According to the Lonely Planet Guide:
Luang Prabang is arguably one of the most sophisticated places in South East Asia. Nowhere else can lay claim to the city’s old-world romance of 33 gilded wats, colourful monks, faded Indochinese villas and exquisite Gallic cuisine.
Lonely Planet. (2012). Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Northern Thailand. (pp.298)
I totally agree with the bit about the ‘old-world charm’, as you walk around the city you do get the feeling that you have sort of gone back in time and have trespassed into a quaint little French village…and then you realize that you are in modern day Laos and that there is a massive French legacy here. The town’s two schools are even signposted in French; the Pharmacy clerk speaks to his visitors in French and a fair amount of the tourists that we saw were indeed French. It’s brilliant – much hotter than France – but brilliant!
There has been an influx in recent years of builders and architects coming into town and revitalizing the tired old buildings into chic spas and boutique mini-hotels, but it hasn’t lost any of the charm. I read somewhere that most people are in agreement that if the town wasn’t UNESCO protected then most of the buildings would have been knocked down by now, and I think I am inclined to agree. What makes the town so lovely is that people build their new homes and businesses in the old style, rather than in the modern style (it’s probably part of the UNESCO rules…but meh), and it makes the town feel so welcoming and warm.
I just wanted to sample every café and while away the hours along the riverside in a cabana!
I did do some sightseeing while in the town; my favorite was the Royal Palace Museum. It was built in 1904 for the king and his family to live in. When he died his son Savang Vattana inherited the throne and the palace became his. After the 1975 revolution the family was exiled to the Northern part of Laos and the palace was converted into a museum. Currently it holds various royal artifacts and religious objects. It is a short visit, but an interesting one that gives you a small insight into how the Laotian Royals would have lived.
I walked up 100m-high Phu Si, which is basically a hill with a tiny temple on top. Most people swarm here for the amazing sunset view but there is the temple; That Chomsi, a cave-shrine and the ruins of Wat Siphoutthabat Thippharam, which was originally constructed in 1395 on the site of a Buddha footprint.
I also agreed to an afternoon of cycling, so hired out a bicycle and toured around the old town, finding little streets with old ladies selling unidentified skewers of meat and old men washing their dilapidated old mopeds, little children running around wearing only their shirts and teenagers lounging on the balconies. It was lovely!
At one point I thought I’d cross one of the ‘Bamboo Bridges’ which are only around in the dry season. What a palaver! I had to lug the bike down a hill then once across carry it back up the other side. The bridge itself was fairly rickety and I had to pay 5,000 Kip each to cross, I was a bit reluctant, but I read about the bridge once we got back to our room: they take it down at the beginning of the wet season and then erect it again once the water level of the river has gone down: during the rainy season the river runs too fast and too high to have the bridge. Some of the smaller islets are almost completely cut off during this time. It makes sense that the family who does this work every year might actually want something for it!
As well as the general sightseeing activities I did venture to the night market and eat some buffet. As a bit of a food wimp I did manage a few mouthfuls of noodles.
I had a lovely sit in a bar called ‘Utopia’, which is alongside the river and has verandas that look out onto the beautiful scenery. Despite being ill for most of the visit here, Luang Prabang will definitely remain in my mind as a quiet, beautiful and charming town.
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