Laos - The Allure of Luang Prabang

By Frederik Balfour
http://www.businessweek.com

This spectacular, unspoiled, river-flooded town, set in northern Laos,
turns the clock back to the 19th century

Luang Prabang. Even the name sounds languorous, rich and exotic.
Located on a lush peninsula flanked on one side by the swirling waters
of the Mekong River and on the other by its tributary, the Nam Kan,
this ancient royal capital is surrounded by mountains. Luang Prabang
remains one of the last truly unspoiled outposts of Southeast Asia.
Having been opened to individual travel only in the early 1990s and
declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995, Luang Prabang's old
city (population 15,000) sometimes feels more like it exists in the
19th century than the 21st.

Luckily for American tourists, modern air travel makes this
Indochinese retreat easily accessible. Direct flights from Bangkok on
Bangkok Airways cost just $180 round trip. Obtaining a tourist visa at
the airport takes 10 minutes, $40 and two photos. (On a recent trip, I
arrived without my photos, but the immigration official happily waved
me through anyway.)

The best time to visit Luang Prabang is in November and December,
after the monsoon rains subside. Evenings are cool, and it's misty at
daybreak, but by midday the sun can still be punishingly hot. That's a
good time to seek a shady respite at one of the city's more than 40
temples, known as wats. Most of them double as places of worship and
seats of learning for the Lao boys who join the temples and shave
their heads in exchange for a free education.

If you visit only a single wat in Luang Prabang -- and that would be a
great shame -- don't miss the city's m ost venerable complex, Wat
Xieng Thong. Built in 1560, it was a royal temple until the Communists
took over Laos in 1975. Its multilayered, curvilinear roof, gilded
doors, and splendid glass mosaics depicting scenes from the Buddha's
life are set in a lush garden filled with coconut palms, flame trees,
and bougainvillaea.

Old Luang Prabang occupies a peninsula only two-thirds of a mile long
and a few hundred yards wide, and you can easily reach all of the
town's attractions on foot. Many architectural treasures from the
French colonial period have been converted into guest houses and
hotels. The eponymous Villa Santi Hotel (www.villasantihotel.com) is
run by Santi Inthavong and his wife, Sawee Nahlee, the granddaughter
of the last king of Luang Prabang. For $90 (double) you can bask in
the atmosphere of royal yesteryear. The main house formerly belonged
to the king's concubine. The newly refurbished Pansea Luang Prabang
hotel (pansea.com/laos.html) on the city's outskirts goes for a more
princely $150 to $175. Both can be booked directly on the Internet.

Indisputably the best-known event in old Luang Prabang is the daily
procession, at the crack of dawn, of saffron-robed monks holding their
brass begging bowls. More than 300 of them, ranging from age 8 at the
front to more than 80 years old at the rear, trudge barefoot in single
file past the kneeling denizens of Luang Prabang, who fill the bowls
with sticky rice.

But the monks don't survive on rice alone, and you needn't, either.
The cuisine of Laos is fresh, spicy, and cheap. A meal of green papaya
salad, noodle soup, a steamy local delicacy called lap made of minced
lamb (or fish or pork), mixed with local herbs and eggplant, sticky
rice, and a glass of wine or beer will set you back about $5 at a
riverside restaurant.

No trip to Luang Prabang would be complete wit hout a relaxing cruise
up the magnificent Mekong River. You can hire private boats for $18 a
day to ferry you north to Pak Ou Caves, where thousands of Buddha
statues repose in a limestone grotto high above the rushing current.
On the way back to Luang Prabang, you can pull in at riverside
villages and see handmade mulberry paper drying outside, women weaving
at their silk looms, and men making Lao Lao, a fiery rice wine
fermented in clay pots in the sun.

Make your last stop at the village directly opposite Luang Prabang. It
offers breathtaking views of the city as the spires of its wats catch
the last rays of the setting sun. Then, for less than $3, you can
finish off your day with a soothing natural-herb steam sauna and
massage at the Lao Red Cross. It may all sound too good to be true,
but I have been back every year since discovering Luang Prabang in
1995. So far, this sleepy treasure has lost none of its charm.

(George Moore) wrote in message . com...
By Frederik Balfour
http://www.businessweek.com

This spectacular, unspoiled, river-flooded town, set in northern Laos,
turns the clock back to the 19th century

Luang Prabang. Even the name sounds languorous, rich and exotic.
Located on a lush peninsula flanked on one side by the swirling waters
of the Mekong River and on the other by its tributary, the Nam Kan,
this ancient royal capital is surrounded by mountains. Luang Prabang
remains one of the last truly unspoiled outposts of Southeast Asia.
Having been opened to individual travel only in the early 1990s and
declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995, Luang Prabang's old
city (population 15,000) sometimes feels more like it exists in the
19th century than the 21st.

