Luang Prabang Part 1 - Oh La La

The journey to Luang Prabang was supposed to take four hours, it actually took two and a half. Now every journey we'd done to date on our trip had taken longer than we had expected it to. We were surprised and grateful to finally have a shorter one. However, we spent the whole journey clinging to the seats as the driver threw the bus along the narrow roads like a bat out of hell.

Luang Prabang is a beautiful city. The whole place is part of an UNESCO World Heritage Site so all the shops and signs have to fit into the colonial style brought in by the French. It's continental, slow-paced and elegant and all feels very surreal. The pale yellow houses with their wooden shutters stare out over the wide river on both sides of the peninsula. The orange robes of the monks on every street remind you that you are in fact in Asia, not the Med, and every few turns a wat glitters out from behind its white walls. There are monasteries seemingly everywhere and the streets are packed with monks of all ages, but predominantly very young ones, marching off to the temples.

The author - The view of Luang Prabang from Phu SI hill

Grand Palace My Foot

There is so much to see in and around Luang Prabang that I shall to divide it between two posts. First of all let me tell you about all there is to see within the confines of this oddly mismatched city. On our first day we made a trip to Phu Si hill, a large hill with a golden stupa on top that dominates the old quarter of the city. Climbing the steep steps to the summint was sticky work and we were exhausted by the time we reached the top. We could see the rows of colonial style buildings, the semi-European feel mixed up with palms, motorbikes and muggy heat. The stupa on the top was pretty unremarkable but as we walked back down the east side of the hill we were met by some impressive golden Buddhas lounging on the rocks before continuing through a series of temples that sprang straight out of the hillside. Near the foot of the hill we peered in to the gloom of a temple to see the colossal imprint of Buddha's foot.

The Grand Palace

Close to Phu Si hill is the Grand Palace, former residence of the Laos royal family. It was pouring with rain all day when we visited. The water literally crashed out of the sky, flying up before soaking you again for a second time. On the plus side the city, particularly the tourists sights, was deserted. The palace itself was almost laughably low-key. Compared to the palaces and stately homes of Europe it was small and plain. The furniture was simple the walls bare and the place seemed able to only accommodate the king, the queen and a few children. The only impressive part was the throne room, a large(ish) purple room with its walls covered in tiny glass figures representing folk tales. The palace grounds were similarly unexciting, an exhibition of beat up old American cars that used to ferry his highness around, a chubby statue of the king and a very small Buddha which gives the city its name. The small, bare and crumbling temple we saw afterwards at the foot of Phu Si hill turned out to be infinitely more beautiful.

It's Just a Habit You Get into

At the tip of the peninsula sits Wat Xieng Thong, one of the largest monasteries in Luang Prabang. It's a beautiful place, quiet and peaceful. A collection of buildings sit in a large courtyard, all with gilt walls and intricate glass pictures on the outside, reminiscent of the Grand Palace. Everyday at dawn the monks flood from Xieng Thong and the other monasteries to collect alms. On our last day we rose at dawn and went out into the quiet streets to see the procession. It was incredible to think that we'd been sleeping or reading every morning when this beautiful sight had been filing right past our front door. All down the street Lao women knelt on mats, their left shoulders covered with a sash, and silently doled out sticky rice to young monks. The monks in turn carried vast metal containers slung over their shoulders and periodically broke off chunks of the rice they'd accumulated to drop into the begging bowls of the needy who knelt before them with hands clasped in respect. The only downside was the sheer number of tourists getting involved. We tried to stand respectfully and quietly out of the way but most people either joined in without the due propriety or went right up to the monks and took pictures, powerful flashes illuminating their faces in the dawn light.

The author - Wat Xieng Thong

The monks alms procession - Luang Prabang

Land Mine Legacy

Our last stop within Luang Prabang was the Laos UXO Centre, a small building away from the centre flanked by shell casings. We spent a sobering half hour learning about the terrible daily threat the people of this quiet little country still face. Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam were more heavily bombed in the 2nd Indochina war than any other country in WWII.

The UXO Centre had hundreds of deactivated bombs of all shapes and sizes, including a large cluster bombs, refilled with the 680 'bombies' it would have contained. Each one with potential to kill or maim, they were a terrible sight to behold. The tales and images of farmers and children hurt by the UXO were heart-wrenching. Farmers have no choice whether or not they risk going out and digging in their fields everyday, if they want to eat that is, and though most village children are now taught to be on the look-out for bombies there are still those who forget and pick up the shiny round toy-like objects inquisitively. One particularly grim fact was the information that some villagers are so poor that they go looking for UXO in order to make money from scrap metal. The disarming process as well is terrifying, the teams of men and women having no choice but to dig them up to remove them.

There's Something Fishy Going on Here

We of course had some excellent food in Luang Prabang, the highlight of the night-time attractions being the daily market. Like the Chiang Mai market it took up a huge stretch of the main street and was alive with light and noise. The difference however was that it sold more traditional handicrafts. Beautiful silk carves, wooden bowls, paper lanters and whole range of bags, purses, tablecloths and bedcovers were laid out on water-proof sheets on the ground. The food section was even better, one long alley-way covered in corrugated iron was rammed with stalls and exotic smells. The delicious scent of barbecued meat filled the air and the benches inside were packed with people enjoying buffets and various skewered delights. It was so packed it was impossible to see anything more than ten feet in front of you and on the nights when it rained water poured through roof into buckets obstructing the already crowded walkway. We had barbecued chicken and a plate of rice, veg, fried bread and other treats followed by a chocolate filled doughnut, coconut rice cakes and fresh spring rolls. We also found the best banana pancakes we've had in Laos, where they put the nutella inside with the banana rather than meekly drizzled on top.

The night market

But the best meal we had was without doubt my extravagant birthday feast where, thanks to the French occuaption of Laos, we enjoyed a delicious meal in "L'elephant". We consumed goat's cheese, oven roasted tomatoes and salad on a crusty bread to start followed by duck and italian sausages all while numerous waiters fussed around, drowning us in more bread and free water. In contrast the Lao style papaya salad earlier in the week was one of the most repulsive things I have ever eaten. Imagine going out to sea for a day and catching a tonne of fish before putting them all into a bucket. Then when you get home and empty the bucket you decide it would be a good idea to whip up a salad in the bottom of it. So to the putrid fish juice you add shredded uncooked aubergine, sour cherry tomatoes, chili and chunks of unripe papaya. Then you'll have an idea of what it tasted and smelt like.

And that pleasant fishy shudder closes the first section of Luang Prabang, a beautiful and diverse city experience. It's full of tourists but you can totally understand why, it's without a doubt one of the most atmospheric, historic and cultural places we've been.

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