Luang Prabang 2012

Heading back to Luang Prabang this time brings back so many good memories. I can't believe I haven't been here since 2007 but somehow it seems so familiar, as if I was here only last month or last year. On the surface, it's like most things have stayed the same; the Laos people are very sweet and the scenery, both in the immediate surrounds and in the hills beyond the river, are as beautiful as ever.

In the evening, wandering around the night market is a good thing to do before or after dinner. It must be one of the quietest markets in the world, with little of the hustle and bustle of other markets I've visited in my limited travels. Walking the markets and streets of Luang Prabang is one of the most pleasant things to do in this town, in fact its the best way to experience it. just keep coming back to the main street for a cold Beer Laos or fruit shake every now and then to keep yourself from dying in the heat. For me, the heat is much like where I live in Hanoi so I can cope but at this time of the year there are not that many western tourists around.

Of course, the food is always a highlight. I think Laos food is a bit similar to Thai food; quite spicy but with more herbs and veggies. The dishes I especially enjoyed this trip were kao soy, a kind of rich tomato and meat sauce served on noodles and my favorite laab, spicy minced meat salad. On the vegetable side this time, the highlights were snake beans eaten raw and water cress both in a salad and a soup.

Coming over just for a weekend is not enough but there are many reasons to come back.

Back To Luang Prabang

My friends and I went back to Luang Prabang, Laos for a week's break. We love this peaceful, beautiful place. Laos people are really sweet and friendly, while Laos food is unique because they cook with lots of veggies from the forests. It's a little bit spicy like Thai food. We ate Laos food everyday especially laap and spicy Laos noodles soup with pork, chicken or beef. So yummy. The soup is something I had to have every single day and I can make it now in Hanoi. I feel regret that I didn't go to the Laos vegetarian food buffet, one of the great stops for tourists and only 5000 Kip, which is 50 cents. But we ate there a couple of times last year.

The shopping is great in Luang Prabang and I find it hard to keep away from the shops. They have a very nice night market for tourists with a variety of products, from childrens' slippers to doona covers and beautiful paintings or gorgeous buddha statues. You need to bargain or you get ripped off and I always think bargaining is a game and Laos people love it too. Of course, I usually give them a little bit more after I buy the stuff. If you go to the market about 4 Pm when they start opening, then you can see lots of beautiful kids hanging around the shops, some of them sleeping on the ground and some of them helping their parents set up the business. I love the night market in Luang Prabang.

We were very lucky to arrive in Luang Prang before October 1st because that date is the start of the high season, when hotels put up their prices. We stayed at the Sayo River Guesthouse and the room we stayed in increased from $20 to $30, but because we arrived before the changeover, we only paid $20 for the rest of our stay. If you are planning a trip to Luang Prabang, that's worth remembering.

We had such a great time travelling around by tuk tuk, on boat trips down the river to see the sunset and also joining the hotel receptionist at the local disco which was hilarious. Thanks alot to Liz, Pam, Mark, Matt and the Laos people for giving me such a memorable trip.

Holidays Rock!

Sabaidee Lao Market

Luang Prabang night market is one of the best markets I've ever been to, so colorful, not really expensive and not as much crap stuff as other markets. Compared to the morning market in Vientiane, this is much better with a wider variety of stuff and a great atmosphere. The market opens from about 5 pm to 11pm. I love hanging around this market because the Lao people always smile at you even if you don't buy anything from them.

We were playing our bargaining games here so well and sometimes it made us laugh our heads off because the surprising prices that we gave and the sellers accepted. Most of the prices that those sellers give to you are up really high and the game starts from 70% off then stop about 40%. One tecnhique is a smile and walk away and then they will call you back to ask for a little bit more but if you are strict with that price then they will sell it. We wanted to buy a small piece of cloth with a small handmade patch on it. One old lady told me that it costs K5000, I said K500 and she agreed. We wondered about the real price and how they can earn any money from that?

Liz wanted to buy a bed cover with two pillow covers, the sellers told us $25, I said $14 and they didn't agree, we went to another shop and finally she bought two for $28, very good quality and they look gorgeous! The funny thing is that Lao people always thinks that I am Lao or Thai then they speak those languages to me and I teasing them by smiling knowingly and uh ha, uh huh just trying to make a good deal and I realized that it was quite a good technique to get a good deal.

