6 Days in Luang Prabang: Laos Made Easy.

After having our fill of Vang Vieng, Nathalie and I set off for the final stop of our short trek into Laos PDR.

Traveling in Laos isn't particularly easy. Like many third and developing world countries, poor infrastructure plagues this landlocked nation making the movement of people and goods slow and grueling.

Luang Prabang is only around 250 Km/150 miles from Vang Vieng and as the crow flies, it wouldn't take more than two hours to complete the journey driving on an interstate. However, between the two cities lies a vast mountain range. And with no tunnels or highway to shorten the distance, it took us nearly eight hours to make the journey by bus.

I'm not complaining though. This was by far one of the most enjoyable bus rides I've ever taken in my life. The scenery was absolutely stunning. There was something mystical about these mountains and with clear skies, we could see for miles as the bus navigated narrow passages and twisty roads. I had little issue with staring out my window for the duration of the trip, taking in the landscape and the poor villages dotting the road.

Scenery en route from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang

We arrived into Luang Prabang shortly after sunset and again took a tuk-tuk with people we had met in the bus to get into the city center. Whereas Vientiane is the sleepy capital and Vang Vieng was a backpacker's ghetto, Laos' second city is remarkably different.

As the former political and cultural capital from colonial days and home of even older kingdoms, the city is a mash of aristocratic Laotian with central highland tradition topped with the remnants of French Indochinese occupation. The historic city center has a distinct European feel to it, with well organized streets, French colonial architecture dominates the style. The urban locals are distinctively proud of their town, often looking down to utilitarian Vientiane. It's hard not to blame them though, as compared with the current capital, there is life and heart; and for Laotian standards, it's a bustling city and a major regional hub.   

Downtown Luang Prabang with Colonial French Architecture 

The final influence comes from the indigenous people who have lived in the greater region for well over a millennium and, having to face the reality of a modern world, have left their country-side villages in search of decent work and a better life than what subsistence farming can provide.

One of the first things we noticed when we arrived was the amount of Western tourists of all ages that were in Luang Prabang. So far, we had only seen the backpackers in Vang Vieng and the brave few foreigners who had braved Vientiane. All of a sudden, we were confronted with large swathes of visitors from all age groups who had come to experience Laos.    The main street was almost exclusively geared towards tourists with money; i.e. no backpackers, with restaurants serving French-Laotian fusion dishes, pizzerias and swanky cocktail bars.

Between the different eateries were travel agencies selling kayaking excursions, rock climbing trips, hiking treks through jungles to see waterfalls, visits to Hmong villages, and the opportunity to participate in a one-day crash course to learn the ways of an elephant trainer.

After settling into our hotel and having a Laotian dinner, we decided that we'd have a quiet night and spend the next day planning the rest of our stay.

The next morning, we got organized for the rest of the week. Over delicious Laotian coffee (they've started growing their own strain of beans in recent years), we decided that we'd do three activities: kayaking, a cooking class, a trek through the jungle to see one of the waterfalls the region is known for. 

 It was a fairly easy choice to make; I've never really climbed enough in my life to justify spending a grueling day learning, and while I have thought about going into the people management business and getting certified into how to herd elephants could be useful in this field, I wasn't ready to sink 60 bucks to watch a glorified circus act.

Finally, the thought of going to visit a Hmong village seemed a little insensitive to me. I don't think that any one of us would really appreciate a bunch of strangers from halfway around the world strutting into our hometown and gawking at the way we live, taking pictures of us because we look funny in our oddly shaped house and pitying us because we looked 'poor.' It also struck me as very gimmicky, akin the field trips in elementary and middle school to visit Amish communities in rural Tennessee, which in the end was a sales pitch for them to justify swapping their handmade goods for some USD.

(Edit: I thought about this paragraph last night and I wanted to clarify it a bit as I'm not trying to be insensitive to the villagers who live in poverty.  However, I would rather help them by finding a way to economically improve their lives for the long run.  For me, that means investing in infrastructure and finding a way for them to sell their goods to outside markets in a competitive way, creating real and sustainable growth).  

After doing a bit of research, we found a travel agency, Green DiscoveryLaos, that had built up a good reputation of not only providing a solid product but also paid a fair wage to it's employees. While they were a bit pricier than some of the other options, we felt comfortable booking with them and signed up for a one-day kayak trip the next day.

