Lonely Planet Laos Read online

  Bike Trips

  Southern Laos is ripe for exploration by mountain bike or motorbike. New pavement has spread beyond the main highways making exploration as easy as ever, including the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail.

  Luang Prabang & Around

  Luang Prabang & Around Highlights

  Luang Prabang

  City Walk

  Wat Wisunarat (Wat Visoun) Area

  Around Luang Prabang

  Pak Ou Caves

  Tat Kuang Si

  Tat Sae

  Ban Phanom & Beyond

  Luang Prabang & Around

  Why Go?

  Luang Prabang (ຫລວງພະບາງ) slows your pulse and awakens your imagination with its combination of world-class comfort and spiritual nourishment. Sitting at the sacred confluence of the Mekong River and the Nam Khan (Khan River), nowhere else can lay claim to this Unesco-protected gem's romance of 33 gilded wats, saffron-clad monks, faded Indochinese villas and exquisite Gallic cuisine.

  Over the last 20 years Luang Prabang has seen a flood of investment, with once-leprous French villas being revived as fabulous – though affordable – boutique hotels, and some of the best chefs in southeast Asia moving in. The population has swollen, and yet still the peninsula remains as sleepy and friendly as a village, as if time has stood still here.

  Beyond the evident history and heritage of the old French town are aquamarine waterfalls, top trekking opportunities, meandering mountain bike trails, kayaking trips, river cruises and outstanding natural beauty, the whole ensemble encircled by hazy green mountains.

  When to Go

  ANov–Feb The ideal season to visit weather-wise, but as this is no secret it's also peak tourist season.

  AMar–May Hot season with some hazy skies from slash-and-burn cultivation, but some people like to join in the Pi Mai celebrations.

  AJun–Oct The wet season sees numbers, as well as prices, plummet, so it's great if you don't mind the odd downpour and extreme humidity.

  Best Places to Eat

  A Dyen Sabai

  A Le Banneton

  A Coconut Garden

  A The Apsara

  A Tamarind

  Best Places to Sleep

  A La Résidence Phou Vao

  A The Apsara

  A Satri House

  A Amantaka

  A Sofitel Luang Prabang

  Luang Prabang & Around Highlights

  1 Luang Prabang Watching the dawn call to alms as locals give their daily offering to the monks.

  2 Pak Ou Caves Cruising up the Mekong River to this holy site brimming with buddha images.

  3 Tat Kuang Si Plunging into menthol-blue waters, some of the most beautiful in all of Laos.

  4 Wat Xieng Thong Marvelling at the sweeping roof of the oldest and most beautiful temple in Luang Prabang's centre.

  5 Handicraft Night Market Seeking out memorable souvenirs in Luang Prabang's famous night market and old curiosity shops.

  6 Bamboo Tree Cooking Class Learning a few memorable Lao dishes after a half-day’s lesson, which includes a takeaway cookbook and visit to the market.

  Luang Prabang ຫລວງພະບາງ

  Pop 55,000 / %071

  History

  Legend has it that Luang Prabang's founder was Phunheu Nhanheu, a sexually ambiguous character with a bright-red face and a stringy body. His/her ceremonial effigies are kept hidden within Wat Wisunarat, only appearing during Pi Mai (Lao New Year), but models are widely sold as souvenirs.

  Known as Muang Sawa (Muang Sua) from 698, then Xiang Dong Xiang Thong (City of Gold) from the 11th century, a city-state here passed between the Nanzhao (Yunnanese), Khmer and greater Mongol empires over several centuries. It flourished at the heart of Lan Xang, following that kingdom's creation in 1353 by Khmer-supported conqueror Fa Ngum. In 1512, Lan Xang's King Visoun accepted the Pha Bang, a celebrated Buddha image, as a gift from the Khmer monarchy. The city was renamed in its honour as Luang (Great/Royal) Prabang (Pha Bang).

  Although Viang Chan (Vientiane) became the capital of Lan Xang in 1560, Luang Prabang remained the main source of monarchical power. When Lan Xang broke up following the death of King Suriya Vongsa in 1695, one of Suriya's grandsons set up an independent kingdom in Luang Prabang, which competed with kingdoms in Vientiane and Champasak.

