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Published: January 9th 2009
Luang Prabang has stolen my heart. It has to be my favorite place of all so far. Everything just seems to fit. The people, the surroundings, the atmosphere, the attitude.
It's a UNESCO World Heritage site, nestled in the mountains, next to the Mekong River. I can't describe how beautiful it is here... just picture Lunenburg -- those same sort of heritage homes -- except next to a chocolate milk colored babbling river instead of the Atlantic Ocean. Oh, and the streets are lined with palm trees and fruit vendors. And there are gorgeous green mountains in every direction. There are only a few main streets... mostly filled with Guest Houses and restaurants. There are 32 wats here... (temples) and monks dressed in their bright orange outfits walking around everywhere. It's so serene. Fairytale-like. And the people! As a whole, the Laos are more friendly, more sincere, more welcoming than anyone else I've enountered on this trip.
I arrived by bus on Saturday evening. Remember how I said it was a REAL bus? Well, it was. However, we still had to climb over enormous bags of rice on our hands and knees to get to our seats. And yes, there were chickens... Just two though, in a little carrying case, much like the ones we use for cats. Nevertheless, the journey through the misty mountains was simply spectacular. The last time I saw mountains like these was when I took the bus to Whistler, in BC. It was a 9 hour ride uphill and downhill, weaving around gorgeous green mountains, limestone cliffs, water buffaloes, loose pigs (thank goodness I was on the bus) and through hilltribe villages. At some points, we were above the clouds!
On the bus, this boy, well, he was 21, but looked about 15 (all Asians look WAY younger than they are) befriended me. Right away, he said 'Sabaidee!' and gave me a chocolate bar. (See what I mean? So nice!) And then we chatted off and on for the entire ride. He was so interested in who I was, where I came from and what I was doing in Laos. He said he was going to art school and was on his way home for a holiday. He even sketched pictures of me! He also asked me to come home to his village for a few days.... Politely, I had to decline. (Sorry Timmy, I may have blown it again!)
Anyway, when I arrived in LP, a guest house owner whisked me away on his motorbike (with BOTH of my backpacks) because I agreed to look at his place. After having seen what people put on their bikes in Vietnam, I've become a little more daring. 😊
That first night, I went exploring. You can't go very far though, it's a pretty small town. There's one main drag, and part of that becomes a great big night market after 5 o'clock. Baked goods, fruit stands, coconut pancakes, paper lanterns, gorgeous silver jewellry, ceramics, carvings and handwoven scarves, table cloths pillow cases and bed spreads. And purses! More purses! So many beautiful, beautiful things... a feast for the senses, for sure.
I walked the main strip several times, just taking in the sights. All the restaurant tables spill out onto the streets. There was traditional Laos music coming from one place. Regular ol' western music coming from another. And a televised rugby game blaring from the lone sports bar on the strip.... And seeing as I've become a bit of a rugby buff (HA!) in the last few weeks, I decided to go in and pretend I was interested in the score. But of course, I had to ASK someone to find out. And I just happened to ask this lovely Australian fellow what was going on. (I'm getting really good at making friends!) I then invited myself to sit down with him and watch the remainder of the game over Beer Lao. (Australia won...and I'll be damned if I can tell you who they were playing!)
Anyway, we got chatting. He lives and works in Southern Laos now, for a mining plant and was in LP on holiday with some of his co-workers... one of which was Laos, and from Luang Prabang. Anyway, the rest of his friends eventually joined us and by the end of the night, I was invited on a private boat ride up the Mekong with these Australian processing engineers and their Laos friend, Pouvan. Pouvan is from a village on the other side of the river. His brother owned the boat.
So, we visited a cave up the river which has become a sort of graveyard for broken Buddha statues. There are thousands of Buddhas in there -- big ones, small ones, fat ones, happy ones, sitting ones, standing ones, gold ones, lady ones... all with a missing limb or a chip or no head. The cave was also once a place where monks went to meditate. Very cool.
We also visited a local village, where they make whiskey out of rice. It's appropriately called 'Lao Lau.' We got to sample some. I tried the special one for ladies. The other kinds had snakes and scorpions in the bottles...and were supposed to, ahem... make the man who drinks it... ahem...stronger...for the ladies. 😊
After that, we had lunch at another village. Then Pouvan took us to his village... where we saw the house that he built, met his family and his neighbors. Pouvan is only 26, and was a monk for 7 years, left LP and went to university in Vientiane, and now works for this company in Southern Laos. This was the first time he was back to his village in over a year. It was really interesting to see how the village people reacted to his visit! We had tea with his brother and his sister in law (sitting on the floor) and I even got to meet his cousin's baby -- who was born just 5 days ago. Very special.
That night, Pouvan took us all to a special Laos restaurant...where we had traditional Laos cuisine. He ordered it all, and we all shared. Fish soup, sticky rice, Laos salad, mashed fish, spring rolls and cabbage. Divine!
After that, we went to a night club... which is NOTHING like the Palace or the Dome or anything else at home. It was more like a high school dance. The boys and girls don't touch (it's taboo) and they do more of a circle dance, and make motions with their hands. And they all dress very conservatively. And -- EVERYTHING shuts down before 11:30! (Heh heh, my kind of place!)
I really lucked out, once again, by meeting fantastic people who make my experiences more real. Getting off that beaten track is key. And by chance, these opportunities keep falling into my lap.
I'm pretty tired of visiting wats but since there are 32 in such a small town, I figured I should check out a few. I climbed 400 steps to the main one...which was well worth it. I have some stunning panoramic shots of Luang Prabang.
I also visited waterfalls... multi tiered waterfalls, blue lagoons...freezing cold. So refreshing, and such a contrast from the chocolatey Mekong. I loved the falls so much that I rented a mountain bike and biked the 30 km back the following day. Gorgeous, gorgeous through the mountains and rice paddies and through villages. It took me 3 hours. I got a tuk tuk back. 😊
Now.... I hate to admit it, but I'm back in Bangkok. I'm not sure why they call it the city of angels... bc I believe it's the city of pure insanity. The only thing right about this place is the mango pineapple smoothies I get from the same little man with the blue truck. I've been here 24 hours, and it's doing my head in. Loud, polluted, busy, smelly, hot, steamy. Packed with westerners getting dreads and tattoos from VW vans on the side of road (new needles every time, so the sign says...) Oh, and impromptu 'bars' in gas station parking lots -- tables with candles and all -- also out of the back of a truck. When I saw the Khao San Road again for the first time in 2 months, it was culture shock all over again. Cripes. I have to say, those noodles and snack stalls that I found repulsive on my first night in Bangkok 2 months ago...are now...strangely...alluring.
Luckily, I met up with a Ben, the journalist from Belgium for both dinner last night and lunch again today. It's nice to have a friend in such a mad, mad city. Too bad it's the jumping point for flights, busses, etc. or else I would have avoided it. Tomorrow I'm heading back down south to Koh Phagnan. This is the one island on the Gulf of Thailand side I didn't stay on back in May. Looking forward to that! From there? I'll let you know.
Happy summer!
xo
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Patricia
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catching up on reading
Hey Kelly, there have been so many journal entries I've had to go back and read. Your trip sounds unreal, I can't wait to hear more from you in person. I'm sticking around till the end of August now forsure, physio looks like it will take longer than expected. Take care of yourself on the next trip, thank you so much for the updates. Talk soon, Love P