Introduction to Luang Prabang, Laos PDR:

"Luang Prabang Is like a good film that just can’t be told". This is by far the best description of this place I have ever read, or been able to write.

"Like a great film you get lost in it totally. You believe its story line and are swept along in its music; every turn of events is right, magical and exactly as it is supposed to be.

The lighting is sublime in that it sublimates reality: stones and plants take on an inner life of their own.

And the backdrop! ... The stage settings! Temples as old as time stand in testimony to man’s most noble yearnings. Like at the Vatican city in Rome you are dazzled by the sober repetition of the sacred. But here there are not two or three temples, but a myriad of temples; a community of temples, a planet populated by temples!"

This beautiful city, located on the Mekong river was once a regional powerful kingdom. The city's slow way of life, and exceptional architecture (French colonial) have delighted visitors for hundreds of years. 

The happiest are the children who have this film as a life. They run between the temples and between the animals grazing on the streets, their play is on ancient walls and their friends are ancient monks. Theirs is a childhood of enchantment, of wonder.

For once somebody in the United Nations has had a great idea. The UNESCO has named Luang Prabang a World Heritage site which means that no two stones can be erected there without prior approval by a committee of architects. The UNESCO also funds restoration work on the older buildings. This is one of the most optimistic uses of money we have seen in a long time. As a world heritage site, hopefully things will remain as they are for the foreseeable future.

The nicest time of day to wonder around is in the late afternoon, but most of the temples are built facing East so it is difficult to get a good shot of the front. The early evening is pure magic. The monks are in prayer, and when the prayer is over they spill out into their monasteries and take advantage of the evening cool to clean the flag stones of the court yards or just sit around enjoying tea.

By tradition they leave their temples as soon as its light enough for the abbot to see the palm of his hand. An enchanting sight to behold the monks and Novice monks from the 32 temples walk around the town collecting their alms. Each temples abbot will lead a single file of saffron robed novices walking as if with military precision. A truly enchanting spectacle to start the day. In half an hour, it's over. The monks slip back into their monasteries and the people that provide the food walk back home.

The young buddhist monks often outnumber the tourists. Monks sprout in the streets like wildflowers, walking, walking, walking, seemingly with neither destination nor origin. Actually they are journeying from their own particular residence temple to attend various educational instruction classes in another of the cities 32 Temples. Even a few go to the internet shops but mostly in evenings and after dark.

TOP

 Lao History:

Archaeologists have discovered stone tools and other artifacts at many sites around Laos that indicate that human settlement in the region dates back as far as 10,000 years, the history of country as it is today truly begins with the first unified kingdom to be established there. Lane Xang - established by the returning prince, Fa Ngoum, in 1349 - brought together the disparate townships that had grown up across the land. Fa Ngoum also installed Theravada Buddhism as the principle religion of the country. From his capital at Luang Prabang, the charismatic king and brilliant tactician spread the power of his rule throughout present-day Laos and into northern and eastern Thailand.

In the wake of the Burmese retreat, at the end of the sixteenth century, the kingdoms of Luang Prabang and Vieng Chan took the place once filled by Lane Xang. These were once again united in 1591, under the leadership of King Nokeo Koumane. The seventeenth century saw the new kingdom enter its golden age with European traders exclaiming the capital, Vieng Chan, to be one of the most beautiful cities in southeast Asia. However, this was all to come to an end in less than a century as feudal lords fought over an empty throne and eventually brought about the kingdom's downfall. An unstable three way division of the kingdom, into Luang Prabang, Vieng Chan, and Champasak, left none with sufficient power to repel the ambitions of the new Siamese kingdom of King Thaksin. Luang Prabang fell to Siamese rule and Vien Chang and Champasak were reduced to vassal status. After years of paying homage to the Siamese kings, an ill-fated war against their rule in 1820 was the undoing of both these kingdoms, and also brought about the total destruction of the once beautiful city of Vieng Chan.

European ambitions in the region, at the end of the nineteenth century, were of serious concern to the Siamese kings for many years. In 1893, to guarantee that the French colonialists would not challenge the country's sovereignty, Siam gave them Laos. The French - soon realizing that the colony was not quite the grand acquisition they had hoped, and that the Mekong River's potential as a backdoor trade route into China had been vastly over estimated - made Laos a protectorate and left much of the running of the country to the Lao people.