  From then on, the Luang Prabang monarchy was so weak that it was forced to pay tribute at various times to the Siamese, Burmese and Vietnamese. The reversal of China's Taiping Rebellion caused several groups of 'Haw' militias to flee southern China and reform as mercenary armies or bandit gangs. The best known of these was the Black Flag Army which devastated Luang Prabang in 1887, destroying and looting virtually every monastery in the city. In the wake of the attack, the Luang Prabang kingdom chose to accept French protection, and a French commissariat was established in the royal capital.

  The French allowed Laos to retain the Luang Prabang monarchy. Luang Prabang quickly became a favourite post for French colonials seeking a refuge as far away from Paris as possible. Even during French Indochina's last years, prior to WWII, a river trip from Saigon to Luang Prabang took longer than a steamship voyage from Saigon to France.

  The city survived Japanese invasion and remained a royalist stronghold through the Indochina wars, as such avoiding the US bombing that destroyed virtually every other northern Lao city. Through the 1980s, collectivisation of the economy resulted in a major exodus of business people, aristocracy and intelligentsia. With little money for or interest in conserving the city's former regal-colonial flavour, Luang Prabang became a ghost of its former self. But after 1989, the return of private enterprise meant that long-closed shops reopened and once-dilapidated villas were converted into hotels and guesthouses. The city received Unesco World Heritage status in 1995, accelerating the process, raising the city's international profile and, in principle, ensuring that any new development in the old city remains true to the architectural spirit of the original. Such has been the city's international popularity in the 21st century that in some quarters, guesthouses, restaurants, boutiques and galleries now outnumber actual homes.

  Luang Prabang

  1Top Sights

  1UXO Laos Information CentreC5

  1Sights

  2Ock Pop Tok Living Crafts CentreA5

  3Wat ChomphetD1

  4Wat LongkhunD1

  5Wat ManoromC4

  6Wat That LuangB4

  7Wat Xieng MaenC1

  2Activities, Courses & Tours

  8ABC SchoolD4

  9E-Bus TourC7

  Ock Pop TokA5

  4Sleeping

  10Ban Lao HotelC4

  11La Résidence Phou VaoC5

  12Le Sen Boutique HotelB5

  13Luang Say ResidenceC5

  14Satri HouseB4

  15Sofitel Luang PrabangC5

  5Eating

  16Secret PizzaD6

  6Drinking & Nightlife

  17Bar 525C4

  18Dao FahC7

  19La PistocheC6

  3Entertainment

  20Moonlight CinemaA5

  1Sights

  Royal Palace & Around

  oRoyal PalaceMUSEUM

  (ພະຣາຊະວັງຊຽງແກ້ວ, Ho Kham MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %071-212470; Th Sisavangvong; admission 30,000K; h8-11.30am & 1.30-4pm Wed-Mon, last entry 3.30pm)

  Evoking traditional Lao and French beaux-arts styles, the former Royal Palace was built in 1904 and was home to King Sisavang Vong (r 1905–59), whose statue stands outside. Within are tasteful, decidedly sober residential quarters, with some rooms preserved much as they were when the king was captured by the Pathet Lao in 1975. Separate outbuildings display the Floating Buddha photography exhibition ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Royal Palace Grounds; h8-11.30am & 1.30-4pm Wed-Mon, last entry 3.30pm) of meditating monks and the five-piece Royal Palace Car Collection.

  No single treasure in Laos is more historically resonant than the Pha Bang (ພະບາງ MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Royal Palace Ground
s; h8-11.30am & 1.30-4pm Wed-Mon, last entry 3.30pm), an 83cm-tall gold-alloy buddha. To find it, walk east along the palace's exterior southern terrace and peep in between the bars at the eastern end. In the southeast corner of the palace gardens, Wat Ho Pha Bang (ວ້ດຫໍພະບາງ MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Royal Palace Grounds; h8-11.30am & 1.30-4pm Wed-Mon, last entry 3.30pm) was built to house the Pha Bang Buddha.

  Inside the museum, footwear and photography are not permitted and you must leave bags in a locker room to the left-hand side of the main entrance.

  Royal Palace Car CollectionMUSEUM

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Royal Palace Grounds; h8-11.30am & 1.30-4pm Wed-Mon, last entry 3.30pm)

  The five-piece Royal Palace Car Collection includes two 1960s Lincoln Continentals, a rare wing-edged 1958 Edsel Citation and a dilapidated Citroën DS. Plus a wooden speedboat the king used to take upriver to visit his vegetable garden.

