The Heart of Laos

Progressing south from Luang Namtha, we had the option of taking either a bus or a shared minivan to Luang Prabang. We opted for the latter since it was expected to shave off a few hours from the expected 8-10 hours ride.  The road conditions immediately south of Namtha are quite good and we were told that the Chinese trade interest in this region plays a large part in maintaining the condition of the roads.  But it is mountainous and the narrow windy roads are not for the queasy. 

Beyond Oudomxay, an important junction on the north-south route, the road deteriorates and turns extremely bumpy. Vehicles have to weave around potholes and squeeze through roads collapsed due to landslides. But all this is compensated for by fantastic mountain scenery throughout.

Thanks to its relatively small population and mountainous terrain, Laos has one of the least altered environments in Southeast Asia.  Unmanaged vegetation covers nearly 85% of the country and traveling through northern Laos, the contrast with southern China (where every hillside along the freeway is as beautiful but terraced and cultivated) could not be more more striking. Every once in a while we passed through some small village perched on the mountainside. While this is an obviously poor country, even small villages are neat and orderly. The houses are small and basic with thatched roof, but they all seemed uniformly well-maintained. What was striking throughout was complete absence of litter and unhygienic conditions that are usually concomitant to poverty in most of the third world. 

Luang Prabang is situated on a peninsula formed by the confluence of the Mekong and the Nam Khan rivers and it was late afternoon when we arrived.  The main attraction after dark is the town's Night Market, a truly colorful and bustling affair where small vendors take over a long stretch of the main street selling textiles and trinkets to locals and tourists alike.

Luang Prabang was the ancient royal capital of the Lan Xang Kingdom until King Phothisarat moved the administrative seat to Vientiane in 1545. Later King Sisavang Vong, who ruled at the time when France granted Laos independence, became king of the whole country and until the communist takeover in 1975, Luang Prabang was the royal capital and seat of government of the Kingdom of Laos. 

 A UNESCO World Heritage city,  it is today a charming town with palm-lined riverbanks, terracotta roofs and scores of Theravada Buddhist temples. Most of the sites are in the heart of the compact Old Quarter and accessible by foot. The narrow brick-paved roads are lined with buildings influenced by French colonial architecture, many of them converted into hotels, guesthouses, tour agencies, restaurants and cafes that crowd both sides of the main street.  There are restaurants to suit every budget, many with outdoor seating overlooking the Mekong, where the view is priceless.

In the scorching heat of the afternoon, one wants to do little more than sip a large fresh fruit-shake in the cool shade, while watching boats passing by. But we did exercise our legs a bit to see some of the key sites. While there seemed to be neighborhood wats in every other street, the jewel in the crown of Luang Prabang’s temples is Wat Xieng Thong. Built by in 1560 by King Setthathirat, it remained under royal patronage until recently.  It is representative of classic Luang Prabang temple architecture, with roofs sweeping low to the ground and had very interesting glass mosaic designs on the outer walls of buildings in the temple complex.

For a brief overview of Luang Prabang's royal history, we visited the Royal Palace turned National Museum that displays artifacts belonging to three generations of royalty. The grounds also include a separate exhibition of the automobile collection of the family over the years, and it included a couple of automatic Lincoln Continentals, a Citroen with a stick shift (which was supposedly the chauffeur's favorite) and an Edsel which was the family's private car!

In the late afternoon, we decided to head to Kwang Si Waterfalls which is over 30kms away and required us to chip in for shared transport by minivan. Kuang Si is a series of picturesque cascades punctuated by a collection of turquoise pools that is perfect for soaking or wading in. The water was bracing cold but it was a perfect antidote to the blazing heat of the afternoon and we enjoyed cooling off for a few hours.

Luang Prabang is still considered to be the spiritual heart of Laos and there is a traditional ritual that still takes place here every morning that has by itself become a major attraction. At daybreak, monks and novices from the many wats file silently through the town, barefoot and dressed only in their ubiquitous orange robes, collecting alms. The practice of offering food to monks is most common in Theravada Buddhist countries like Laos and Thailand, and the practice sustains large monastic communities. The ritual is done in silence; the monks walk in a single file, oldest first, carrying a lidded bowl. Laypeople, mostly women, wait for them on the sidewalk, sitting or kneeling, and place handfuls of sticky rice, banana or some such food item in each of their bowls.  Giving alms is considered one way of accumulating 'merit' and building up good karma to improve the circumstances of one's present and subsequent lives.  

With the upsurge of tourism in Luang Prabang, many tourists approach the ritual not as a religious ceremony to be respected, but as a cultural show to enjoy. So notices have been put up asking tourists to maintain a respectable distance and not to interfere with the monks as they walk by. I was a little conflicted about taking these pictures, but rest assured they were taken from several meters away !