Photography, Travel
5 Days in Luang Prabang, Laos
Luang Prabang is a UNESCO protected town, containing many buddhist temples and monasteries. One unique sight you’ll see if you wake up early enough is seeing a line of monks walking through the streets collecting alms everyday. I couldn’t wake up that early so didn’t get to see it lol. Here’s the places we visited during our 5 day here.
MOUNT PHOUSI
Nice hike up where you can see a view of the town from the top. Along the way, depending on which direction you came up from, you’ll see nice statues along the way. It also has a small shrine up there where you can get your fortune on paper from shaking a can with numbered sticks. You’ll need to find someone who can read Laos to tell you what it says though lol.
NIGHT MARKETS
I believe it’s a nightly event, the night market, where local vendor sell their crafts and food along Sisavangvong Road. So definitely visit once at night, as it’s quite lively.
GARAVEK TRADITIONAL LAO STORYTELLING AND MUSIC
It’s a two person small show, an elderly man playing the instrument and a younger men telling the folk tale stories in english.
WAT XIENGTHONG
A buddhist temple complex with very intricately detailed designs. It is very pretty, one of the must-visit temples if you’re here.
HEUANCHANH HERITAGE HOUSE
Heritage Center at Luang PrabangA neat place where you can sign up to learn various local crafts. Also has a nice dining area with delicious food. The architecture you’ll see here is in traditional Laos, before the colonization.
BAN XANG KHONG CRAFT VILLAGE
I believe that is the one we went to, it’s the one where you walk across a wooden bridge (across the Nam Khan River) which I heard they have to rebuilt every year! When I got to the craft village, it was nearing the end of day so by the time I got there most of the stores were closed. But if you’re interested in local crafts then this is a good place to visit!
TAEC MUSEUM (Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre)
The TAEC Museum is a good place to learn about the different ethnic groups in Lao. What I’ve learned is that there’s about 50% of Laos and the rest are ethnic minorities. They showed the three main ones, the Hmongs, Tai, and Khmu. It showed their attire and other infos. Also talked about the Job’s tear plant which is widely used as decoration on many things.
PHOSY MARKET
A local market where you can buy cheap things. There’s dried foods, fresh meats and vegetables, house appliances, etc. I bought dried bamboo shoots and dried buffalo meat that was very good!
BIG BROTHER MOUSE
If you like to meet and talk to local young adults and children, then this is a good place to go. Local children come here to learn english so it’s a good way for them to practice speaking with foreigners here. I met a young kid who approached me to practice speaking Chinese, which is brave of him I think lol. His chinese is actually better than mine! He’s the one that told me about this program. You can just go to the place and can start speaking to the local kids. I also learned from him about how a lot of the village kids become a monk here in Luang Prabang because the monk system provides education, I’m guessing for free. And kids stay in the monasteries from 5-10 years.
CONCLUSION
Overall Luang Prabang is a nice place to visit if you like to be immersed in local crafts and visiting buddhist temples. One place that is well known here is the Kuang Si Waterfall, which unfortunately I missed because my friend became sick so we had to cancel the trip to the waterfall. Funny and not funny story, she became sick from taking the Malaria pills, which we found can have different side effects on different people. I didn’t take it after I knew about the possible side effects and just opted to make sure to cover myself fully with insect repellents (The one I brought with me on my trip is this one: Ultrathon Insect Repellent). One thing that I didn’t really like about this town is it feels a bit too touristy for me, I guess that’s unavoidable since this is a UNESCO labeled town, so it would make sense for tourists to flock here.
COST OF TRIP FOR LUANG PRABANG, LAOS
Here’s a breakdown of the cost of our 5 day trip in Luang Prabang, Laos per person in USD (excluding flights). It is based on a 2-person share.
Accommodation: $78
Activities & Entrance Fees: $12
Food: $66
Total Cost: $156 USD
Accommodation: Singharat Guest House
Resources: Garavek
See the photos I took in Luang Prabang, Laos