  Wat Mai SuwannaphumahamBUDDHIST TEMPLE

  (ວັດໄຫມ່ສຸວັນນະພູມອາຮາມ MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Th Sisavangvong; 10,000K; h8am-5pm)

  Wat Mai is one of the city's most sumptuous monasteries, its wooden sǐm (ordination hall) sporting a five-tiered roof in archetypal Luang Prabang style, while the unusually roofed front verandah features detailed golden reliefs depicting scenes from village life, the Ramayana and Buddha's penultimate birth. It was spared destruction in 1887 by the Haw gangs who reportedly found it too beautiful to harm. Since 1894 it has been home to the Sangharat, the head of Lao Buddhism.

  oPhu SiHILL

  (ພູສີ MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 20,000K; h8am-6pm)

  Dominating the old city centre and a favourite with sunset junkies, the 100m-tall Phu Si (prepare your legs for a steep 329-step ascent) is crowned by a 24m gilded stupa called That Chomsi (ທາດຈອມສີ MAP GOOGLE MAP ; admission incl with Phu Si). Viewed from a distance, especially when floodlit at night, the structure seems to float in the hazy air like a chandelier. From the summit, however, the main attraction is the city views.

  Beside a flagpole on the same summit there's a small remnant anti-aircraft cannon left from the war years.

  Ascending Phu Si from the northern side, stop at Wat Pa Huak (ວັດປ່າຮວກ MAP GOOGLE MAP ; admission by donation). The gilded, carved front doors are usually locked but an attendant will open them for a tip. Inside, the original 19th-century murals show historic scenes along the Mekong River, including visits by Chinese diplomats and warriors arriving by river and horse caravans.

  Reaching That Chomsi is also possible from the southern and eastern sides. Two such paths climb through large Wat Siphoutthabat Thippharam (ວັດສີພຸດທະບາດ MAP GOOGLE MAP ) to a curious miniature shrine that protects a Buddha Footprint ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ). If this really is his rocky imprint, then the Buddha must have been the size of a brontosaurus. Directly southwest of here a series of new gilded buddhas are nestled into rocky clefts and niches around Wat Thammothayalan ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ); this monastery is free to visit if you don't climb beyond to That Chomsi.

  Wat Pa Phon PhaoBUDDHIST TEMPLE

  ( GOOGLE MAP )F

  An easy 3km walk or bicycle ride northeast of town is Wat Pa Phon Phao, a forest meditation wat famous for the teachings of the late abbot Ajahn Saisamut. Saisamut's funeral in 1992 was the largest and most well-attended monk's funeral Laos had seen in decades.

  TAECMUSEUM

  (Traditional Arts & Ethnology Centre; MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %071-253364; www.taeclaos.org; off Th Kitsarat; 25,000K; h9am-6pm Tue-Sun)S

  Visiting this professionally presented three-room museum is a must to learn about northern Laos' various hill-tribe cultures, especially if planning a trek. There's just enough to inform without overloading a beginner, including a range of ethnic costumes and a brilliant new exhibition, 'Seeds of Culture: From Living Plants to Handicrafts'. TAEC sits within a former French judge's mansion that was among the city's most opulent buildings of the 1920s. There's a cafe and a shop selling handicrafts and pictorials.

  LUANG PRABANG IN...

  TWO DAYS

  After breakfasting on coffee and croissants at Le Banneton, immerse yourself in the old town of Luang Prabang with a stroll around the temples and historic buildings. Make sure you include the striking temple of Wat Xieng Thong and the Royal Palace, where you can now see the fabled Pha Bang buddha statue, as well as some of the small alleyways that link the Mekong and Nam Khan riverfronts. Try lunch at Joma Bakery Cafe on the slow-flowing Nam Khan and dinner after sunset on the banks of the mother Mekong. On your second day, rise early to observe the tak bat as the monasteries empty of their monks in search of alms (to avoid the scrum of photographers on the main road, follow it through the peninsula's interior). Continue to the lively morning market before taking a boat trip upriver to the Pak Ou Caves (ຖ້ຳປາກອູ, Tham Ting cave admission 80,000K, return boat tickets per person/boat 65,000/300,000K; hboats depart 8.30-11am). If time allows, spend the afternoon trekking, ziplining and swimming around the lush waterfalls at Tat Kuang Si (ຕາດກວາງຊີ admission 20,000K; h7.30am-5.30pm). Round things off with a delicious Laotion dinner at Tamarind followed by a night on the town at buzzing Utopia.

