After a short afternoon flight, I arrived in Luang Prabang, Laos around dusk, with just enough light on the decent to catch a glimpse of the mountains and rivers of northern Laos in this vastly different landscape than any experienced thus far. Laos played a key role in the Vietnam war when the invasion by the People's Army of Vietnam along with their supplies lines lead the US to heavily bomb the country, more than any other country ever. Luang Prabang is a small city, with thriving tourist and backpacker tourist interest. The city, set along the Mekong River and amoungst the peaks of Northern Laos is a draw not only for its outdoor adventure and regional culture but also the Buddhist history and significant number of temples.
View of the Nam Khan River from Mount Phou Si
Me giving alms in the form of sticky rice.
Fish at the morning market.
Longboating on the Mekong River.
After settling in, my first day started at 5:30 AM for a ritual giving of alms with the monks of Luang Prabang. The giving of alms is an ancient sign of respect for the Buddhist tradition practiced by the people of Luang Prabang for hundreds of years. Each morning, just prior to 6 AM, they line the picturesque streets of the French colonial town to offer food to the monks who walk through the streets. The food, ainly sticky rice, represents the food that the monks will eat that day, and also represents the immense respect the citizens and visitors have for the spiritual dedication of the over 300 monks in Luang Prabang. I had the opportunity to participate and offer sticky rice to the monks which was a very exciting and humbling experience. After the alms giving, my guide Wat and I took a stroll through the morning market with sights of fresh fish, fruit, frogs and rice lining the packed alley and stalls. The first day continued after breakfast with a longboat ride on the Mekong River. We travelled up river, stopping in a the Ban Xang Hai village to view the temple and local handicrafts like embroidery, weaving and whiskey making with our final destination the Tham Pak Ou cave. These caves are filled with many many Buddha images, in every style and material imagined, ammased over the last hundreds of years.
Royal Palace and home of the Phra Bang Buddha.
View of central Luang Prabang and the Mekong from Mount Phou Si.
After returning on the longboat to Luang Prabang it was a short stop for lunch and then onto the National Museum, built in the former Royal Palace. This turn of the centruy residence designed in French beaux-arts motifs held the history of the royal presnce in Laos, prior to their movement to Lao People's Democratic Republic in 1975. The rpalace also houses the Phra Bang Buddha image, cast of gold, silver and broze sometime between the 1st and 9th century, and at 50 kg is the palace and towns most prized pieces, as well as the namesake since arriving in 1359. After the Palace tour, we hiked 350 steps up Mount Phou Si which, at 150 m tall, sits in the middle of the city with great views of the surrounding mountains, rivers and town, and is adorded with small temples along the steep ascent. Following the hike down the hill, we visted a few more of the 30+ temples throughout Luang Prabang like Wat Mai, Wat Xieng Thong, and Wat Visoun, dating back to 1513, once destroyed by bombiing which houses the supa referred to by locals as That Makmo (watermelon stupa).
The "watermelon stupa" at Wat Visoun.
After a long day of touring I returned to the hotel for a quick dip, then ventured into the city to visit the Night Market. Hundreds of stalls, closely packed and dimly lit lined the cities main street and offered a huge variety of local handicrafts, goods and wares. After grabbing dinner and a few souvineers, I headed to the hotel to rest up for the trek the next day.
Rice paddies deep along the hike. Local guide way ahead pictured with machette.
Hiking with Wat.
Wednesday began early with a steep and bumpy drive through mountains and villages to Ban Long Lao, a small village from where we met a local guide and began our 10K trek through the farm fields, rice patties, and jungles to visit the Tham Nam Ook cave, at over 800 meters deep which sits near the source of the Kuang Si waterfall. a really unqiue hike, at close to three hours gave a really unique and approach to the falls, which are a popular destination in Luang Prabang. The small source of the falls quickly decends into a large cascasing waterfall and pools filled with refreshing limestone river water. With great views, and pools for a quick swim, the falls are one of the must see placesin Luang Prabang, but I felt good after the long hike, seeing no one other that my quise Wat, and our local guide (name unknown, only guy carrying machette), and making our way through the countryside to this awesome site. We wrapped after lunch at the base of the falls and took the rest of the day to rest and cool down in the hotel pool.
The humble source of the falls.
Swimming hole at Kuang Si
Overall, in two short days in Laos, it really showed me something. a budding tourist destination, it still has the flavor of that backpacker/small town/quiet vibe, especially now in the off season. It's an incredible mix of mountains and city, rivers and roads, and history and people. I saw some great sights and had a variety of great experiences from hiking the back trails of rice patties to cruising the Mekong. It was great to see the falls, not only from the photo spots and bridges but from the source, seeing where it comes from, how it irrogated the rice patties and grew into the massive waterfall and pools. It offered something of a deeper experience - seeing how something small can grow into something as big and impressice as Kuang Si. The massive buddist presence, and the opportunity to interact with the monks rounded out the incredible feeling I leave this place with.
Thursday was an easy start, and a early afternoon flight to Bangkok.
