in the villages is done by the villagers to have them involved and committed.
When we parted ways, I just wished we could stay longer to have a chance to go with him in the villages. But something tells us it might not be our last time in Luang Prabang (that’s how much we loved it!).
For more information, please consult the website: http://www.voluntourlaos.com
Kuang Si Waterfalls
Another cause brought up to the tourists’ attention is on the way to Kuang Si waterfalls – a rescue center for Asiatic Wild Moon bears saved from the wildlife trade. These bears are traded for their gallbladders who is the main ingredient for treating some liver conditions in Asian medicine. Bear farming is legal as long as bears were born in captivity, poaching is illegal though. But bears we saw were rescued from poaching.
Continuing in a beautiful nature, we arrived at the waterfalls and OMG… Although we had seen waterfalls before, it was nothing compared to these! That ice blue was absolutely stunning and waterfalls were on multiple levels giving a feeling of being enchanted.
We hiked to the top and found a quiet place with a small pool and a swing. We hung out for a while as the girls wanted to have a try. I went with them.
After the swing, we headed back down and had a (quick) swim in the waterfall which was much colder than the pool. We swam with the girls on our back to take them to where the water is falling. The water was freezing and my muscles were aching and getting numb on the way back but we got back safely to shore! The outside temp was nice though so we warmed up pretty quickly and headed back to our van, back to Luang Prabang. While Naema got sick on the way there, she was ok on the way back despite the crazy driving of our tour guide.
The food
The quality of the food was amazing in Luang Prabang. Our favorite restaurant was Phonheuang where we went back 3 times… the fried spring rolls and paneng curry were just too good! We particularly enjoyed sticky rice, with high gluten content, that Lao roll in small balls and eat with everything. A popular dessert is also the coconut sticky rice with mango, that we sampled everywhere we could (the best one was in Nong Khiaw though). On the market we had Nutella crepes but those are made with a lot of fat to our taste.
Luang Prabang was our coup-de-cœur in Laos. We fitted right in and being there just felt right. We even elected to stay a little longer after Nong Khiaw. We would love to go back like this 85-year-old Swedish lady we met and who comes for 6 weeks every year. Every day she is there, she goes religiously to Big Brother Mouse to make a difference and converse with Lao youngsters in English… Our stay in Luang Prabang made us reflect on making an impact by traveling responsibly, donating (other than financially), but also being more appreciative of what we have and how lucky we are.
Coralie & Salah
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