Over 100 years ago, French explorer, Henri Mahout, wandered into Luang Prabang and declared it, "a delightful little town." Today, he could fly to the UNESCO Heritage Site in Laos and find it close to the way he left it.
If you drew a 200-km-radius ring around Luang Prabang, you'd reach into Thailand, Myanmar, China's Yunnan and Vietnam. Within that 135,000-km2 circle, you'd be hard-pressed to find a shred of Western culture, let alone a town teeming with 100-year-old, two-storey French colonial houses. But there they are, right in the middle of the mountains in northwest Laos.
How they got there is just one reason for a journey to this pearl on the string of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). A nod from UNESCO ensures a high degree of cultural and historical preservation, sustainable tourism and environmental conservation. Henri Mahout, a 19th century French explorer, had less academic considerations. He sums up Luang Prabang simply as, "a delightful little town."
This fist-shaped village directs its 450m-long index finger up the Mekong River. The Nam Khan River runs along the hand's closed knuckles and up the inside of the 150m-wide pointing finger to the tip, where it joins the Mekong. You won't find a fancy promenade for the 1.2-km riverside stroll from that confluence to the "wrist", but the tree-shaded Khem Khong Road offers a more natural view, perfect for photos of a Mekong sunset. The knuckle of Luang Prabang's clenched middle finger rises into the 150-metre Mount Phousi surrounded by plenty of green.
Archaeologists have uncovered 10,000-year-old stone tools around Luang Prabang. Bronze artefacts and cord-marked pottery suggest people inhabited the area around 2,000 BC, and beads indicate trade with India 2,500 years ago. This is around Buddha's time, and local legend says he passed through Luang Prabang, leaving his footprints and a prophecy that the obscure village would one day rise to greatness.
Known as Muang Swa in the 8th century, it later changed to Xieng Dong and Xieng Thong. In 1354, King Fa Ngum united much of today's northeast Thailand and Laos into the Lan Xang Kingdom - the Land of a Million Elephants - with its capital in Luang Prabang. That name comes from a sacred golden Buddha image (Prabang) given to King Fa Ngum by the Khmer Kingdom.
Lan Xang moved its capital to Vientiane in the 15th century, as Luang Prabang was vulnerable to a Burmese attack, but Westerners started visiting the town 100 years later. When King Sulinya Vongsa died in 1637, Lan Xang was reapportioned into three kingdoms with Luang Prabang going to his grandson. The principality finally fell to the Burmese in 1763, then annexed by Siam in 1778. The French established a presence in the late 19th century, taking over its administration from the Siamese in 1893.
That's when Luang Prabang's architectural landscape began to change. Along with the influx of French structures, King Sisavang Vong kicked off a campaign to preserve, restore and beautify the town. He started with the 1904 construction of the riverside Royal Palace, an unembellished yet elegant design mixing Lao and French motifs.
Today, it serves as the National Museum, the perfect starting point for a Luang Prabang walking or cycling tour. It displays the personal affects of Lan Xang royalty, including old photographs, musical instruments and gifts from other nations. Unfortunately, Haw bandits raided Luang Prabang in 1897, pillaging plenty, but leaving the royal throne and several religious artefacts.
The looters also left many of its 32 temples alone, most significantly Wat Xieng Thong. Built in 1560, Luang Prabang's most notable temple demonstrates classic Luang Prabang architecture, with its multi-tiered roof sweeping from a towering peak almost to the ground. A golden fade covers three sides of the main chapel (sim), while a "Tree of Life" mosaic climbs up the back wall.
Murals depicting battle scenes and gold bas-relief images cover the inside walls, while decorated columns support the cathedral ceiling. The sim houses King Sisavang's bones, several antique religious objects and art masterpieces. A reclining Buddha dating to the temple's founding rests in another building, as does an ornately carved, gilded funeral carriage.
Of Luang Prabang's other temples, Wat That Chomsi - and the 300-step climb up Mount Phousi to get there - is best known for its view of the town, rivers and mountains beyond. Erected in 1804, the temple's golden stupa holds religious significance due to its position in the city centre. Also on the temple trail is the 500-year-old Wat Visoun, home to Luang Prabang's sacred golden Buddha image.
A two-hour boat ride up the Mekong to Pak Ou arrives at a pair of caves brimming with Buddha images. A short climb up the craggy limestone cliff reaches Tham Ting with countless stone Buddhas brought by the faithful. The scale up to Tham Phun ends at even more images. On the return trip to Luang Prabang, many stop at Nong Khiaw for a taste of traditional village life and to relax by the river and view the limestone cliffs.
A 30-km "Jumbo" (three-wheel vehicle) ride takes nature lovers to Kuang Si waterfalls. A trail into the forest finds the lower of two falls, where water cascades into turquoise pools. The upper falls take a bit of climbing, but offer a more secluded swim.
Trekkers will find a pair of Mekong Tourism Development Project trails, one starting across the river in Chomphet, and the other in Muang Ngoi. Both are two-day overnight hikes along which you can enjoy nature and meet the people. Ban Xang Hai, or Jar-maker Village, is a good place to get into the local spirit, as they ferment rice alcohol in giant jars, some of which are over 2,000 years old. Just south of the airport sits Ban Phanom, populated with Chinese Lu, known for their hand-woven cotton and silk.
Their goods, as well as other local handicrafts, can be found at Luang Prabang's night market that stretches along Sisavangvong Road. Forget the hustle and bustle and brutal haggling; the market and vendors are as laid back as the rest of the old capital during the day. Ambling along the tree-lined streets, stopping to chat with the locals the whole scene is reminiscent of the West 100 years ago, except you're in the middle of Laos.
Only Bangkok Airways and Lao Airlines offer international service to Luang Prabang. The Thai-based carrier operates two daily two-hour flights from Bangkok, and a third, three days a week. Lao Airlines flies from Thailand's Chiang Mai every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, and provides 45-minute leaps from its capital Vientiane at least twice a day. VIP coaches make the winding 430-km journey in 10 hours on a well-paved Route 13, and the adventurous can board a ferry for a multi-day, steerage-class cruise.
Whatever the mode, visitors arrive to find everything the brochures promise: Buddhist temples amid French colonial houses on short lanes with grassroots Lao pedestrians in traditional garb. How did this surrealistic scene spring to life in the middle of nowhere?
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