Great expectations for Luang Prabang
For years, I have observed serene-looking postcards of Luang Prabang, in particular the daily Tak Bat ceremony where hundreds of monks leave their temples and walk silently down the streets in single-file to collect food offerings from the local people. This was the vision I hoped to encounter, and while I managed to find some moments of serenity, the reality of Luang Prabang fell short of my high expectations. The hustle and bustle of the city made it difficult to find moments of serenity, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment.
Bus from Luang Prabang to Vientiane
The 180,000 kip sleeper bus departed at 8:00PM from Vientiane. I got no sleep as we wound our way up and down the mountainside. The driver and his assistants along for the ride exchanged banter and laughed giddily for the entirety of the trip. We arrived at a bus station around 9AM. My seatmate pointed me in the direction of Luang Prabang and I began walking down the street.
Crossing the Old Bridge
In the midst of the morning rush, I hopped off and on the road as motorbikes rush by. I reached a crossroads, mapless, and decided to cross a bridge with a narrow walking lane supported by thin boards. I stopped for a bit to take in the beauty of the mountains with the sun’s reflection on the Nam Khan river beneath, the cool crisp air entering my lungs.
After crossing, I quickly sensed I was off course and turned back across the bridge. I greeted a teenage Laotian boy halfway and he offered me a sphere-shaped white vegetable. I reached in his plastic bag and begin eatting the vegetable like an apple, spitting the chewy skin parts into the water below. He had kind of a quirky, goofy manner of speaking and awkwardly hugged me during our exchange. He pointed me in the direction of the guesthouses and then awkwardly jog/skipped away. I passed Wat Visoun and snapped a few photos.
While I would love to start exploring, I was flat out of gas. My feet ached and my energy was depleted. Despite my eagerness to explore the city, I knew that I needed to find a place to rest first. I passed by a few of the backpacker-priced guesthouses that I had read about, but I was determined to find the best deal possible. That’s when I came across Pathoumphone Guesthouse, a hidden gem located on the banks of the Nam Khan.
I walked through the entrance and was greeted by a warm and friendly lady at the reception. I shyly asked her about the room rates and she informed me that the original price was 100,000 kip. I decided to try my hand at negotiating and offered 180,000 kip for two nights. To my surprise, she put me on the phone with the owner and after a brief conversation, my offer was accepted.
The room was basic, with thin mattresses, a shared bathroom with luke warm showers, and a door that creaked loudly. The walls were thin, and I could sometimes feel them shake when a large truck passed by. Despite this, the view of the Nam Khan river and Bamboo bridge out the window more than made up for it. The cool weather at night also meant that the A/C wasn’t essential.
I was grateful for the warm welcome and the great deal I had found. I knew that my time in Luang Prabang would be limited, and I was eager to make the most of it. I was also grateful to have found a place to rest and recharge before I set out to explore the city.
Wat Xieng Thong
After a few hours of much needed sleep, I made my way over to Wat Xieng Thong, where I once again found myself chasing butterflies in vain, as they fluttered around the temple, eluding my lens. But as I walked through the temple, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the sound of drums. I followed the sound and found a group of novice boys, beating on the drums with fierce determination. Tourists flocked around them, eager to snap photos and capture the moment. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe as I watched the boys, their faces alight with joy and passion.
Spectacular Sunset Atop Mount Phousi
After leaving the temple, I decided to make my way to Mount Phousi, eager to catch a glimpse of the spectacular sunset that I had heard so much about. I climbed Mount Phousi just in time for a spectacular sunset. I have an “I’m on top of the world” moment. The sky was painted in hues of orange, pink, and purple, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe. But as I looked around, I couldn’t help but feel disappointment. The crowds of tourists jostling for position to get a shot of the sunset, made it difficult to fully enjoy the moment.
Buddha’s Footprint
After sunset I explored the temple area a bit more and stumbled upon a Buddha’s footprint, much larger than any human footprint, about 4 feet in length. I couldn’t help but wonder about its origin and history. The footprint bore a striking resemblance to the Buddha footprint atop Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka.
Luang Prabang Night Market
I descended down Mt. Phousi and into the tourist throngs in a souvenir frenzy at the night market. This type of scene causes me to feel a pit in my stomach. Luang Prabang ranks as a nice entry destination to traveling Southeast Asia, but fully discovered, complete with nice restaurants offering fine wines, tourist admission tickets to temples and to walk across the bamboo bridge, and clean streets with tuk tuk offers to the Kuang Si Waterfall around every corner. Luang Prabang had become fully touristed-out and I couldn’t help but feel let down.
Slow Boat to the Pak Ou Caves
As I opened my eyes on my first full day in Luang Prabang, I couldn’t wait to explore the city and its surroundings. I got up early, at 7AM, and decided to take a walk along the Nam Khan river. The night before, I had thought about hiking to the Kuang Si Waterfall but eventually changed my mind. So, I headed towards the boat dock instead.
As I walked, I passed by the dock once but then realized I had to go back, so I started jogging until I found the ticket booth. I paid 65,000 kip for the boat ride, and as I boarded, I met a middle-aged Swiss couple and a group of college-aged students from Singapore. It was a relief to get out of the touristy area and observe the village-style homes, locals on fishing boats, and a young boy diving to the river bottom to bring up baskets of rocks and dump them into small boats as his family sifted through looking for edible creatures. The older Swiss man incessantly snapped photos around each bend with his fancy Sony Alpha camera.
