3 Days in Luang Prabang UNESCO World Heritage Site (Laos)

Kali

6 years ago

The most visited place in Laos is Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage landmark famous for its Buddhist sites and French Colonial mansions. A beautiful town on the banks of River Mekong, spending 3 days in Luang Prabang is the highlight of a trip to Laos.

One of the largest cities in Laos (Vientiane is the capital) Luang Prabang has a small-town feeling and looks just like a period film with historic buildings and ancient temples gracing the Asian riverside setting. Affluent tourists and prayerful monks make up an imaginary cast offset by hard-working Laotians and independent travellers.

Photogenic in the extreme, I captured so many magical scenes in Luang Prabang there is no space to show all the photographs.

This is my favourite pic, a special corner in the gardens of one of the many little temples in the back streets.

How to Enjoy 3 Days in Luang Prabang

Juan and I arrived in Luang Prabang late afternoon, on the Mekong slow boat, a 2 day river voyage through vast stretches of tropical forest (the pier is out of town, so it’s either a long walk in or paying the set price for the songthaew ride, no bargaining).

Luang Prabang Night Market

We were dropped off at the end of the main street which is closed to traffic in the evenings, when the Luang Prabang night market stall owners set up their stands on the road and spread goods out all over the pavements.

Lao vendors roll out clothes, paper lanterns, traditional Laotian skirts and fabrics, hippy pants and t-shirts, and the most unusual missile-shaped aluminum key rings and bottle openers. The woman selling the metal souvenirs explained she came from a mountain village in the far north east, a zone that had been extensively bombed in the Indochina war, and that the locals had started a home industry, molding spoons from bits of bombs and shrapnel. Then someone came up with the idea of making souvenirs.

Our budget accommodation was only a minute away, a typical wooden house down a quiet little footpath. There’s an extensive choice of restaurants around the historic centre, many in traditional buildings with gorgeous décor, absolutely fabulous if you’re on holiday but not pocket-friendly for long-term travel.

I found a family-run cafe that very first night, enjoyed home-cooked Laotian cuisine throughout our stay, learnt to use chopsticks at last, made friends with the Lao-only speaking staff and the resident kitten (named Chicken).

Day 1 in Luang Prabang

By daylight Luang Prabang looks even more impressive. It really is one of the best places to visit in SE Asia.

Luang Prabang was originally founded in 698, and is known as ‘City of a Thousand Temples’. Although the region has gone through a turbulent history including destruction and looting, there are around 50 Buddhist temples still standing in Luang Prabang today, some considered as the most beautiful in Asia.

World Heritage Site ‘Old Town’

The French influence arrived when colonial discoverers subsequently ‘annexed’ the country after sailing up the Mekong at the end of the 19th century…naturally the story is far more complex than this. The distinctive architecture of white masonry finished with wood combines native Laos and European style enhanced with Vietnamese and Chinese detail.

Main Street is lined with Heritage Sites, such as the National Museum which was originally the Royal Palace with a temple in the grounds. In fact, several temples are located along the avenue, Wat May Souva possibly the most famous.

Holy Phousi Mount stretches along the opposite side, steps leading up through woody hillside to the Wat Chom Si sanctuary above.

Tourists are charged to see most ‘places of interest‘- an official combined ticket to the sites is not available, you just pay the person on ‘table duty’ at the entrance to each one (everyone is welcome to enter a Buddhist shrine with due respect, the monks do not charge but live on donations so I’m not sure where this money goes, not obviously on grand renovations). Get away from the more touristy temples and find the gems hidden in the back streets.

Luang Prabang tourist bureau is on the corner at the end of Main Street in yet another historical building; worth a visit to get info on local attractions and some ideas for travelling around the country, the guys on the desk are very helpful and there are interesting books about Laos which you can flick through.

The tour agencies nearby are useful for booking excursions or buses, and even flights (I had an issue with my smart phone receiving messages in Laos and couldn’t book online).

Luang Prabang Street Food Markets

The food market also starts on Main Street – in fact there are two or three in Luang Prabang! A footpath leading off beside the National Museum walls is filled with street food stalls cooking an assortment of barbecued meats, sausage, fish, noodles, rice and vegetable dishes.

But it’s actually at the end of this alleyway that the real fun begins; the traditional morning market is set up on the adjacent road, an array of local produce and fresh tropical fruits, and ladies preparing hot Lao snacks in full sight. Underneath Mount Phousi there is another area of outdoor eateries with bench seating, more tourist orientated.

Luang Prabang is one of the only places in Asia where I found fresh bread, yes that French influence means mouthwatering patisseries and filled baguettes!

Riverside Walk beside the Mekong

Quiet avenues lined with villas lead down to shady riverside walks in most directions as two major rivers virtually encircle Luang Prabang, the mighty Mekong and the Nam Khan affluent. Boatmen tout for business on the first stretches of the promenades offering river excursions while open-air terraced restaurants vie for custom.

Taking ‘selfies’ against a bamboo bridge that spans the Nam Khan River, we got talking to a friendly couple from South Korea who were holidaying in Luang Prabang for three days.

A quick detour up some steps takes you to Wat Xieng Thong, the Golden Tree Temple. The courtyard is quite big, almost empty except for me, the prayer halls a little faded but exquisite, sunshine sparkles off crafted glass mosaics – just imagine this in the 16th century, the Royals coming to worship, glowing doors of the golden prayer hall thrown open wide, red lacquered walls reflecting deeply inside, monks chanting, all eyes on the sacred Buddha shrine.

Back down by the riverside, we continue our stroll round the peninsula, an unlikely combination chatting away in my native English, Spanish husband Juan, Taiwanese Susan and her partner, a South Korean UN official.

Sunset over the Mekong is an awesome experience, a memorable way to end the day. Early diners have a bird’s eye view from the terraces but it’s much more fun to capture the scene from a bamboo walkway on the muddy embankment… a one-man canoe rowing into the sunset, a fishing boat coming home, water taxis taking their last rides, and the silhouette of a huge wooden boathouse tethered to a post, its lights winking in the twilight as orange flames the sky.

Do you ever want to explore away from the tourist sights? We do! Discover the local way of life in ‘Luang Prabang Unvisited’, the second part of our 3-day Luang Prabang itinerary.