Sok dee (Good luck) Luang Prabang!!

Luang Prabang town is a very laid back town. You may feel that you are in the 1970s. The slow motion of life, less crowded roads, cultural richness, the architecture and spirituality in the atmosphere, good natured people and natural beauty of the place make Luang Prabang a very special town. We enjoyed the leisurely walk in the old town part. This part of the town reminds you of the French colonial era with its French style buildings and coffee houses. 

Luang Prabang
(from pikist.com)

Cooking Lao food in the old town

Beautiful temples 

Some decoration!

Monk

Do you want some flowers?

You will see Buddhist temples everywhere.

Wat Sensoukhram

Golden Buddha idol in a temple. 

That Makmo- Watermelon Stupa

Prayer ritual 

Young and dedicated

Higher education! They were sitting on a tall wall!

Actually the meaning of the name Luang Prabang itself is a Royal Buddha image. The Buddhist temples and monks give a sense of serenity to the town. Alms giving ceremony is an ancient Laotian tradition. More than 100 Buddhist monks depart from temples for the alms gathering early in the morning. On their way, devotees gather to give alms to the monks . 

Alms giving ceremony
(from Pixabay)

Royal palace Haw Kham or Ho Kham is now turned into a museum and is a must see place. Here you will come to know about the history and culture of Laos. This campus contains many royal buildings, halls and their residential sections. It is kept as if the royal family is staying there. You will find Airavata - Indra’s elephant and Lord Indra on one of the doors. In one mural, Mahendra Parvata and a river are shown. 

Laos was a part of the Hindu kingdom Kambuja which is today's Cambodia many centuries ago. Naturally, one can find many Hindu gods in Laotian paintings and many Sanskrit names in their history like Jayvarman, Hariharalaya,Shrestapura and Dwaravati. Laos was greatly influenced by Indian religion, art, culture and architecture. 

Phra Lak Phra Ram is a Laotian national epic and is adapted from Valmiki Ramayan, a Hindu epic.  Here, though Ram is the hero, Lakshman’s name  comes first as a mark of his voluntary  devotion. Both of them are sons of King Thattaratha. Nang Sida is in the story, battle is also there. The monkey Hanoumane helps Phra Lak and Phra Ram in search of Sida and the battle. This epic is considered as a Jataka tale.

Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham (Mai Souvana Phoun Ram) is a very important temple as it has housed the Pra Bang Idol for a long time and also served as a royal temple. It has Ramayana epic pictures carved on the golden plating on the wooden walls. It is surely a highlight of Luang Prabang and the most visited and photographed temple.

  Sita

Ram Sita Lakshman

The royal palace campus also houses the temple of Haw Phra/Pra Bang, the temple of Buddha image which has the same name as the town Prabang. Luang means Royal and Prabang is the golden Buddha image. This has a very important place in the history of Laos. 

Haw Pra Bang

Some restoration work in progress

The cultural show in the Royal Museum premises is a must watch show. You will get the essence of Lao culture. Most of the times the Royal Ballet theatre has the Phralak Phralam show i.e. Ramayana dance drama. You can watch this Phra Lak Phra Lam play on You Tube.

Royal theatre  cultural show

Royal theatre cultural show backdrop

Pak ou caves

These are two caves in the Limestone cliff. You have to take a boat ride through Mekong and the ride gives you a chance to watch the scenic beauty. You will find thousands of Buddha images in the caves. Locals believe this cave to be the place of the spirit of Gods of river, what we call in India as Jal Devta. This has been a place of worship for several centuries, actually thousands of years.

Pak Ou caves- view of the river from lower cave

Way to the lower cave

Way to the upper cave. 

There are some villages which are still kept in traditional Lao style. Tourists can visit some of them. You will have to take a boat ride to go there.

Fuel station for the boats!

Making of rice wine -the traditional style.

Roasted bananas 

Food on the go!

Tribal haircut

Of-course you won’t miss the shopping in the market for local crafts! Handcrafted textiles and artifacts made by local people are the greatest attraction in the market. 

I bought a beautiful shawl from the handicraft market 

Don’t forget to climb up Mount Phousi and enjoy the Tat Kuang Si waterfalls. We missed to go there. 

Kuang Si waterfall
(from Pixabay)

Now the typical touristic questions -

Is Luang Prabang cheap?

No, it’s not cheap. You will feel this especially in the restaurants. Though a lot of local food is available easily and at a comparatively cheap price, you will not know whether it’s vegetarian/vegan or not. If you happen to meet an english speaking vendor then surely you can find some cheap vegan local food.  Otherwise for vegan/vegetarian food you will have to go to special cuisine restaurants which are really costly. But the food you get there is surely delicious. Being one of the top most beautiful cities in South East Asia, Luang Prabang is a sought after place for tourists. 

Is Luang Prabang safe?

You must have heard that Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world. It was heavily bombed during the Vietnam war. How many bombs? It’s said that on average a bomb was dropped every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day, for 9 years. Many of them can still be found in Laos and unknowingly the farmers, while ploughing fields, or children playing in the countryside, come across such unexploded bombs and get injured due to the explosion. I have read that still, everyday, one person in Laos dies due to it and it will take many more decades for Laos to be safe again from these unexploded bombs. Such is the terrible impact of the cold war on this officially neutral country.

But as a tourist, you won't be going to such unexplored places. So Luang Prabang is safe for tourists.

Luang Prabang is very peculiar with its rich architectural and artistic heritage. This town is an exceptional mix of colonial architecture and traditional Laotian architecture. The heritage is very well preserved in Luang Prabang which makes it a UNESCO world heritage site.