Part 4: Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang was a weird place for me.

I was very conscious of the need to try and conserve money after having to purchase a new one while I was in Vietnam. It was also a place where I had nothing planned.

Luang Prabang is a fairly small place. I went everywhere on foot and got to see a good portion of the town/city. It was a bit more touristy than I had anticipated. I had read that as you go further north in Laos you'll encounter less of a tourist footprint. This was not the case in Luang Prabang.

Don't get me wrong, it is far far better than a tourist trap like Siem Reap. I didn't have children chasing after me begging for money or for me to buy something. I wasn't pestered every five feet by a tuk-tuk driver. I wasn't offered a prostitute everytime I stepped outside at night. Actaully on my final night in Luang Prabang I was walking back to my guesthouse and a guy asked me if I wanted a woman. It was the only time in happened in Luang Prabang and it helped to add a little shadow to what had been a rather quaint picture of the town and people.

Luang Prabang is located at the junction of two rivers; the main river being the Mekong. If you use the Mekong as a reference point as it runs north south, the first street along the river is full of guest houses and restaurants over looking the river. Go over one block and you get a street filled with tour companies, guest houses and restaurants. This is also the street where the night market is held. Given the size of the town, I was surprised by the number of restaurants and guesthouses. Tourism had made its impact known in Luang Prabang.

There really isn't that much to see in Luang Prabang. There are a number of small Wat's, including the one in the centre of town. There is a museum detailing how the Laotian royalty lived. There is a lively night market on what I call Restaurant Row that begins nightly at 5pm. Stall after stall of silk and silver, t-shirts and trinkets. A shoppers delight. But mostly Luang Prabang is a jumping off point to locales further afield. You can make day trips to a water falls, or some caves. Go and visit some nearby villages or go jungle trekking for a couple days.

One place that I enjoyed was a small cafe called L'eterier run by a couple of Canadian expats. They had a good selection of books for sale or loan, a nice menu and each night they showed movies in their loft. Given the lack of festivities in Luang Prabang, I took in two movies with about ten other travelers.

As for the people, they were quite friendly and nice. They weren't pushy or intrusive. There was definitely a slower pace of life here and it can either drive you crazy or give you that pause in rush that you need.

All in all, for me it was a nice relaxing time where I got to wander the town and just rest after more than a week of daily running around. If I were to go back though I'd definitely like to take better advantage of what Luang Prabang has to offer in terms of experiencing northern Laos.

Next: Part 5 - Chiang Mai