Luang Prabang is one place many people rave about … it is a riverine town on the side of the Mekong and home to an eclectic mix of Lao shophouses, royal palace, temples and colonial mansions. By day, one can explore these sights. But by night … the street gets converted into a handicraft megamart, the restaurants and bars come alive. However, businesses close at 23:30 sharp to maintain some semblence of Lao village life.
I feel sorry for the locals … there are endless guesthouses, restaurants and craft stalls but few tourists to be seen. I hope for their sake it is the low season. Or perhaps the margins are high enough to support just the odd sale.
Due to the UNESCO World Heritage protection, development has been tasteful and there is considerable effort to maintain the traditional look.
One street off the main drag, there are numerous restaurants beautifully set on the banks of the Mekong. I shared a bottle of French white with an Aussie headmistress named Louise whom I had met on the AirAsia flight up. In our chats, she expressed that her children aren’t experiencing the world enough: you know, doing the career and family thing that’s considered normal. Basically, they’re doing all the things that my Mum would wish I’d do instead of tripping around 🙂
Luang Prabang; it’s nice and still still low key. Come soon.
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- Wat Ho Pha Bang in the Royal Palace Museum.
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- Wat Ho Pha Bang in the Royal Palace Museum.
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- Wat Ho Pha Bang in the Royal Palace Museum.
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- Wat Ho Pha Bang in the Royal Palace Museum.
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- Window of the Wat Ho Pha Bang in the Royal Palace Museum. I take it those two characters are worshipping the enlightened one.
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- By day, the main street of Luang Prabang doesn’t have the colour and character that it oozes by night.
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- French restaurant in old mansion.
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- The town’s most magnificent temple is Wat Xieng Thong.
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- Inside Wat Xieng Thong.
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- Detail of Wat Xieng Thong.
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- Detail of Wat Xieng Thong.
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- Buddhas at Detail of Wat Xieng Thong.
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- Nagas at Detail of Wat Xieng Thong.
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- By day, the main street of Luang Prabang doesn’t have the colour and character that it oozes by night.
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- Big river barge on the Mekong … there’s a man squatting on the front but here’s hardly visible, and those doors are full-size doors … so you get an idea of the size. Bigger than my home?
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- Named after the hill called Phousi … there’s Phousi Hotel, Phousi Gallery and Phousi everything.
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- This is a yummy Luang Prabang dish called aw-lam. It is a vege soup/stew with meat and blocks of wood (actually it is a bitter woody root of from a plant). Nice balance of flavours with a hint of bitterness
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- Sunset from one of the many Mekong-side restaurants.
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- One of many restaurants along the main drag and the river.
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- Night market.