I bought so many lanterns and paintings at the night market, they look so pretty and very cheap. Most of the paintings sold here are from an artist who lives in the mountains. Some of them are from student artists who copy and they look not really good. Buddha tile paintings are great here, they are small pieces of flat ceramic that you can stick on the wall or on the floor or put them in a frame, it costs a little bit but I think it worth what we paid for.

Sabaidee Lao, sokdee and phopkanmai!

Luang Prabang Part II

Luang Prabang is the best place in Lao for both tourists and locals to do business and relax. No wonder people call this the thousand pagoda city because pagodas are everywhere and you can see monks from early in the morning until the evening. The monks are dressed in a beautiful orange, carrying school bags and umbrellas, wow, I love looking at them all the time.

Lao monks in general have free education and they all go to school, they study all kinds of subjects from computers to english ... Monks in Luang Prabang speak good english, much better than in other parts of Lao, because they have lots of opportunities for practicing their english with tourists and they are very friendly here. Sometimes, in the evening you can see a monk using the internet or having a cigarette but I don't know if that's allowed or not.

One day, we went around and stopped at one of the pagodas and saw a monk playing with his mobile and he didn't seem to mind that he stood right in front of lots of tourists around and he seemed proud of his update technique. Does Buddha know about this? From what lots of people said, including some who used to be a monks, families want them to go to the pagoda because they can have a free education and food. After a few years, they leave and return to normal life. I think this is a good idea for whoever can't really afford to go to school, because going to school is not really free here in Asia but the fee is not really high.

I tried to wake up about 4am to see the monks praying but I couldn't make it that early but I woke up at 5.30am to take some shots of monks parading after chanting. They wander around the city to get food from the local people. Hundreds of monks walking in orange robes makes the early morning in Luang Prabang so colorful like thousands of butterflies are walking on the street. I couldn't believe that there were also about a hundred western tourists there before me, standing there waiting. If you want to contribute food to the monks, you can buy food from ladies who hang around there with baskets of food. It was a nice experience to start the day.

Tobe continued

Luang Prabang Part I

After a long journey during which the rain started falling heavily, we decided to take our friends recommendation and chose the Sokdee guest house(Ban Vatnong Khamkong Road, tel:(856-71) 252 555).The rooms were only$9 with air-conditioning or $5 for a fan room. We took air-conditioned rooms even though we didn't end up using it much. The rooms were clean with hot water, cable TV and of course especially friendly and helpful staff.

We took a rest for an hour, had a hot shower then hit the road for a wander. The rain had stopped and we soon realised that Luang Prabang is really a quiet paradise: there are NO horns, No crazy traffic and No shouting. Another good thing is that we came here at the end of the raining season and there were not many tourists around which means we can enjoy ourselves even more. Luang Prabang people are so friendly, they smile and greet everyone every time they see them. We went to have a drink at a restaurant near the guest house and we saw a group which included an old Lao man who now lives in the USA. We left there after one drink because we couldn't stand his loud voice but we feel bad now because we didn't know that he's deaf until the girl in that group told us on our last day before we left.

Our regular restaurant, mainly for breakfast, was called L.P.B. restaurant(Khemkhong road,tel 212634) where the food was really nice. We were served by an hilarious waiter who was always laughing and making jokes with all of the customers in a nice way. He is a short guy with a face that makes you laugh right at the first time. By the end of our trip, whenever we ate there, he knew what we wanted. I gave the restaurant some ideas about their seating, lighting and decor and I hope it helps attract customers.

The next day we took a tuk tuk to some waterfalls. We got stuck in the shops in the parking area and, after buying some fishing pants and climbing up about 20 minutes, oh my god, an amazing water fall appeared. The water was a bit cold for me but there were lots of people swimming. I wish I could have swum there. We took heaps of pictures of the waterfall. There was a tiger up there which was saved from hunters a while ago, as well as some big black bears. People donate money for keeping these animals alive. The tiger needs a lot of food every day.

The tuk tuk ride cost us $12 including a small tip because we ended up staying 4 hours instead of the 1 hour trip we asked for. Even though at first the trip was a bit scary because of the roads, we soon got used to it. In the next few days we took some more day trips.

Tobe continued