Luckily for American tourists, modern air travel makes this
Indochinese retreat easily accessible. Direct flights from Bangkok on
Bangkok Airways cost just $180 round trip. Obtaining a tourist visa at
the airport takes 10 minutes, $40 and two photos. (On a recent trip, I
arrived without my photos, but the immigration official happily waved
me through anyway.)

The best time to visit Luang Prabang is in November and December,
after the monsoon rains subside. Evenings are cool, and it's misty at
daybreak, but by midday the sun can still be punishingly hot. That's a
good time to seek a shady respite at one of the city's more than 40
temples, known as wats. Most of them double as places of worship and
seats of learning for the Lao boys who join the temples and shave
their heads in exchange for a free education.

If you visit only a single wat in Luang Prabang -- and that would be a
great shame -- don't miss the city's m ost venerable complex, Wat
Xieng Thong. Built in 1560, it was a royal temple until the Communists
took over Laos in 1975. Its multilayered, curvilinear roof, gilded
doors, and splendid glass mosaics depicting scenes from the Buddha's
life are set in a lush garden filled with coconut palms, flame trees,
and bougainvillaea.

Old Luang Prabang occupies a peninsula only two-thirds of a mile long
and a few hundred yards wide, and you can easily reach all of the
town's attractions on foot. Many architectural treasures from the
French colonial period have been converted into guest houses and
hotels. The eponymous Villa Santi Hotel (www.villasantihotel.com) is
run by Santi Inthavong and his wife, Sawee Nahlee, the granddaughter
of the last king of Luang Prabang. For $90 (double) you can bask in
the atmosphere of royal yesteryear. The main house formerly belonged
to the king's concubine. The newly refurbished Pansea Luang Prabang
hotel (pansea.com/laos.html) on the city's outskirts goes for a more
princely $150 to $175. Both can be booked directly on the Internet.

Indisputably the best-known event in old Luang Prabang is the daily
procession, at the crack of dawn, of saffron-robed monks holding their
brass begging bowls. More than 300 of them, ranging from age 8 at the
front to more than 80 years old at the rear, trudge barefoot in single
file past the kneeling denizens of Luang Prabang, who fill the bowls
with sticky rice.

But the monks don't survive on rice alone, and you needn't, either.
The cuisine of Laos is fresh, spicy, and cheap. A meal of green papaya
salad, noodle soup, a steamy local delicacy called lap made of minced
lamb (or fish or pork), mixed with local herbs and eggplant, sticky
rice, and a glass of wine or beer will set you back about $5 at a
riverside restaurant.

No trip to Luang Prabang would be complete wit hout a relaxing cruise
up the magnificent Mekong River. You can hire private boats for $18 a
day to ferry you north to Pak Ou Caves, where thousands of Buddha
statues repose in a limestone grotto high above the rushing current.
On the way back to Luang Prabang, you can pull in at riverside
villages and see handmade mulberry paper drying outside, women weaving
at their silk looms, and men making Lao Lao, a fiery rice wine
fermented in clay pots in the sun.

Make your last stop at the village directly opposite Luang Prabang. It
offers breathtaking views of the city as the spires of its wats catch
the last rays of the setting sun. Then, for less than $3, you can
finish off your day with a soothing natural-herb steam sauna and
massage at the Lao Red Cross. It may all sound too good to be true,
but I have been back every year since discovering Luang Prabang in
1995. So far, this sleepy treasure has lost none of its charm.





interesting website.

more foreigners will tour the city.

many Americans i knew are planing for vacation, Laos.
Tony

"Tony" wrote in message
...
(George Moore) wrote in message
. com...
By Frederik Balfour
http://www.businessweek.com


snip


Make your last stop at the village directly opposite Luang Prabang.
It
offers breathtaking views of the city as the spires of its wats
catch
the last rays of the setting sun. Then, for less than $3, you can
finish off your day with a soothing natural-herb steam sauna and
massage at the Lao Red Cross. It may all sound too good to be true,
but I have been back every year since discovering Luang Prabang in
1995. So far, this sleepy treasure has lost none of its charm.






interesting website.

more foreigners will tour the city.

many Americans i knew are planing for vacation, Laos.
Tony

Unfortunately this article comes about 3 to 4 years to late. Luang
Prabang has already turned into a street prostitution ridden, traveller
infested town.Still better than most of Thailand, but people I know and
trust who loved it in the late Nineties and returned there a year ago
will not come back again.

