Discovering Laos – Watching the Dawn Alms Ceremony and an afternoon at Kuansi Falls, on the last of our 3 day adventure in Luang Prabang.
The last day in Luang Prabang is memorable…and that’s not an exaggeration!
Luang Prabang Alms Ceremony
“My phone alarm goes off at 5 am and I sneak out of the bedroom leaving Juan asleep, trot down the dim stairway and towards the gate. It’s locked. The guesthouse dogs are speechless as I climb over the wooden fence and disappear up the lane. Just before dawn and Main Street is deserted, eerily dark. Which way to go?
Following the sound of faint voices away to the left, I’ve finally found the right place…A magical event takes place just before daybreak in Luang Prabang. Monks from the nearby Buddhist temples walk down from the hills and file along the unlit street, bare feet slowly pacing under long orange or maroon robes.”
Laotians sit silently by the curb on tiny plastic stalls and, in a centuries old ritual, place a small parcel of steamed rice wrapped in banana leaves into each man or child’s bowl. This is the Lao ‘Sai Bat’ alms ceremony. It’s ok to watch on, keeping a respectful distance but don’t touch the monks or flash a camera in their faces!
As the sun rises, the long procession of monks (all ages from the elderly to small boys) tapers off as the communities enter their respective prayer halls for morning oration. The aroma of steamed rice and low sounding chants linger on the misty air.
It’s nice to be up so early for a change, walking along Main Street, seeing the city coming to life. I buy some freshly sliced mango and some kind of coconut ‘cake’ from a market stall and take them back to share with Juan for breakfast.
Luang Prabang suburbs spread out away from the rivers, a contrast of busy streets with tumbledown homes and small shop fronts hung with precarious electric cables, serene temple gardens, and wide avenues flanked by posh colonial mansions converted into state offices and Embassy missions.
Street map in hand, Juan and I eventually find the smart Laos Telecom premises, and are told why essential text messages aren’t coming through to our mobiles…Laos does not currently have a cell phone agreement with Spain, at least with our company! The Vietnam Embassy is close by so I double-check that we can both get a 2 week visa exemption on arrival, as our planned border crossing is going to be at a pretty remote frontier.
A great lunch option is this colonial town are the baguette and juice stalls on Main Street; French bread is stuffed with a choice of salads, cheese, ham or tuna for example and there’s various combinations of freshly juiced fruits. This is the first time I have eaten bread since coming to Asia!
Kuansi Falls
Kuansi is one of the prettiest waterfalls in South East Asia, pure mountain water gently cascading into a succession of turquoise rock pools very similar in fact to Huay Mae Khamin waterfall in Thailand. A complete contrast to the roaring Iguazu Falls or the great cataract at Niagara, the Laos waterfall has a peaceful aura of its own.
Almost 30 km outside town along partly unpaved mountain roads there are ways of getting there -scooter hire or cycling are options, the local bus with a dubious timetable, a complex boat trip and even overnight hiking are feasible, a songthaew ride needs four passengers and a hard haggle with the driver to be worth it; this time I chose the easiest and booked an afternoon minibus tour.
Kuansi is popular for local outings you can tell by the restaurants with charcoal grills beside the car park, and picnic tables under trees inside the nature reservation. The path borders the enclosures of a black bear sanctuary whose inmates have been rescued from hunters. Curiously named after Lao revolutionaries, it’s amusing to watch them play.
The trail leads over to the waterfalls, cascades streaming down the lime rock hillside into tiers of natural swimming pools. Few people were bathing on this cool but sunny day and no one doing the slippery climb up the water face. An off-season weekday is the perfect time to visit and capture the scene. Shallow steps ascend to the left, weaving past wooden walkways and bridges, leading to the best vantage points.
I wasn’t the only one madly snapping shots of everything in sight. A Buddhist monk in a bright orange robe, out on a photo shoot with an entourage of matronly ladies, was the star of the day. The smiling guy posed as a ‘photographer monk’ took his portrait while an assistant helped him on and off of a stool in an effort to make the man look taller! Maybe he’s a famous celebrity.
A secluded holy pool is further up the hill but obviously fenced-off. The trail goes higher still but there wasn’t time to explore, Kuan Si closes before dark and it was time to turn back. A shame really, it would have been fun jumping into one of those freezing pools but I didn’t get the chance, and that’s my excuse.
Sad to leave Luang Prabang but it’s time to move on. Tomorrow the real adventure begins, a ‘nightmare’ 24-hour bus ride goes to Hanoi along hairpin mountain roads but before reaching Vietnam we’re stopping off to discover the rarely visited North East territories of Laos, infamously know as the area most bombed on Earth – the mysterious Plain of Jars in Phonsavan, then Vieng Xai ‘Victory City’ where the villagers lived underground in limestone caves for 10 years during the IndoChina war…
Where to stay in Luang Prabang
* A special kind thanks to Valèrie the charming proprietor of hotel Le Bougainvillier who let me write my travel tales comfortably from her lovely hotel lounge.
Luang Prabang in January is prone to chilly spells -the authentic Laos half-timbered houses do not traditionally have panes of glass in the windows which means you have to keep the shutters closed against the cold draughts and subsequently the daylight out.
Throughout our world trip we have been staying in decent ensuite but rock bottom price accommodation, the room in our guesthouse was lovely but dark and freezing!
Le Bougainvillier is a boutique hotel just by the morning market, recommended to us by our friends from New Zealand.
It comprises 2 beautifully renovated listed colonial residencies in a peaceful garden setting, and yes, they have put glass panes in the windows along with other necessary ‘luxuries’ to make it a genuine but highly comfortable experience, including air-conditioning and heating for summer or winter guests, and a reception where they speak English among other languages.
Related Posts on Luang Prabang and Laos
Here are more of our posts on Luang Prabang and our travels through Laos, this incredibly interesting but little-known land in the heart of South East Asia.
North Thailand-Laos border crossing for the Mekong Slow Boat
How to cross the North Thailand-Laos border at the 4th Mekong Friendship Bridge, and on to Huay Xai to get the 2-day Slow Boat down the Mekong River.
Sounds complicated? Not at all, see how we did it…
2 day Mekong slow boat from Huay Xai
Discovering Laos – Huay Xai and a 2 day slow boat down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang.
Huay Xai is a small river town in the remote Bokeo province of northern Laos…
3 Days in Luang Prabang UNESCO World Heritage City
Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage landmark famous for its Buddhist sites and French Colonial mansions.
One of the largest cities in Laos, it has a small-town feeling and looks just like a period film…
Luang Prabang – Sites unvisited by tourists
Luang Prabang – places not yet discovered by tourists.
Luang Prabang unvisited. Behind the genteel glamour of colonial Luang Prabang there’s a different world waiting to be discovered…
Luang Prabang – Alms Ceremony & Kuansi Falls
Watching the Dawn Alms Ceremony and an afternoon at Kuansi Falls, on the last of our 3 day adventure in Luang Prabang.
The last day in Luang Prabang is memorable…
1 day Guide to Plain of Jars and Ban Napia, Phonsavan
1 day guide to visiting the Plain of Jars and Ban Napia ‘spoon village’ near Phonsavan in Northeast Laos.
The private minibus ticket is not much dearer than getting a standard bus which covers the route from Luang Prabang to Phonsavan….
1 day visit to Vieng Xai Cave City
How to get to Vieng Xai – a fascinating 1 day visit to the secret Cave City in remote Northeast Laos.
The minibus leaves Phonsavan and the mysterious Plain of Jars behind for the tortuous road trip to Sam Neua…
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