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Luang Prabang: The crown jewel of the Mekong

I first visited Luang Prabang 10 years ago when I embarked on my first solo sojourn after graduating from university.

I first visited Luang Prabang 10 years ago when I embarked on my first solo sojourn after graduating from university.

With what little money I squirrelled away, I decided to take the usual backpacker route: First by taking a bus from Chiang Mai to the town of Chiang Khong; then a short ferry ride across to the Lao border town of Huay Xai in order to catch my two-day slow boat down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang in Laos.

The boat was packed to the gills, so I had to spend eight hours in the makeshift kitchen at the back of the boat, huddled with other backpackers. I also had to spend a night in a badly ventilated, mosquito-ridden room in Pak Beng — a town which seemingly exists for the sole purpose of hosting travellers on that boat journey — before setting foot on Luang Prabang, some 48 hours after I began my journey. With its beautifully preserved colonial architecture and gleaming temples, the city was a sight for sore eyes.

In my mind, Luang Prabang will always be that place which required a little extra effort to get to — a subsequent trip saw me enduring a bus ride and a flight — but the arduous journey there was always part of the great adventure. In fact, I recall those journeys with much fondness.

So when SilkAir launched its inaugural flight to Vientiane, en route to Luang Prabang, it seemed a little surreal that a trip to the one city that had always held an allure for me, partly because of its inaccessibility, was now less than three hours away by plane.

On the flipside, it’s a boon for us time-poor souls who no longer have the luxury of abandoning responsibilities to travel for weeks on end.

That said, Luang Prabang still is the perfect destination for a long weekend. While it has undeniably become more developed over the past decade, it retains a lot of the same laidback charm that first greeted me when I got off the boat and clambered up the sandy bank of the Mekong all those years ago.

THE CALL OF NATURE

An incredibly compact city, most of Luang Prabang’s attractions can be accessed on foot. But no one can say they have been to Luang Prabang until they have made their way to the Kuang Si Falls about 30km out of town. While social media is awash with pictures of the falls, its majestic beauty can only be truly appreciated when you are there in person.

Before walking up to the waterfall, take a stroll around the Bear Rescue Centre, located at its base. A sanctuary for Asiatic black bears that have been rescued from poachers or a miserable life of bear bile farming. The centre relies heavily on public donations and the sale of merchandise to keep it running.

There are plans, however, to relocate the centre soon as it is just not large enough to house the ever-increasing number of rescued bears.

If you only visit Luang Prabang, or Vientiane, it is easy to forget that this landlocked country is one of the poorest in the region, relying heavily on subsistence farming and imports from neighbouring Thailand for basic necessities. So, it was heartening to see that a number of social enterprises have sprung up in recent years, providing employment for the poorer sections of the community.

One of these is Ock Pop Tok (which translates to “East meets West”), which was set up with the primary aim of empowering women through the promotion of Lao textiles, handicrafts, and design.

Founder Joanna Smith said that weaving has traditionally been seen as “peasant work”, and she was motivated to set up Ock Pop Tok as a way of raising the profile of weavers. At Ock Pop Tok’s Living Crafts Centre, you will be able to observe weavers at work and even try your hand at silk weaving. Women working for Ock Pop Tok are paid at least three times more than the minimum wage, and the textiles are all handmade using environmentally friendly methods.

Another interesting business worth a visit in Luang Prabang is Laos Buffalo Dairy. It is on the way to the Kuang Si Falls, and is the first of its kind in Laos. The dairy rents buffalos from farmers, thus providing them with an alternative source of income. The expat owners of the dairy have also taken it upon themselves to teach farmers about animal husbandry, with the long-term aim of having the farmers milk the buffalos themselves, so that the dairy can focus on producing cheese and yoghurt that will be supplied to restaurants in Luang Prabang.

EATING YOUR WAY

Speaking of restaurants, the gentrification of Luang Prabang in the last decade or so means artisanal coffee and eggs Benedict are not in short supply, especially along the main stretch of Sisavangvong Road. At Dexter Cafe & Bar, for example, I enjoyed some of the lightest and fluffiest pancakes I have had in my life, served with fruit, jam and maple syrup on the side.

The bar scene has also gotten a bit of a shake-up over the years, as evidenced by the presence of upscale cocktail bar 525. Located in a quiet neighbourhood off the main stretch on Kingkitsarath Road, it was opened by Briton Andrew Sykes just last year. 525 has a selection to rival any other cocktail bar in the world — one only has to try is the Chillychee Martini, 525’s spin on the lychee martini — except this has the addition of bird’s eye chilli, which gave this cocktail an unexpected but welcome kick to a classic favourite.

Of course, no visit to Luang Prabang would be complete without sampling some local dishes. Just down the road from Dexter Cafe is a local eatery that does not have a name, but it serves the noodle dish called khao soi. It’s different from Chiang Mai’s more curry-like version. The khao soi here is sour and appetising, thanks to a soup base made from fermented soy beans. Do add the accompanying basil, mint, and coriander to your bowl to make it even more aromatic, and make sure you wake up bright and early if you are planning to visit, as this breakfast stop closes at 11am.

For a slightly different view of Luang Prabang, cross the Nam Khan River Bamboo Bridge to get to Dyen Sabai. This elevated restaurant is the best place to enjoy a view of the river with a Beerlao in hand. It would be good to note that bamboo bridge is only around during the dry season — it gets washed away when the waters are high and has to be rebuilt every year.

BE A RESPONSIBLE TOURIST

One activity that is now on most tourists’ checklist of things to do in Luang Prabang is taking part in the early morning alms-giving ceremony. As the sun rises, monks walk in a single file along the main roads of Luang Prabang to collect alms in the form of food donations from devotees. As I put wads of sticky rice into the monks’ pots, I could not help but wonder what the monks thought about the many tourists using the traditional ceremony as yet another opportunity to pad their social media feeds, and turn a quiet, reverential ceremony into some sort of spectacle.

This is just one of the many issues that Laotians increasingly have to grapple with, even though the country stands to benefit economically from further opening itself up to tourism. It would be a huge shame for its traditional customs to be eroded on the basis of disrespectful and picture-happy tourists.

At the end of the day, however, it is up to us to be responsible travellers. Rather than seeing everything as a potential photo op, we will be infinitely more enriched if we take it upon ourselves to find out more about the history and culture of the countries we visit, especially a developing one like Laos.

This was my fourth time to Luang Prabang in the past 10 years, and I am sure it will not be the last.

Yes, this city has changed, but it remains as welcoming and hospitable as ever. As it continues to develop, my only hope is that everyday Laotians, too, will be able to reap the fruits of economic progress.

This trip was made possible by SilkAir. SilkAir flies to Luang Prabang via Vientiane on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

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