Amongst Temples, Waterfalls & the Mekong

We left Vang Vieng on the 16:30 train, and just 50 minutes later we arrived into Luang Prabang, These trains really are efficient and have completely changed getting around Laos, cutting what used to be around a six-hour bus journey down to less than an hour.

After arriving, we jumped into a taxi into town and headed to our hotel, Villa Oasis, which turned out to be a lovely little place to stay, with two interconnected rooms, giving us plenty of space for the four of us. After checking in, we wandered around the corner to an obstetrician as one of the nose pads to my glasses had fallen off and needed replacement. As they were looking to fix this one, the other one wasn’t able to be replaced at the time (as I previously fixed it myself with super glue) and I was told to return the following morning, it was not a very comfortable fit, but what do you do!

We headed out to explore the famous Luang Prabang night market where we could find something to eat. The night market stretches through the centre of the Old Town, with stalls selling everything from handmade crafts and clothing to souvenirs, artwork and plenty of local food. We wandered around, grabbed some food from a few different vendors, grabbed some drinks and sat down and enjoyed them. We eventually made our way back to the hotel, tired after a very early morning start for the balloon ride in Vang Vieng, and we were ready for bed.

Our second day started a little more slowly. I headed out to the optometrist again and they fixed my glasses this time. I returned to the hotel, we had some brekkie and then jumped into a tuk-tuk, ready to explore Luang Prabang’s Old Town.

Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage-listed town and is famous for its combination of traditional Lao architecture, Buddhist temples and French colonial buildings. The streets of the Old Town are beautiful, with low-rise buildings, colourful shutters, little cafes, bakeries and temples around every corner. We didn’t really have a plan, we just walked around, seeing where the streets took us.

We started with a temple tour of the Wat Xieng Thong, the main temple to explore in Luang Prabang, built in the 16th century, it’s known for its multi-tiered roof and intricate decorations, and was every bit as impressive as we’d hoped. From there we continued to Wat Sibounheuang, another of the many Buddhist temples found throughout Old Town, and also beautifully decorated and very peaceful.

We eventually made our way down towards the Mekong River, where we got some tickets for a sunset cruise, before we sat down along overlooking the river with some fruit shakes and an iced coffee. It was a hot day, so sitting in the shade watching the boats slowly make their way along the Mekong was a pretty good way to relax and enjoy our drinks.

We returned to the hotel via a lovely bakery, picking up some baked goods for lunch before spending some time relaxing, eating and enjoying the hotel pool. Eventually it was time to head back to the river for our sunset cruise.

We had originally considered one of the larger boats, but as we made our way to their pier, we were approached about joining a smaller traditional boat instead. Realising that we’d get pretty much the same views from the river, we decided to give it a go. Once we climbed aboard and headed out onto the Mekong, we quickly realised we’d made the right decision as it felt right being on the river in a traditional longboat with only a handful of people aboard. 

We spent around 90 minutes cruising along the Mekong, although the time flew by as we slowly travelled along the river, watching the sun set along the mountains.

Once back on land, we grabbed some dinner before wandering through the night markets again, picking up a few souvenirs along the way. We then headed back to the hotel for what we hoped would be an early night, because the following morning involved another 5am wake-up.

This time we were heading back into the Old Town, to Sakkaline Road to witness the famous Luang Prabang alms ceremony. The alms ceremony, known locally as Tak Bat, is a daily Buddhist tradition where monks walk through the streets in silence at sunrise while local residents offer them food, traditionally sticky rice. The offerings provide food for the monks, who live as per Buddhist traditions, and the act of giving is considered an expression of generosity.

At 5am we walked in front of our hotel and booked a rideshare taxi, whilst we waited we also saw a small progression of monks walking in front of us, and observed just a handful of people giving them food. Once we made our way to Wat Sensoukharam, along Sakkaline Road, we saw large groups of Chinese tourists sitting on little stools, ready to hand rice to the passing monks. It was certainly a very different atmosphere from the peaceful image we’d expected and had observed earlier in front of our hotel.

I decided to walk a little further away from the main crowd and, once the groups started to clear, the experience became much more serene. Watching the monks quietly walk along the street as the sun came up was a memorable experience, and it was interesting to see this long-standing tradition taking place as part of everyday life in Luang Prabang.

Afterwards we wandered through the morning food markets, which were already buzzing with activity. There was an incredible variety of fresh produce on display, and I grabbed some coconut pancakes for a little snack on my way back to the hotel.

After breakfast we jumped into our arranged van and headed out to Kuang Si Waterfalls. Once we arrived, paid the entrance fee and jumped on an electric buggy for the short ride towards the entrance. Walking to the falls, we passed through the Tat Kuang Si Bear Rescue Centre, where we were able to see some Asiatic black bears. Most of them seemed completely uninterested in us, sprawled out on their backs and sleeping, but I suppose if you’ve got a comfortable place to sleep and don’t have to worry about anything else, why wouldn’t you?

Eventually we reached the waterfalls. The lower pools lead you gradually towards the main falls, with their famous turquoise-blue water cascading over the limestone terraces. The colour of the water comes from minerals in the surrounding limestone, creating the blue-green pools that Kuang Si is famous for. The whole area, with the surrounding jungle, was beautiful.

We found a cafe overlooking the falls and sat down with a cold drink, taking in the view and enjoying a bit of a break. After the early start, it was nice to simply sit down and do absolutely nothing for a while.

On the way back to Luang Prabang, our driver made a quick stop at a buffalo farm, where we were given the chance to try buffalo milk ice cream. Suz went for vanilla and Eloise chose chocolate. Both were ok, although neither of us came away thinking we’d suddenly discovered the next big ice cream craze.

Back in town we had a great lunch before Xander, Eloise and I headed off to a cat cafe. I waited downstairs with an iced coffee while they enjoyed some quality time with the cats. Once they were all “cat out”, we headed back to the hotel.

I decided (and no one wanted to come with me) that I wanted to tackle one more attraction and headed out to climb Mount Phousi. This climb only involves about 300 steps to reach the top, but after everything we’d already done that morning, and with the heat, it was tougher than expected. In the end, I got to see some fantastic views across the town, the Mekong and the surrounding countryside, just as the sun was beginning to settle. After enjoying the views, I headed back down, returned to the hotel and jumped straight into the pool.

Later we headed out for another massage before Xander, Eloise and I grabbed a quick dinner. Suz unfortunately wasn’t feeling too well, with something she’d eaten not quite agreeing with her, so she stayed back at the hotel while the three of us went out.

Our final day in Luang Prabang was a slow one, after breakfast, we just got back to our room to rest and pack as we were leaving that afternoon on a 15.00 flight. And after several early mornings, long days, temples, waterfalls, caves, mountains and even a hot air balloon ride, a quiet morning doing absolutely nothing was probably exactly what we needed.

Luang Prabang was a fantastic final stop in Laos and offered so much, from just walking along the beautiful Old Town and exploring its temples, to cruising the Mekong at sunset, witnessing the alms ceremony, swimming around Kuang Si Falls and climbing Mount Phousi, there certainly was enough to keep you occupied, and was a great way to finish our time in Laos before heading off to our next adventure, Chiang Mai and Thailand!