Saffron-robed monks collect alms by street lamps in the pre-dawn darkness. Gilded temples gleam at golden hour. Gorgeous sunsets on the Mekong over mountain ridge lines. The aroma of night market food and the sting of rice whiskey. Luang Prabang awaits.
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Luang Prabang is a city in north central Laos located at an elevation of 305 m along the banks of the Mekong River. It is made up of 58 adjacent villages, with the older center of the city lying on a peninsula formed by the confluence of the Mekong and the Nam Khan Rivers. Luang Prabang is particularly known for its myriad Theravada Buddhist temples and monasteries, and the resulting daily early morning processions of hundreds of monks walking through the streets to collect their alms offered by locals and visiting tourists alike. In 1995, 33 of the city’s districts were designated as the UNESCO Town of Luang Prabang World Heritage Site for its unique and remarkably well-preserved architectural, religious and cultural heritage, a blend of the rural and urban developments over several centuries that included French colonial influences during the 19th and 20th centuries. The city name Luang Prabang roughly translates to ‘Royal Buddha City’. In the year 698, it was founded as one of the ethnic Mon-established Dvaravati Kingdom city states of Muang Sua, with Theravada Buddhism introduced by Sri Lankan missionaries that traveled throughout the region. The city state name changed to Xieng Thong, which became a vassal state to the Khmer empire from 1185 to 1191, though in 1353 it became the capital of the Lan Xang kingdom under the first Lang Xang monarch Fa Ngum (1353–1373), with the name changed from Xieng Thong to Luang Prabang. The Lan Xang kingdom would fall apart due to political struggles in 1707 and Luang Prabang became the capital of the independent Kingdom of Luang Phrabang. Upon the annexation of Laos into Indochina, the French recognised Luang Prabang as the royal residence of Laos. When Laos achieved independence from France in 1953, the king of Luang Prabang, Sisavang Vong, became the head of state of the Kingdom of Laos.
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| Favourite spots: |
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Luang Prabang is a wonderful walking city (and said to be a great biking city, though I didn’t rent a bike during my time there). The Mekong River waterfront (from the Nam Khan River confluence, walk downriver along Souvanhnakhamphong Road & continuing down Chunkham Road) makes for a nice walk, providing scenic views of wooded shorelines, mountain ridge lines and passing boats along the river, plus restaurants, bars & cafes with open air patio terraces, some offering sunset views and sunset cruises (such as Sa Sa Sunset Cruise - 260,000 Lao Kips per person for a 2-1/2 hour cruise). Sisavangvong Road is Luang Prabang’s main destination for visiting tours (like Bangkok’s Khaosan Road or Ubud’s Monkey Forest Road, but more laidback, historic and sophisticated), with French architecture, gilded temples, restaurants & bars, shops and massage parlors, and a stairway leading up to the temple and statue-dotted Mount Phousi Hill for taking in sunset and sunrise.
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| What's really great: |
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At the southwest end of Sisavangvong Road, take a right at Inthasome Road and head towards the intersection with Chunkham Road that flanks the Mekong River waterfront. Midway down Inthasome on the left is what became my favorite sidewalk grilled street food vendor stalls, with very good spicy sai oua Lao sausage and grilled tilapia with a folded lemongrass stalk placed in the stomach cavity, both of which are very tasty (saep lai lai der!) with an order of steamed sticky rice. There’s a convenience store near that stall which sells cold Beerlao. Take your street food and beer to the T-intersection of Inthasome & Chunkham, cross to the riverside and take the concrete stairs on the right between the open air coffee shop and restaurant down to the Mekong waters’ edge near the anchored floating pontoon dock that the riverboats use for boarding passengers. Enjoy your street food & beer at golden hour, then witness an amazing sunset and life along the river as dusk fades to evening.
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| Sights: |
Luang Prabang is known for its many gilded temples, some of which are visually stunning especially during gold hour, though much like Bangkok, Bagan & Siem Reap/Angkor, the potential for temple overload/burnout is real. Located near the end of the peninsula, Wat Xieng Thong is one of the most famous temples in the city and a must-visit. The National Museum, housed in the former Royal Palace, together with the ornate and very photogenic Haw Phra Bang temple within the palace compound, is another suggested must-see. Across from the palace is one of the entrances to the stairway leading to the summit of Mount Phousi Hill (328 steps), upon which sits Wat Chom Si and a good (albeit very crowded) place to watch sunset over the Mekong River and local mountain ridge lines.
