Luang Prabang

In the deeper sections, the water took on a dark blue shade. As the depth lowered it transformed to a lighter turquoise color held through much of the pool until the light brown of the rocks below showed through before making the plunge over the low shelf into the next pool. Another main pool downstream came after a two-meter cascade running beside some small groupings of bamboo shooting up out of the rocks. The pool above was inaccessible, as the water's power made a continuous mist after beating down hard on the rocks below after a drop of 60 meters.

The falls, located 29 kilometers outside of town, were the main attraction of Luang Prabang. I say “town” because Luang Prabang feels like a town. As the fourth largest city in Laos, it has a population of only 50,000. Riding a bike around Luang Prabang, it felt about as big as Corning, my 10,000 person hometown in New York State. Where Luang Prabang lacks in size, it gains in significance. The city housed the last Laos royal family and was the capital of the country throughout much of its history. Due to its significance and excellent preservation, Luang Prabang is included on the list of UNESCO world heritage sites. And this was my welcome to Laos. That is, after a two day boat ride.

The city feels UNESCO with its streets of old French colonial architecture. No neon allowed in this city center. Each place, mini mart included, has a classy wooden sign with gold lettering hanging above it displaying the shop's name in all caps. On one of the city maps I all of the accommodation. It seems that every street offers a host of hotel or guesthouse options. That being said, on our heavy-packed trek through town looking for a place to stay, we found prices ranging from about 7.50 USD to 50 USD.

Old city Luang Prabang is a river peninsula. The mighty Mekong that brought us there runs along northwest edge while its Nam Khan tributary makes a northern and eastern boundaries. Orientation is extremely simple, not only because it is so small, but also because a hill rises up at the center of the old city. Atop that hill stands a gold monument visible from pretty much anywhere. On our last morning in the city I finally took the time to climb the steps to the peak. Atop the hill stands a small temple and stupa offering decent views to the east and southeast.

Luang Prabang is extremely easy-going, acting as a fine representation of Laos. Locals wake up at sunrise and the morning market opens up in the center of the center for the first few hours of the day. This UNESCO site is not just for tourists and there is still a lot of local life buzzing about. On our last night in the city, our guesthouse owner hosted their big annual party. It was actually their 'village' party, as the mother of our guesthouse owner is the leader of that village (part of the city). I shamefully slept through it because I was extremely exhausted from a long day of bus and boat traveling.

Sites within the old city include the hill, the old palace, and numerous temples. During our time in the city there happened to be a festival for its largest temple which is one of the most important religious sites in the country, Wat Xieng Thong. Lao visitors crowded the temple in the evening where they focused their attention on Phra Bang, a standing Buddha statue in a pavilion near the main assembly hall (sim). Buddhist lay people knelt, prayed, and climbed stairs to pour water in a decorated wooden trough that showered the statue from two sides. Beds and bowls were lined up nearby. Large gift baskets filled with small living utensils and bags of rice were placed in the beds while banknotes of small denomination were spread out throughout the long line of alms bowls at the front. The temple itself has a very nice 'tree of life' image on one one of its exterior walls while the exterior walls of another small building displays a mosaic of daily life in Laos.

On bicycles we rode along the lazy one-way exterior road surrounding the old town. On the outside, far below the road was the bank of the river, at times the Mekong, at other times the Nam Khon. On our inside were guesthouses and restaurants in French colonial style. Before exploring the old town we crossed an old wooden bridge open only to bikes and motorcycles. From the banks across the Nam Khon we enjoyed views of the old town and its centrally located hill. After our cruise around the city, we crossed the Mekong by ferry to get our first experience of Laos village life. Just by crossing the river, the ferry transports you from modern, historically preserved UNESCO city, to dirt road village. Yet again, when passing through the village the kids are headed home from school. Scores of children, nice white shirts and red ties, crowded the one street by foot or riding their bikes. Their smiling faces, accompanied by a wave, greeting you along the way. I payed a fee and climbed a hill just to catch a view of the Mekong and Luang Prabang on the other side.

Aside from exploring the city, there are other things to see outside of town. There is an elephant camp, a butterfly park, and numerous waterfalls. As our visit was in the dry season, only one waterfall was worth the visit, Kuang Si waterfalls. Every tuk tuk driver will offer to take you there and there are various tour signs all over town offering more expensive options. First, we went by tuk tuk with quite a few other folks. The driver took us there, gave us 2-3 hours to hang out, and took us back to town. Before finding the stream, the trail takes you through a fenced-in area where V-necked Asian black bears live. The reserve is run by an NGO named “Free The Bears”. Interesting that Free the Bears keeps their bears in a pretty small fenced-in area at one of the most popular tourist attractions in Laos. Either way, it was fun to watch the bears lounge around in their hammocks and bathe in the small pond. After visiting the bears, the trail directed us to beautiful turquoise water. We followed the stream up past pools and cascades to find the main, 60 meter waterfall. It was nice, but the tranquility and color of the small pools below were much more picturesque. Soon after entering the water I began to feel small, painless scratches on the skin of my feet. I looked down to find a school of fish crowded there at my feet. They were eating the dead skin off my feet. Nice, a free fish massage spot. We bathed there until the storm came.

We ended up visiting the falls a second time, but with our own scooter. We bit the bullet and paid the exorbitant moto-rental price in Laos. It was worth it as we were free to stay as long as possible, hiking up to the the top of the waterfall. Furthermore, the ride out there was much nicer from the seat of the bike than from the back of a tuk tuk, seats facing inward. Luang Prabang is a nicer, more luxurious welcome to Laos due to its well developed, UNESCO status. Still, it gives a small town feel that isn't too far from the general, rural status of the country as a whole. Its a nice comfortable city in an incredible, easy-going country.