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Published: July 29th 2008
Khouang Xi Falls
The pleasures of being a kidKhouang Xi Falls and Luang Prabang
We left Luang Prabang on tarmac, but hit dirt as soon as we passed the last house, to visit the Khouang Xi waterfalls 30 km away. On the way, we stopped at a tribal village inhabited by
Hmong (the main group of Lao Soung, or highland Lao). The houses here were unlike those of the
Lao Loum, the lowland Lao, who always build their houses on stilts, with largish windows to dissipate the summer heat. The village is part of a resettlement experiment to assimilate tribal people into the dominant lowland Lao economy and culture. Judging by the relative poverty of this village, the experiment has not yet met with much success.
Near Khouang Xi we began to walk through a very clean and affluent-looking (satellite dishes!) lowland Lao village that benefits from year-round water from the falls higher up the valley - permitting two rice crops a year. We found it astonishing that Laos, with a land area similar to the UK or New Zealand, and with a population of just five to six million, is not self-sufficient in rice - although
progress is being made. Compare this with its neighbour, Vietnam, which has just
40%!m(MISSING)ore land to accommodate (and feed) 82 million people, and is a net exporter of rice. A crucial difference appears to be that only 8%!o(MISSING)f Laos's arable land is irrigated, while in Vietnam the figure is 50%! (MISSING)Beyond the village, was a very enjoyable walk, climbing up a quiet valley through a mix of primary and secondary forest, and passing some magnificent hardwood trees that had somehow survived the ravages of
excessive logging. Along the way we came upon a fenced enclosure housing several very endearing Malayan Sun Bears that had been rescued from smugglers and were now supported by charitable donations.
Finally, meandering up along the small river we reached several levels of milky limestone pools, each with their own rocky waterfalls tumbling magically down from the next level, and surrounded by tropical vegetation and small sandy beaches. At the top, where the valley ended up against a steep cliff, the water crashed dramatically to our feet from the plateau forty meters above our heads.
Loath to take our leave from this wildly romantic spot, we nonetheless headed back to town where we lunched in mediocre fashion in a windowless, over-air-conditioned room at Restaurant Visoun opposite
Wood store
Lowland Lao village the eponymous temple. In the afternoon we visited the Royal Palace in the centre of the city, built for the king in Khmer style by the French in the early twentieth century, and converted into a National Museum after the 1975 revolution and the abolition of the monarchy. The museum's most famous exhibit is the
Pra Bang, the Golden Buddha from which the old capital takes its name, and which found its way to Laos via Cambodia in the fourteenth century. It probably originated in Sri Lanka between the first and ninth centuries, and is held in great esteem in Laos since its arrival coincided with the introduction of Buddhism in the ancient kingdom of Lane Xang. Some sources say the image here is but a copy, and the original lies in a bank vault somewhere in Laos, weighing in at 50 kg of solid gold. Apart from the Pra Bang, the museum houses an eclectic mix: many old and beautiful Buddhas brought to the king for safekeeping over the centuries; ornate monarchic accoutrements; murals and royal portraits by French artists; an eccentric collection of gifts given by various countries to the former kings; and the modest private apartments of the
last royal family to inhabit the palace.
Directly opposite here are the western steps up Mount Phousi, perhaps the cultural and spiritual heart of Luang Prabang. The steep and winding climb to the summit pays off with a 360 degree view across the Mekong, the Nam Khan, the old and new parts of the city, and the mountains beyond. On top, a landmark for miles around, is the gleaming gold 25 meter-tall stupa of Wat Chom Si, and next to it a simple and peaceful sanctuary.
Having descended by the eastern steps, we made our way back round to
Wat May with its classic Luang Prabang style five-tiered roof built between 1788 and the mid-nineteenth century. The facade has a large gold bas relief, and the interior is a stunning blend of red ceiling and pillars with gold Buddhas and ornamentation.
Our last visit of the day was to Wat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang's most important and finest collection of buildings. Decorated in bright red and gold, Wat Xieng Thong was built in 1559, survived many raids by the Chinese and Siamese, and epitomizes the Luang Prabang architectural style with the overlapping roofs of the main sanctuary almost
touching the ground. One of the two large side chapels is decorated with mosaics of colourful Japanese glass added in the 1950's. The exquisitely proportioned Hor Latsalot (Chapel of the Funeral Chariot), houses the 12 m-high hearse of King Sisavang Vong who died in 1959.
Back at the Apsara, some of us partook of a sundowner or two, while Lisa relaxed with a massage organized by Ivan. We then strolled up Sisavangvong, the main street lined with shops, to the night market - essentially a couple of hundred women selling a fairly narrow range of tribal textiles. But the evening was fine, the atmosphere relaxed and convivial, and the people friendly and warm. Dinner was a short walk away at
L'Éléphant, a lively place recommended by friends who had eaten there several times during their visit. It lived up to expectations - service was competent and affable, and it offered good French food as well as Lao. I had a first-rate wild boar pâté, and several of us enjoyed their excellent fillet steak and
frites. Wine lists appearing to be a bit limited in Laos, and it being rather hot for a red, we drank the same Sipp Riesling
as the night before. It had been a long day, and we soon staggered gratefully off to bed.
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