After a long two days on the Mekong River, we slept in a bit (…7:30am) to have complimentary breakfast at our hotel. We had a nice fruit spread (banana, pineapple, dragon fruit, and watermelon), along with eggs, toast, croissants, orange juice, tea and coffee. Our breakfasts seem to be quite westernized, so we’ve been making sure to stick to more local cuisines for lunch and dinners. To be honest, Western food once in a while is pretty nice!
After a full breakfast, we set out for a day of temple and artisan exploration. The entire city of Luang Prabang is a UNESCO world heritage city, so there is plenty to see and do. Immersing oneself in the local culture is pretty easy to do with the laidback locals and shops offering handmade textiles and other goods.
We started from the south and worked our way north up the peninsula. Our first stop was Haw Pha Bang, the Royal Palace, and the Luang Prabang National Museum. There is an entrance fee of 30,000 kip per person, but there is some good time to be spent here, so it was worth it. Beyond the beautiful temples and architecture, there is an elevated Buddha statue within Haw Pha Bang that is rumored to be from the first century!
Our next stop was Wat Mai, where we witnessed local Buddhist monks consolidating their daily alms and doing other chores around the various wats onsite.
After this collection of temples, we walked down to where an old bamboo bridge runs along the Nam Khan River. Unfortunately, the locals remove the bridge during the rainy season and only find consistent use for it during the dry season, but it was still remnants to be seen and photographed. Looking across, we could imagine the hundreds of people crossing this small span on a daily basis to gather local produce and supplies for their villages.
By this time it was around noon, so we decided to go to a local bakery north on the peninsula called Le Banneton. There are actually quite a few quality French-style bakeries located in Luang Prabang, as there is still a strong French influence and many expats that still remain here. We split a delicious oriental panini and chocolate croissant.
After a quick recharge, we continued on to Phon Heuang, Wat Sensoukaram, Wat Xiengthong, and Wat Kili before stopping in at Queen Designs. This little shop is right across the street from Wat Xiengthong and sells beautiful textiles and “Peacebomb jewelry.” Luang Prabang, and most of Laos was heavily bombed during the Vietnam War and many of these munitions still remain in the country. Some have been found and safely detonated, but unfortunately much of the warheads still remain live and kill locals all too often. This shop takes the spent munitions and turns it into beautiful pieces of art. We really wanted some, but it was a bit out of our price range. We then stumbled upon a little photo and artifact gallery that was composed by Hans Georg Berger for 20+ years and consists of black and white images of local monks depicting how important meditation is in and around Luang Prabang. We were the only ones in there, so taking the time to look and walk around was enlightening in and of itself.
After feeling a sense of enlightenment, we decided to shop around Ock Pop Tok, which stocks local textiles and even includes information about the people that created them. We got some cool little gift for family and friends, but we can’t say more or we’ll give away the surprise! If we had more time, they do offer an off-site course that teaches the ins and outs of silk making and weaving. They also have small projects set up to help support young local makers learn more, as we purchases some small items to help fund a trip for some youngsters to Peru!
As we were walking out, we bumped into a mom and daughter that we had taken the slowboat with a day earlier. We shared some information that we had just learned about the projects and causes and encouraged them to spend some time there, which they did. We also spoke about sharing a tuk-tuk tomorrow to get to Kuang Si Waterfall in the morning. Most tuk-tuk drivers charge a flat rate, so the more people we can pack in, the cheaper it is! Sharing rides, especially with fellow (and familiar) travelers, is always a plus.
We stopped back in at our hotel to freshen up before we headed out once more to grab a local bite to eat. There is a very unique type of barbeque here in Laos called sin dad and we knew we wanted to try it. It actually seems like a blend of Chinese hot pot and Korean barbeque. There is a metal convex dish to cook the meats (beef and pork in this case) that has a collection basin around the rim to cook the broth, veggies, and egg…all of which is cooking over burning coals in a cast iron pot built into each table. There are numerous spots spread out all across the peninsula of Luang Prabang, but we heard of one on down a little alleyway called Khem Khan Sin Dad. Google didn’t know of it, so we were on our own to find it. We walked up and down Kingkitsarath Road looking for this particular alleyway, and just as we were about to give up, we spotted the sign! There were a few misspelt words, but that just made it more enticing. The place was full of local families, as the price is set at 50,000 kip (about $6 USD) and can easily feed a family of four. Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, but we knew we had to try our hand at local Laotian barbeque.
All said and done, we did pretty well…with a little help from one of the friendly staff members who probably knew we had no idea what we were doing. It was an amazing meal and set us up perfectly for a sound sleep before an action-filled day of exploring the famous falls tomorrow, so make sure to stay posted!