I just wanted to send out to you a quick email and pictures from my trip to Luang Prabang in Laos, that I took during Chinese New Year.  I have wanted to go to this place for several years, but hadn't anyone to travel with and didn't want to go alone.  So, when a Chinese English speaking friend asked if I wanted to drive there with a group of people from Kunming, I jumped at the chance.  Though I saw some places that I really loved, this trip wasn't my preferred way of travelling-it was a group of 11 people travelling in two crowded cars for 2 days each way, leaving only 3 days to explore Luang Prabang, the Laotian center of temples and textiles.  So, with that said, I will tell about the places I really did love and which prompt me to return there on another trip with one or two good friends.  

Children on the road

Child

Downtown Luang Prabang (I have attached a scanned map) is basically 2 main streets with many little cross streets running down to the Mekong river.  It is surrounded by temples and hills.  Other streets have now been laid to house the ever growing tourist industry, with people there from all over the world.  Next time, I would NOT go during Chinese New Year, since the place was filled with Chinese tours, all of which go during this time, and people like us, who drove down from Yunnan Province (which borders Laos),  We kept seeing Kunming license plates and were staying in an area populated mostly by Chinese.  So, though we went to the temples and the night market in town, my favorite things were in the surrounding area.

 

Mountain Village

Luang Prabang and Mekong river from hill

Old Choten

 

Our first excursion was to a weaving and paper making village on the outskirts of town.  It was a lovely village, with its own temple and beautiful, small houses lining the one main street.  Though it was set up to support tourism, when we went there were only two other vans there, so you could stroll around the village, watch the people weaving, look through the shops and go behind the houses to see them making paper without crowds.  I loved the peaceful feel of the village and bought some really beautiful textiles.

 

Traditional Weaving

Paper Making 1

Paper Making 2

Our second trip was to the water falls.  Since we were travelling with someone who had lived for a couple of years in Laos, we went to this area in the mountains fairly early in the morning, so there were not that many people there either.  Later, in the afternoon, the place became packed, but luckily we were leaving.  We started at the base of the mountain area (not a very high one, almost a hill) and took the unpaved trail through the forest.  It was absolutely beautiful, with turquoise water pools all along the side of the trail with large trees overhanging.  There is some kind of mineral in the water, which causes pool edges to form, so there are miles of these beautiful  cascades of pools in the river, some deep enough and big enough to swim in.  There are even changing areas so that people can do that.   I must have taken 100 pictures of these pools alone, though have only attached a couple for you.  At the top of the mountain/hill was one really long waterfall.  You can get a sense of the size by seeing the people at the base of it.  The whole area was developed in a really wonderful and natural way, even though it is a major tourist attraction.  It reminds me of how some of the national parks in the US west are done.  

Mountain Waterfalls 1

Mountain Waterfalls 2

Mountain Waterfalls 3

Mountain Waterfalls 5

 

One of the most amazing things that I found about Laos is that there is virtually no trash.  The place was quite pristine, whether in the forest, the village or the town.  QUITE unlike China!!!  The toilets, even in the villages, were totally immaculate.  Our last little excursion was on a boat on the Mekong River.  You can rent a boat by the hour (we did an hour and half) that will take you across to a village with an interesting temple, and also up and down the river itself.  It was the afternoon when we went and so quite hot (maybe high 80's F) and humid, but on the river it was just delightful.

 

Mekong river Trip

River Boats

One morning we got up at 6 am and went downtown to see the monks come with their begging bowls and the town people giving them rice and fruit.  This was the most unfortunate thing we did.  It has become such a tourist attraction that vans of people (tourists) are brought there and set up to give the rice to the monks as a "tourist experience".  I had imagined that the town people were doing this, but no, mostly only tourists.  Other tourists were practically in the monk's faces taking pictures and having little reverence.   I found it sad and depressing that something that must have once been quite a pure act of charity, had been turned into something so commercial.  The monks even looked a bit bored.  Ah, well . . .. .

 

Morning Market

Market Seller

Rice for Monks

Spirit House

Temple Statues

Temple Door Carving

Temple Painting

Weaving Village Temple

Temple Offering Seller

Two Women

Traditional house near market

Window of Traditional House

Temple 1

Embroidering and Texting

Mother and Child

I feel that I barely scratched the surface of this small town in Laos, though we did see a lot of the northern countryside, and would love to go back and really explore the small streets, more of the temples and generally just be with the lovely, sweet people of Laos.  Enjoy the pictures!

Blessings,

Susan