We set out at 08:30 the next morning from the travel agency office towards the river. We were a bit concerned that this would be like our kayaking experience in Vang Vieng where we were told it would be a half-day trip but only ended up being an hour and a half. However, almost as soon as we got in the truck to pick up the kayaks, we were given a run-down of the day's agenda; we would drive for approximately 90 minutes to the drop site, do 20 km/14 miles on the river with a lunch break in between, then get picked up an hour outside of town. Seeing as the drive to the drop point was already as long as the entire float we did in Vang Vieng, our fears were quickly put to rest.

The trip down the river was absolutely everything we'd hoped for. We had a small group of Nathalie, myself, three Portuguese guys, our guide and his assistant. Everyone came with the right attitude and we spent the day navigating the Nam Xeuang river and its gentle rapids. We were treated to more of the stunning natural beauty that Laos has so far kept out of the mainstream and, before we knew it, we reached the pick up point around four in the afternoon.

Scenes from the Luang Prabang food market

The next day, we did our cooking class, where, lucky for us, we were the only two participants. After starting out early in the morning selecting our menu, we headed out to a local market to buy the ingredients. It was cool to not only see a typical market where the majority of Laotians do their shopping (I never once saw a supermarket the entire time I was in Laos), but to do so with a guide who could show us local shopping customs and explain the different types of foods on sale.

Upon returning to the cooking school, we spent the rest of the morning preparing and cooking our meal. The chef, a Laotian man, had spent 15 years in France, and we had a great time speaking to him about Food, Laos, and everything in between. It was beyond insightful to get his feedback on the country, the town, the people, and his views on tourism in the city.

It was my first time back in a kitchen since early January. I really enjoy cooking and I used to love to doing it after a rough day at work. There's something relaxing and satisfying about this activity that has made it a passion of mine. Perhaps this swings back to my active relaxation theory, but in any case, I got a huge kick out of learning how to prepare Laotian cuisine and to top it off, it was probably the best meal I've eaten so far on this trip. 

Some produce at the Luang Prabang food market.

We spent the rest of the day and all of the next relaxing and taking an opportunity to slow down and enjoy the city. From afternoon coffee on the banks of the Mekong, to dinner and drinks in the evening, we were ready to relax after moving for a week straight.

On Monday morning, we set out for our trek through the jungle and to the waterfall. Again, we used Green Discovery Laos as we were happy with the way our kayaking trip went. Like before, we set out at 08:30 in the morning to meet the truck. This time, we were with a group of seven others to join us for our 12 Km/7 mile hike through the jungle.

Unknown to us, we started off in an Hmong village. I wasn't very comfortable with this part of the excursion, mainly for the reasons mentioned above. We were invited to walk through someone's house to see what it looked like, but I couldn't bring myself to do so as the only thing I thought of was the outrage that I would create if I invited foreigner visitors in Belgium to come and walk through my place so they can 'see how poor Belgians live.'

Looking down the waterfall 

After twenty awkward minutes, we set out down the path to the waterfalls. It took us around three hours, including a stop for lunch, to get to there, but it was well worth the journey Boasting almost fairy tale landscape and bright blue waters, we spent the afternoon climbing through its many steppes and plateaus, swimming around and cooling off after a long hike in 34C/90F heat. We returned to Luang Prabang as the sunset and spent the rest of the evening having a well-earned dinner and local whiskey to go along with it, in preparation for our departure back to Bangkok the next day.

Of the eleven days we were in Laos, we spent six of them in Luang Prabang. Part of that had to do

with the fact that our flight back to Bangkok left from there. Another part was that we wanted to get our fix of outdoor activities and the city is a launchpad for the Laotian outdoors. But perhaps the main reason is that Luang Prabang is easy. Compared to the other two towns we had been to, Luang Prabang took the stress out of life.

Tourism in Vientiane is almost non-existent and Vang Vieng caters to a very specific, young and 'cost-conscious' demographic. This town, by contrast, plays to its strengths and gladly welcomes visitors from all over the world no matter their budget. Indeed, it's no surprise that almost all the people over 25 years old told us that they had flown in from Thailand or Vietnam and had no intention of visiting other cities in Laos.  Luang Prabang laid it all out on the table; we'll welcome you to our town, give you a clean city with a European feel, feed you food that you're familiar with, then sell you activities through reputable agencies.

With that being said, we had a great time while there. I always wanted to explore Laos, get outside, and do activities that I can't easily do back home. We were left with a positive impression on our way out of the country and that's probably for the best. We didn't initially plan on doing a short stay in the country, but my teeth took priority, sending us back to Bangkok earlier than we wanted. However, we still have plenty of time left in our trip, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if I wind up with another Laotian visa in my passport before it's all said and done.