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| The Grand Luang Prabang Hotel view from the Mekong River Cruise |
I had the opportunity to travel back into time to visit this UNESCO Heritage
Town. Hosted by the Lao PDR Ministry for ASEAN Tourism. It’s a small town,
a very small town indeed…but not too small that you may get a sign that says “All mini-marts, convenience stores, hotels,
and restaurants will be closed this week, due to death in the family”….
The re-opening
of Laos
to tourism in 1989 resulted in a remarkable turnaround in the city's fortunes,
as crumbling timber houses and colonial mansions were sensitively restored and
transformed into immaculate guesthouses and boutique hotels. In 1995 the city
was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List
Short history of Luang
Prabang….interested to know???
The town is situated on a peninsula formed by the Mekong River and its tributaries in a clay basin surrounded by limestone hills that dominate the landscape. According to legend, the Buddha smiled when he rested here for a day during his travels, prophesying that it would one day be the site of a rich and powerful capital city. I wonder what will happen if he had laughed??
Another legend
attributes the choice of the site to two hermits, attracted by its natural
beauty, who gave it the name of Xieng Dong (or perhaps Xieng Thong) or perhaps
whatever in the language of Hermits cause it doesn’t sound anything like Luang
Prabang does it ??
If you’re a
serious history buff then check this out..
Flights to
Luang Prabang
I believe to reach Luang Prabang, u can only catch a flight from Bangkok, Siem Reap, Vientiane or Hanoi…..I got in from
Kuala Lumpur via Hanoi to Luang Prabang.
Big mistake... cause the stopover was about 5 hours in Hanoi….and not much
to do in Hanoi airport for 5 hours…..eventhough the stopover in Bangkok may be
longer, it’s a much better place to kill your time…
For the first time since I was 9 years old…I got onto a Turbo-prop
plane….You’d enter from the butt of the aircraft and Business class is at its
tail end!! I was wondering if it could fit the giant that I am!!
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| Nice presentation huh? Quite impressed really for a flight just less than 2 hours |
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| Bottom seat as a flotation device? My size? Hell! I'm gonna get me arms around the lady with the biggest busom!! Hang on for dear life!! Survival of the fittest!! |
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| Been sometime that I sat in an aircraft where the engine and wing is above me!! |
Surprisingly, it was comfortable and pleasant, definitely not as loud and wobbly as those old
Fokkers that used to fly from Kuching to Subang when I was a child !!...and
NO….I was not talking about the pilots or crew….Fokkers are the propellar powered planes...
Maybe this will help with regards to flights:
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| That's all...8 flights a day... No need for a fancy electronic display board |
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| Its simple but it works.... Don't fix what's not broken.. |
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| The Airport |
The only way you can't get to Luang Prabang is by oceanliner….cause
Luang Prabang or rather Lao PDR do not have a coastline!!! Only a few countries
in this big blue marble of ours that is not accesible to salt water beach or what we call
‘Landlocked’…..Mongolia, Swaziland, Switzerland to name a few….But the funny thing is that
the Swiss have got a Navy !!
Lao PDR only have the Great Mekong as their lifeline…
The Laotian people believe that apparently they are always ahead in
whatever they do cause they have always been connected to the ‘mainstream’…..heheheee
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| Fishing at the Great Mekong River |
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| The Mekong River view from the hotel |
If you’re into shopping or clubbing…Luang Prabang is NOT for you…but if
you like history, to see what life by the Mekong is, the untouched culture of
the Lao people, this is a place to be…basically you have to appreciate other
peoples culture to enjoy this place…
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| We have to respect the culture of the destination we visit.....all the time.. |
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| Scrumptious and very local....tropical fruits with the odd grapes... |
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| Limousine... |
I stayed at The Grand Luang Prabang Hotel
Grand Luang Prabang hotel and resort is situated on grounds of the Xiengkeo Palace which belonged to the famous
nationalist hero of Luang Prabang, Prince
Phetsarath. He chose this site for tranquility, its stunning
views of the mighty Mekong
River, and the
breathtaking landscape of mountains surrounding Luang Prabang
The Grand Luang Prabang is the premier destination here, with its own style and identity. The hotel comprises 76 luxurious rooms and 2 suites, all gracefully decorated.