The fall of France to Germany and the Japanese occupation of Indochina during World War II, helped to foment a new breed of nationalism among the Lao people. The situation was exacerbated when Japanese troops forced the pro-French King Sisavang Vong to declare independence from the French in the waning months of the war. With the August 14, 1945 surrender of Japan, a power vacuum was left in Laos that the French were at that time unable to refill. For a just a little over six months Laos was independent, but, with the help of British and Pro-French Lao forces, the colonialists were able to re-occupy Vientiane in April 1946. However, the seeds of liberty had already been sown. In October 1953, the French - their resources already seriously stretched by the war in Vietnam - finally ceded full independence to Laos.

The political situation, however, was to remain unstable for many years, eventually leading to civil war between the North Vietnamese backed Pathet Lao (Land of the Lao) and the US-financed Royalist forces.

The January 1973 Paris Accords - which saw the end of US involvement in the Vietnam conflict was followed a month later by a cessation of hostilities between the opposing Lao factions, leading at last to the formation of a coalition government. It was not to last.

With the fall of Phnom Penh and Saigon to Communist forces in April 1975, many Royalists saw the eventual takeover of the country by the Pathet Lao as a forgone conclusion and fled to France. That August, in a symbolic gesture, a force of fifty female Pathet Lao soldiers marched into and liberated Vientiane. The Lao People's Democratic Republic was born on December 2, 1975.

Laos entered a period of isolation throughout the rest of the seventies, maintaining diplomatic and economic relations with only Vietnam and the USSR. After failing to establish a successful socialist state modeled on Eastern Bloc collectivization, the Lao government moved towards a more flexible form of socialism - dismantling agricultural co-operatives in 1979, and installing economic reforms in 1986 that opened the way for the introduction of a market economy.

In the last few years, Laos has made further strides towards international acceptance and integration into the global economy. The 1994 opening of the Australian-financed Friendship Bridge - linking Vientiane with Nong Khai in Thailand - and the country's 1997 ASEAN membership are both seen as positive moves towards this goal.

TOP

 Luang Prabang TODAY:

The terrain of most of the roads of Luang Prabang is virtually level with the exception of the roads linking the riverside with Sakkarine Street. Traveling at a pace in touch with the pulse of the city, one of the nicest ways to explore Lang Probing is on a bicycle, available for rent in many places in town for about a $ 1 US a day.

The streets of Luang Prabang are teeming with European and American tourists with a sprinkle of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. They quietly walk the streets--some biking their way around, some backpacking into the mountains and caves. The streets are lined with French cafes and stores selling local products, mostly woven cloth. Occasionally, a Mercedes Benz passes obtrusively by, providing a sharp contrast to droves of Saffron /orange-clad young novice buddhist monks roaming around, and local people on bicycles, and scooters.

A whole street block comes alive when the night market opens with vendors slapping paper money on top of their goods for luck, tourists eating cheap barbecues and spicy vegetables on make-shift dining tables, and buyers negotiating prices. 

In "Dao Fa" the entertainment is primarily a live band that play Thai pop music, Hotel California and amazingly Jingle Bells in the season. Even western cowboy style line dancing has found it's place along with a unique Lao style disco dancing that has to be experienced. Only opening at 9:00 PM Lao curfew laws currently require them to close at 12:00 PM.

TOP

 Some Favorite spots:

The Mekong river, river Nam Khan, the children's cultural center, the dozens of temples that dot the entire town, and the French style cafes. We also love hanging out in the markets, for the foods and people watching, as well as a myriad of beautiful hand made crafts!

In the leisure and pamper department are the Lao Sauna & and Massage houses. The biggest overall is the LAO RED CROSS with the massage area open all day and the sauna section open from 4:00 PM ... till late evening.

A personal favorite is where many of the locals go, "Massage and Sauna" (sauna rooms are larger than the Red Cross ones). Located along the river road near the convergence of the Mekong and the Nam Khan rivers, on the old town peninsula. It's easy to find.

Rates are about the same in both places - $1.US for the Sauna including a constant pot of hot "special" herb tea (interestingly made from the same materials the sauna is built of) and $3. - $4. US for a good quality hour-long massage. Open hours for both massage and sauna from 4:00 PM till late evening. Both have separate sauna and dressing areas for men and woman, but a common use cool of lounge area.

Luang Prabang has a wonderful calming therapeutic effect after a couple days its easy to be seduced by the atmosphere and want to staying longer. Any trip to Laos could not be complete without a stop in this sleepy former kingdom.

Luang Prabang is a place less ordinary, a cultural lagoon still largely removed from the ebb and flow of modern Asia ..