Luang Prabang

Consistently listed as one of the number one places to visit in Laos and Southeast Asia as a whole, Luang Prabang although seemingly small, has so much history the entire city was deemed a UNESCO World Heritage site. Located along the Mekong, this wat filled urban sprawl draws in tourists by the thousands to partake in jungle treks, visit tribes, see elephants, caves, waterfalls and so much more. The main strip is lined with travel agents, guest houses and restaurants in rustic European style buildings offering something for everyone.

In the evening as the sun sets the main road closes off to traffic and the red tents go up. The night market is a seemingly endless stretch of vibrant colored fabrics, art, tacky souvenirs and so much more. If you can manage to emerge on the other side victoriously without buying something you don’t really need, you can reward yourself with a fresh fruit smoothie from one of the countless vendors 

Continuing into the food stall ally you can take your pick of buffet style tables loaded with every kind of vegetable, noodle, rice, tofu, curry, and chicken imaginable. There are around 50 different culinary delights on each table, but who’s counting? Just hand over your 10,000kip, take a plate and load up on an explosion of flavors representing cuisines from around the country.

You cannot claim to have visited Luang Prabang however, without visiting at least a few of the more popular temples. Vat Xieng Toung is a good early morning start point to tour the city and work off some of the calories from the night before. Climbing up Phou Si Hill to the golden stupa overlooking the city gives a perfect 360 view of the area and although just a short hike it still feels rewarding in the relentless sun.

The national museum housed in the former palace of the King is also a must to get a feel for the history and culture of the city and country. Among the more humorous aspects of the museum you can see the royal families car collection, most of them Ford’s given as gifts from the USA. Also towards the end of the museum there is a section containing gifts to the royal family from countries around the world including china sets, silverware, paintings, statues, and other fine pieces of jewelry and artwork. At the end however is a gift from the USA… A Laos flag carried aboard Apollo 11’s mission, a rock from the moon and a toy model of the lunar lander. The USA would be that kid no one wants to invite to their birthday party because they give bad gifts.

With the temples, museums, markets, river and all of the surrounding activities it is easy to see why so many people are naturally drawn to this location. It certainly does make for a memorable trip to a unique city with a lot to offer.