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| Accommodations: |
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I stayed in two hotels during my time in Luang Prabang. The first hotel was the Cold River Hotel, which is located off of Prommathat Road between Old Bridge Road and Wisunalat Road. It was a bit of a walk to the night market on Sisavangvong Road, but my 2nd floor room balcony afforded a view of the Nam Khan River & the ‘Old Bridge’ itself within reasonable walking distance, with processions of monks begging for alms on Prommathat Road around 5:30 am. There were 2 open air-style restaurants next to and across from the hotel. The second hotel, Villa Chitdara, was on the old town peninsula not far from Sisavangvong Road, hence it was a more convenient location for walking to the night market, morning market and noteworthy temples, and a fairly short walk away from the Mekong River.
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| Nightlife: |
Nightlife in Luang Prabang is decidedly more laidback, if not boring, relatively to Bangkok, Singapore and even Siem Reap. Northern Laos struck me as being pretty conservative, so don’t expect to find any hip rooftop bars, Techno dance clubs, or ‘gentleman’s clubs’. There are a number of bars with food and outdoor seating along Sisavangvong Road and around Prommathat Road near the base of Mount Phousi Hill, though the Sisavangvong Road night market seems to be the option of choice for many, with beer sold in the main food area and one T-shirt vendor stall featuring a small bar with 10,000 Kip lao-lao sticky rice whiskey shots. Private room full-body oil massages are cheaper than in Bangkok in my experience, having had a Lao massage (hat-tip: Hom) and a Hmong massage (hat-tip: Ai), though I didn’t get to try an ethnic Khmu massage at a place in the alley off of Sisavangvong (look for the sign near Wat Siphouthabat Thippharam).
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| Hangouts: |
The preferred hangouts during my stay in Luang Prabang when I wasn’t out exploring the fascinating city on foot were at one of the many Mekong River waterfront establishments along Chunkham Road with outdoor patio seating, be it a cafe for an afternoon cup of Lao grown coffee or a Beerlao (Beerlao Dark or Beerlao IPA were my go-to beers, though the Luang Prabang Beer had at the night market was also pretty good). Gazing out over the Mekong River during golden hour and hearing the rattling growl of a passing riverboat mixed with the bass-heavy sound of some 80’s or 90’s Rock or Pop sounds drift over from an adjacent bar or restaurant was quite soothing. Note that system errors are not allowing me to upload photos at this time. However, please see links to my Luang Prabang YouTube videos below:
Temple Photos: https://youtu.be/TbIqC3ocsRc
Mekong Sunset: https://youtu.be/iLZ_mDsTudU
Street Food: https://youtu.be/SZ_GkQRQh-I
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| Restaurants: |
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I was able to try Tamarind Restaurant’s set menu Lao Specialties platter at their Mekong River-facing restaurant location on Chunkham Road. The meal included a pumpkin soup with a side of crispy fried thin bamboo shoot slices, grilled sai oua Lao sausage, fragrant minced chicken fried in a split lemongrass stalk, thin strips of buffalo skin in a very spicy jeow bong chili paste, nori-like ‘kaipen’ sun-dried river algae sheets infused with a savory sauce made of tamarind and green & black olives, thin slices of garlic & tomato and sesame seeds, a mild tomato salsa, a smoky eggplant dip and a cool dipping sauce with minced fish & shrimp, accompanied by a Beerlao Dark. It was a very memorable & flavorful (and at times spicy!) taste of Laos.
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| Other recommendations: |
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Among excursions beyond Luang Prabang that are considered a ‘must-do’ during one’s visit to the region would be the Pak Ou Cave 1/2-day trip by boat up the Mekong River (25 km/2-hour cruise due NE of the city, about 1 hour return cruise with the current). Locally called Tam Ting, the lower and upper caves contain thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues. On the way to Pak Ou, make a stop 3 miles downriver to the Ban Xang Hai ‘Whiskey Village’ visited by Anthony Bourdain in No Reservations: Laos to see how ‘lao-lao’ sticky rice whiskey is made, plus sample both the lao-lao and the pre-distilled sticky rice wine. Visit the famous Kuang Si Waterfalls (32 km/1 hour due SW from Luang Prabang via Road # 2501), with its numerous picturesque cascades falling into turquoise-colored pools owing to the minerals in the water and impressive main fall, plus do some optional wading/swimming, see rescued sun bears and stop by a water buffalo dairy farm and try buffalo ice cream or cheese.
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Published on Monday September 2th, 2024
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