Luang Prabang and up the Mekong

From the moment we landed in its airport, we could feel that Luang Prabang was special. Part of this might have been because of the sheer glee we felt from taking a comfortable plane instead of a bumpy bus, but we digress. Situated between two rivers, the Mekong and the Nam Khan, and nestled in a valley between formidable foggy foothills, Luang Prabang radiates with spiritual energy. Having been one of the Buddhist capitals of Southeast Asia, it has innumerable wats (temples) and a daily alms procession where over 300 monks line up the main road to collect food offerings from the local residents (and a few tourists!). As we walked down the little alleyways admiring the Buddhist constructions and French colonial architecture (Laos was a French colony), peeking into the local restaurants and cafes, we realized that Luang Prabang is by far the city with the most sophisticated aesthetics we have seen in Asia-- not a single fluorescent light washes out one of these establishments.

The decor is not the only thing that makes Luang Prabang outstanding. The local cuisine blew us away. From the street stalls, we were able to buy delicious stews with fresh dill and mint, fantastic baguette sandwiches, spring rolls, fruit, coconut desserts for almost nothing. We ate dinner at one of these stalls where we had an all-you-can eat vegetarian buffet for fifty cents. It was amazing. We decided to splurge and spend $12 for a seven course meal at the nicest restaurant in town, and we don't think we have ever been in such gastronomic heaven in our lives.

The people of Laos are some of the most mellow and shy people we have encountered. They are Buddhist. Really Buddhist. This manifests itself in a completely un-commercial and un-entrepreneurial way of approaching tourists. Many times we found ourselves outside of stores literally having to beg for them to pay attention and agree to sell us something. Contrast this with street children in Cambodia who speak nine languages to sell their wares to tourists and Thai vendors who will chase you for blocks, and you can't help but notice that Laos is a little different.

After spending a relaxing five days in Luang Prabang, we took a slow boat up the Mekong River to the Thai border town of Chiang Khong. This was one of the best experiences of our trip. Accompanied by seventy fellow travelers on two eight-hour boat rides, we were surrounded by pristine, gorgeous scenery: fantastic crisp green mountain views, tiny villages with local naked children splashing in the water, and many water buffalo and happy cows. We highly recommend the slow boat to anyone who has the time (from Laos to Thailand, NOT the other way around, which is what every single other tourist does, resulting in 200 people on a seventy person boat).

While we only spent around a week in total in Laos, we are really happy that we made the journey out there. We left peaceful, well-fed, and wanting to go back for more.

We will write our next post in the very near future, as we summarize the last few days that we have spent in Northern Thailand. Stay tuned! (more pictures will be posted in the next couple of days)