Apparently the writer thinks otherwise, so your mileage may vary.

Cheers,

Roscoe

On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 13:10:50 +0700, " Roscoe"
wrote:


Unfortunately this article comes about 3 to 4 years to late. Luang
Prabang has already turned into a street prostitution ridden, traveller
infested town.Still better than most of Thailand, but people I know and
trust who loved it in the late Nineties and returned there a year ago
will not come back again.

Apparently the writer thinks otherwise, so your mileage may vary.

Cheers,

Roscoe

Perhaps the "good life" has left you a bit jaded.

"The Jersey Clown" wrote in message

Perhaps the "good life" has left you a bit jaded.

**Very droll Frankie, very droll.

5555555555555555555555 :-)

"VanOwen" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 13:10:50 +0700, " Roscoe"
wrote:


Unfortunately this article comes about 3 to 4 years to late. Luang
Prabang has already turned into a street prostitution ridden,
traveller
infested town.Still better than most of Thailand, but people I know
and
trust who loved it in the late Nineties and returned there a year ago
will not come back again.

Apparently the writer thinks otherwise, so your mileage may vary.

Cheers,

Roscoe

Perhaps the "good life" has left you a bit jaded.


What makes you think that? Apart from not reading my message, I mean.

(VanOwen) wrote in message ...
On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 13:10:50 +0700, " Roscoe"
wrote:


Unfortunately this article comes about 3 to 4 years to late. Luang
Prabang has already turned into a street prostitution ridden, traveller
infested town.Still better than most of Thailand, but people I know and
trust who loved it in the late Nineties and returned there a year ago
will not come back again.

Apparently the writer thinks otherwise, so your mileage may vary.

Perhaps the "good life" has left you a bit jaded.

Or perhaps the writer's point of reference was Cancun.

" Roscoe"

Unfortunately this article comes about 3 to 4 years to late. Luang
Prabang has already turned into a street prostitution ridden, traveller
infested town.Still better than most of Thailand, but people I know and
trust who loved it in the late Nineties and returned there a year ago
will not come back again.

I was there a few weeks ago. No prostitution I could notice (right, I was
not looking for it either) but occasionnally, a mild annoyment because of
the numerous local trying to sell you some medicinal herbs (if ya see what I
mean) - I mean, the offer came from left, right and the middle, from babe in
arms and from great-grand mothers.

Tssss.

Otherwise, great temples.

--
PGå

Il est une triste vérité qu'il faut bien reconnait le vulgaire manque
d'instruction.

Roscoe wrote:

Unfortunately this article comes about 3 to 4 years to late. Luang
Prabang has already turned into a street prostitution ridden, traveller
infested town.Still better than most of Thailand, but people I know and
trust who loved it in the late Nineties and returned there a year ago
will not come back again.

Apparently the writer thinks otherwise, so your mileage may vary.

Unfortunately there are an awful lot of travelers who think a place is
not worth visiting until it has an internet cafe, smoothies and banana
pancakes. And, again unfrortunately, the world is full of entrepeneurs
ready to please them.

I'm glad I made it to a few of these places before they got Lonely
Planetized.

I wonder if my kid will have a last best place to go to.

--
Mike Newman
Saipan and Narita Layover Pages:
http://net.saipan.com/personal/mike_newman/

It amazes me that no matter where you're talking about, somebody will
inevitably say, "Yeah, but you missed it when it was really good. You
should have seen it X number of years ago."

I think this is another form of travel snobbery. In other words, "I saw it
when it was worth seeing and you didn't. Ha."

" Roscoe" wrote in message
...
"Tony" wrote in message
...
(George Moore) wrote in message
. com...
By Frederik Balfour
http://www.businessweek.com


snip


Make your last stop at the village directly opposite Luang Prabang.
It
offers breathtaking views of the city as the spires of its wats
catch
the last rays of the setting sun. Then, for less than $3, you can
finish off your day with a soothing natural-herb steam sauna and
massage at the Lao Red Cross. It may all sound too good to be true,
but I have been back every year since discovering Luang Prabang in
1995. So far, this sleepy treasure has lost none of its charm.



http://www.businessweek.com/@@KIFuTW.../03_38/b385008
9_mz025.htm?se=1



interesting website.

more foreigners will tour the city.

many Americans i knew are planing for vacation, Laos.
Tony

Unfortunately this article comes about 3 to 4 years to late. Luang
Prabang has already turned into a street prostitution ridden, traveller
infested town.Still better than most of Thailand, but people I know and
trust who loved it in the late Nineties and returned there a year ago
will not come back again.

Apparently the writer thinks otherwise, so your mileage may vary.

Cheers,

Roscoe