The Grand Luang Prabang is the premier destination here, with its own style and identity. The hotel comprises 76 luxurious rooms and 2 suites, all gracefully decorated.
The Hotel also have adopted 2 very tame water Buffaloes….which was saved
from the local abatoir one fine day by its General Manager….They now reside at the grounds as though they own
the place!!
I have also
reviewed my stay here at Trip Advisor…
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| The main house...to be made into a museum.. |
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| Breakfast overlooking the mighty Mekong |
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| From the verandah of my room |
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| The simple yet elegant lobby |
Part of the meetings took place at Villa Santi Resort…another refurbished cluster of old mansions not far from my hotel. The scene here is not the river but paddy fields and vegetable farms...
We were also made to experience the famous Mighty Mekong Sunset River Cruise... such an amazing river...among the greatest rivers on earth....This makes me want to visit them all...Amazon, Nile, Yang-tze, Missisippi, Ganges.....Sg Segget? I've done the Seine, Thames, Colorado,Rajang.....
The Main
attraction
I did not have time to see all in Luang Prabang….but these are a must…
The night
market (on Sisavangvong Road) caters for tourists with every kind of
souvenir you could want and closes at about 10 PM. Particularly good are the
duvet covers, cushion covers and pillow sets (I actually bought these..). They
can even make one up to the dimensions you require in one next day. Very good
are hanging lamps, which are foldable to bring back (I got these too..)
It is well worth a look and the hawkers are very pleasant to deal with and amazingly non-pushy by the standard elsewhere in Asia. Traders range from young kids to the elderly who usually made crafts, arts and goods by themselves for sale.
Good-natured
bargaining is advisable but don't obsess over this and ruin your experience as
well as giving the trader a bad day, I did not have the heart to bargain as the
prices were very reasonable!! If you’re from Australia,
US or Europe…and you still bargain…shame on
you!! But if you’re a shopaholic… you’ll be so excited like a blindfolded Martina Navratilova in a fish market !!
It should be
understood that the quality and design of goods is lower in the market than in
the legions of increasingly chic stores in the town thus the difference in
price….
At the end of this market street is the only Halal restaurant I could find…Its an Indian restaurant…called NAZIM RESTAURANT Tel: 071 253493…..yes the town is so small that the phone number is only 6 digits!!
Kouang Si
Falls — a large multi-stage waterfall,
accessible by boat or truck hire, some 29 km south of Luang Prabang. You can
also rent a motorbike to transport yourself there...we got on a bus
provided by the host. Don’t miss the never ending Teak Wood forest all along
the way.
There are food and tourist stalls outside the waterfalls. It is worth putting a whole day aside (or more) for seeing these because they are a great place to relax and meet other travellers. There are multiple pools at different levels, all of which are reportedly safe to bathe in, and are extremely picturesque.
Unfortunately
a friend of ours who left his hearing aid in the bus got into a bit of a problem with a pretty French tourist,
he misunderstood us when we said the pool was big enough for him to ‘Breast-stroke’…Hmmm
lost in translation I suppose..
Shared tuk tuks
to go there charge about 30 to 50,000 Kip (cheapest seems to be near slow boat
pier, though you can get them for 40,000 kip near JoMa Bakery). You may have to
wait until the Tuk Tuk fills up. Tuk Tuks are legally only allowed to take six
people, and there is a checkpoint at the falls - so some drivers may try to
hide a 7th person in the front seat. Private tuk tuk will cost you around 100
to 150,000 kip - after some haggling.
Here are random pictures of Luang Prabang....I just snapped whatever I thought was interesting..
So….if you would like to experience a trip of a lifetime and see for yourself what a UNESCO Heritage Town is like….
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| Amazingly high quality Teak buildings |
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| Backpackers heaven |
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| Biblioteca |
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| Bhuddist monks on Tuk-tuk.. |
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| Lots of new chic shops.... really high quality stuff.. |
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| A wooden Bank....that's how safe this place is... |
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| Dine by the river under shady trees.... |
So….if you would like to experience a trip of a lifetime and see for yourself what a UNESCO Heritage Town is like….
Let’s
Jom !!! Before this unique
place is gone….
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