As we cruised along the river, the boat driver received a phone call, and we turned back to assist another boat carrying tourists that was having trouble with its controls. We rode behind the ailing boat for a while and I enjoyed basking in the warm sun and occasionally dipping my hand in the water. We stopped at a whiskey village, Ban Xang Hai, where I passed on the chance to try the local whiskey, not being a fan of snake whiskey. I took a quick tour of the village, observing women weaving 1 dollar scarves and children playing in the streets. I came across a temple where novices dragged their mattresses outside to clean them.
We arrived at the Pak Ou Caves, and I made my way to the upper caves first. The two “Buddha Caves” of Tham Ting and Tham Phoum have been used for centuries as a repository for thousands of old, slightly disfigured, mostly wooden, Buddha images. In the back of the caves, the light emitted from my phone screen failed to illuminate my path, and I nearly tripped up a few stairs. I stood in the darkness waiting for another visitor to walk through to light my way. I observed the Buddha-shaped shadows projected onto the cave walls. I thought of the sacred ambiance encountered here centuries ago. I found a nook beyond a small stupa and sat for a bit, in complete peace, admiring the Mekong River and distant mountains. This was the moment I came here for.
We departed the caves and headed back down the Mekong River, passing lush green landscapes, small villages and mountains, just the type of visions I had of Laos before arriving.
I made a return visit to Wat Xieng Thong and snapped a photo of an ornately dressed Laotian wedding couple on a photo shoot.
I walked alongside the banks of the Mekong River and sat on a log, in peaceful solitude, watching fisherman in their boats as the sun set.
Tak Bat Ceremony
On my final day in Luang Prabang, I awoke before dawn to witness the Tak Bat ceremony in Luang Prabang. Every morning hundreds of monks leave their temples and walk silently down the streets in single-file to collect food offerings from the local people. The sacred event was tainted by tourist hordes jostling for position to snap photos in the faces of the monks who remain composed. The postcards of this event that inspired my visit to Luang Prabang failed to capture this jarring reality. As I began to walk to the bus station, I witnessed a few touching moments of a young novice dumping handfuls of rice into a bag held by another boy about the same age and later an older Laotian women surrounded by dogs with a warm smile handing out treats.
I ran about 5km to the bus station just in time to catch the 8:00AM bus to Vientiane. My stomach churned a bit as we zig zagged up and down the mountains, but the scenic vistas out of the bus windows made the discomfort worthwhile.
Back to Thailand
I made my way through the streets of Vientiane and searched for a place to stay for the night. That’s when I stumbled upon the Funky Monkey hostel near Wat Mixay. As I entered the hostel, I was greeted by a heap of shoes at the doorway. I quickly found a top bunk for just 50,000 kip, complete with an outlet, reading lamp, and clean sheets.
Excited for the next day’s adventure, I set my alarm for 5AM and began walking towards the border. I managed to hail a songthaew that screeched to a halt and took me to the gates of the Friendship Bridge for 60,000 kip. I passed through immigration without a hitch and paid an extra 50 baht to take a packed minivan across the bridge instead of waiting for the bus. I squeezed my way into the minivan and knelt on the floor as the sun rose and we crossed the bridge.
In a rush to catch the morning train from Nong Khai to Bangkok, I took my first tuk tuk of the trip. As the train journeyed on, I sat in silence for the first few hours, replaying some of the highlights of Laos in my mind. Suddenly, a middle-aged gentleman approached me wearing an Aztec-patterned jacket, with a light blue short-sleeved colored shirt, dark jeans, North Face hiking books, and bright orange earplugs.
He asked me, “Where abouts are you from?” I tell him I’m from Indiana. Based on the way he said “about”, I guess he’s from Minnesota. He explains that he is from Vancouver, Canada. He asks me how long I’ve been traveling. I explain to him that I’ve been traveling more or less since 2012. He says, “Well then, you must know how to deal with travelers’ diarrhea. I think to myself, “Well now, there’s one way to start a conversation.” I explain to him that in Thailand, you just go to the pharmacy, explain your situation, and they will give you some dark colored pills to clear things up.
I politely excused myself from the awkward conversation and moved to the left side of the train. I tied one end of my phone charger to my wrist and the other end to my phone case as the Pa Sak Jolasid Dam, the longest clay-cored dam in Thailand, approached. As the train passed the Pa Sak Jolasid Dam, I leaned my head out the window to snap some photos of birds flying away from the tracks.
A middle-aged Thai man wearing a black short-sleeved shirt with “The Royal Game” sewn beneath the emblem leaned over my seat and we conversed in broken English about where I was from and how long I had been in Thailand. Another middle-aged Thai man, carrying two empty water bottles and wearing black sandals and gym shorts, sat down across from me and ordered rice with egg on top. Despite the slightly more comfortable seat, I preferred the third-class rail car seat more than the slightly more comfortable seat, but frigid cold A/C railcar.
The man across from me offered me some of his partially eaten egg and rice dish, but I politely declined, saying “Im laew” (I’m full). Not seconds later, a Thai lady wearing a brightly colored yellow dress and a warm smile, with half her teeth missing, handed me some green colored fruit and offered a bag of sugar to dip it in. I showed the Thai man across from me that I was learning Thai and he began speaking to me in Thai for several minutes, although I had no idea what he was saying. I smiled and laughed when he smiled and laughed.
While I enjoyed my short trip to Laos, I’m felt a nice welcome back to the Land of Smiles.