  FOUR DAYS

  Once you've explored the old town and the headline attractions, it's time for an adrenaline buzz or some cultural immersion. For adrenaline seekers, choose from hiking, biking or kayaking in the surrounding countryside. Tiger Trail or Green Discovery ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %071-212093; www.greendiscoverylaos.com; 44/3 Th Sisavangvong; h8am-9pm) are reliable tour operators to hook up with. For more culture than adventure, consider a cooking class at Tamarind or Bamboo Tree, a weaving class at Ock Pop Tok, or a visit to the excellent Traditional Arts & Ethnology Centre. Definitely try a gastronomic blowout at one of the classy international restaurants in town such as Tangor or Blue Lagoon. Still want more? Check out La Pistoche for the equivalent of a beach experience in town. And if you want a day trip that includes a boat ride and ziplines, head to the recently opened Green Jungle Flight (%071-253899, 020-58677616; Ban Paklueang; park entrance US$3, ziplining & ropes course US$28-45, trekking US$35, return boat transfer from Luang Prabang 10,000K; c).

  Xieng Mouane Area

  Wat Pa PhaiBUDDHIST TEMPLE

  (ວັດປ່າໄຜ່ MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Th Sisavang Vatthana)

  Over the gilded and carved wooden facade, Wat Pa Phai has a classic Tai–Lao fresco depicting everyday scenes of late 19th-century Lao life.

  Villa Xieng MouaneARCHITECTURE

  (ເຮືອນມໍລະດົກຊຽງມ່ວນ MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Th Xotikhoumman)

  Footpaths lead back from the commercial main drag into a little oasis of palm-shaded calm around the Villa Xieng Mouane, an authentic traditional longhouse on tree-trunk stilts that is now partly used as an occasional exhibition centre.

  Heritage House Information CentreGALLERY

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; h9am-5pm Mon-Sat)

  The Heritage House Information Centre has computers on which you can peruse a series of photos and descriptions of the city's numerous Unesco-listed historic buildings.

  Wat Xieng MouaneBUDDHIST TEMPLE

  (ວັດຊຽງມ່ວນ MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Th Xotikhoumman; h8am-5pm)F

  In the old quarter, Wat Xieng Mouane's ceiling is painted with gold naga (river serpent) and the elaborate háang thíen (candle rail) has nagas at either end. With backing from Unesco and New Zealand, the monks' quarters have been restored as a classroom for training young novices and monks in the artistic skills needed to maintain and preserve Luang Prabang's temples. Among these skills are woodcarving, painting and Buddha-casting, all of which came to a virtual halt after 1975.

  Wat ChoumkhongBUDDHIST TEMPLE

  (ວັດຈຸມຄ້ອງ MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Th Xotikhoumman)F

  The garden around the little Wat Choumkhong is particularly attractive when its poinsettia trees blush red. Built in 1843, the monastery takes its name from a Buddha statue that wa
s originally cast from a melted-down gong.

  Central Luang Prabang

  1Top Sights

  1Phu SiC4

  2Royal PalaceC3

  3Wat Xieng ThongF1

  1Sights

  4Buddha FootprintD3

  5Floating Buddha PhotographsC3

  6Heritage House Information CentreD3

  7Pha BangC3

  8Royal Palace Car CollectionC3

  9TAECC5

  That ChomsiC4

  10That MakmoD5

  11Unesco OfficesF1

  12Villa Xieng MouaneC3

  13Wat ChoumkhongC3

  14Wat Ho Pha BangC4

  15Wat Mai SuwannaphumahamC4

  16Wat Pa HuakC4

  17Wat Pa PhaiD3

  18Wat PakkhanG1

  19Wat PunluangE4

  20Wat SensoukaramE2

  21Wat Siphoutthabat ThippharamD3

  22Wat SouvannakhiliF2

  23Wat ThammothayalanD4

  24Wat WisunaratD6

  25Wat Xieng MouaneD3

  26Watpakha XaingaramF3

  2Activities, Courses & Tours

  27Bamboo Tree Cooking Class & RestaurantE2

  Banana Boat LaosD5

  28Big Brother MouseE2

  29Children's Cultural CentreB4