SE Asia Summer Pt. 4

The fourth installment of our summer vacation was the UNESCO world heritage city of Luang Prabang.  We left Vientiane late in the morning with the plan to arrive at our new destination around noon.  The flight was only 425 kilometers (264 miles) north.  It was raining when we arrived at the airport and knowing that there was a driver waiting for us was a relief.  Since the airport was very small, we grabbed our bags and quickly saw our driver.  He helped us put our things in his van and we were off. 

It was about a fifteen minute drive until we reached a guesthouse the travel agency recommended.  It was a nice area, close to the main street in the city center.  Since we saw many accommodations along the way, Adan asked for a discount and ultimately was able to get a clean room with air conditioning for 150,000 kip (under $20) a night.  We planned to stay in Luang Prabang just two nights so it seemed to be a good option.

After settling in at the guesthouse, we noticed the rain had stopped.  We decided to stroll around the city center by foot and check things out.  The first site we came across was Wat Mai.  This temple dates back to the 18th century and is considered the largest wat in all of Luang Prabang.  It's located right next to the Royal Palace Museum. The museum seemed like it might've been worthwhile, however due to inconvenient operating hours we chose not to visit here.  Instead we crossed the street and climbed Mount Phou Si to see Wat Phou.  The weather was humid and as the sun crept out, the climb got hot.  In fact, Pazi chose to only go up half way and rest while Adan finished reaching the peak.

At the top of the 100m tall hill , is a Buddhist shrine and small golden stupa.  Although devote Buddhists might make this trek for worship, others come for the view.  At the peak is a stunning overlook of the city with the center being a peninsula dividing the mighty Mekong River to one side and the Nam Khan River to the other.

From here we explored a good portion of the peninsula and its smaller wats before having dinner.  We ate at what seemed to be  a very popular restaurant of local food.  We ordered a meal of traditional grilled chicken, spicy papaya salad, and sticky rice.  The food was tasty, however we saw a couple next to us eating grilled fish and it really made our mouths water.  At that point we decided that before leaving Laos we needed to try the fish.

Lastly, before going to rest at the guesthouse we visited the night market.  Here, dozens upon dozens of vendors set up shop selling clothes, artwork, snacks, handicrafts, and so much more.  We spent about two hours browsing.  Eventually Pazi had to buy something.  She couldn't actually find what she wanted so she special ordered her items.  She really wanted a complete dining set of place mates and table runner done in dark hessian cloth with a gold elephant stitching.  The lady she hired agreed, but needed one day to finish the pieces.  Pazi gave a down payment of 50,000 kip (less than $7) and would pay the other 70,000 (less than $9) the next evening when she picked up the order.

Exploring the Outskirts of Luang Prabang       
Our second day took us in and around Luang Prabang.  The driver from the previous day took us to see the city's most popular temple.  Located at the northern end of the peninsula, Wat Xien Thong is extremely popular with tourists.  In fact, when we visited at 9:00am there was already two very large groups and half a dozen other people viewing the wat's grounds.  The temple dates back to 1560 and has separate halls, stupas and even a reclining Buddah sanctuary.

After spending about 45 minutes at Wat Xien Thong, We took a windy and muddy 25 kilometer journey towards Pak Ou Caves.   This is supposedly an excursion where you take a boat out to see caves where many Buddha images and statues are placed by worshippers through the years.  Unfortunately, due to the recent rainfall the trails were blocked off due to heavy rain and we were never able to see anything.

Instead, we ventured towards Kuang Si Waterfalls.  This location is a nature park for locals and tourists alike.  It's highlight is a three tiered waterfall where shallow pools atop a steep hillside feed a larger 50m high waterfall.  This site is well maintained with bridges and walkways that guide visitors.  It was a little disappointing because with such heavy rainfall occurring around our visit, the waterfalls were dumping too much water down into the lower pools making it a mess to walk around.  Nevertheless, it was evident that when the weather is nice in Luang Prabang, this is a place to go see.

Our last destination to visit before it began to get dark was Wat Visoun and That Makmo.  This temple is considered to be the oldest temple in Luang Prabang build during the 16th century.  It's most striking feature is the enormous lotus stupa, That Makmo.  The original design of this wat was made of wood, however it was set on fire in 1887 during the sacking of Luang Prabang.  It was later rebuilt with brick and stucco finish.

Pazi really was craving pizza so we ate at the highly touted Swedish Pizza House and Scandinavian Bakery.  Lonely Planet says it is one of the best joints for foreign food in Luang Prabang.  We tried it and felt that it was alright, but nothing special.  Pazi really enjoyed there lemon ice tea, which reminded her of home.  The bakery was rather impressive, although we didn't order anything.  They had a large assortment of cakes, cookies, and pastries.

To end our night, Pazi went to go pick up her special order.  We were a bit nervous when we didn't see the same lady around her area from the night before, however the woman's daughter noticed us and brought Pazi here items.  We shopped up and down the main drag buying a few more small items before heading back to rest for our early flight back to Vientiane the next morning.