December, 2023

Luang Prabang

One of the nicest little river towns in Laos is Luang Prabang. It is located in the northern part of the mountain region and bordered by two rivers – the Mekong and Nam Khan River. This Unesco World Heritage site is home to 30 active Buddhist Monasteries, markets, shoppes and some really yummy food.

In the 14th Century it was the Capital of “Kingdom of a Million Elephants” and was strategically positioned along the Silk Route. Somewhere in the late 1890’s the French took over and brought many wonderfully inspired flavors and favorites to this area – especially the French croissants.

Many traditional Lao houses remain that were built of wood, using traditional techniques, complete with balconies and other decorative features in wood. Many of these homes line the main street and the Mekong. Our hotel was one of these beautiful old buildings.

Luang Prabang is a walking town with lots of local restaurants along the river. In the evening they have a nightly markets that consists of many local artisans selling their wares. It’s a great place to stroll and while away the evening.

The Buddhist Way of Life

Another big draw to the area is the number of Buddhist monks and monasteries that are located in this region. Every morning at 6 am over 200 monks begin their alms march through town. Stools are placed along the Main Street for visitors to sit and wait for the procession to arrive.

Each monk will be carrying his alms container for donations of food, money, fruit or garmets. They do not stop for your donation and they do not make eye contact as they are to be in the state of meditation. It’s a really beautiful ceremony to witness.

Kuang Si Falls

Our river guide suggested that we visit the Kuang Si Falls while we were in Luang Prabang. These falls are located about 45 minutes from our hotel so we decided to give it a whirl.

A very packed van picked us up and we wound through the countryside, past an elephant camp and many little villages to reach the entrance to the park. It was an interesting ride.

Once we arrived at the entrance, you walk through a sun bear sanctuary. While this was quite unexpected, it was interesting to see these rescued bears close up. They were well taken care of and were enjoying a mid-afternoon snooze in the hot weather.

The falls start out with small shallow pools. As you continue to climb you reach the last set of pools showcased by a 200’ waterfall. They have built bridges over some of the pools and you can swim in most of them. We just enjoyed a beautiful walk through the forest and then our ride back into town. Thankfully, we arrived just in time for an afternoon treat.

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane, Laos – The capital of Laos was on/off/on our schedule to visit. Since this was the only place we could get a flight to Borneo, it ended up back on the schedule for a two day visit – and that was long enough.

We started our visit to one of the most visited Buddhist temples in Vientiane – Wat Si Muang. It was built in 1563 and is considered to be the ‘mother temple’ of Vientiane. The central pillar of the temple is considered to be the central point of the city.

The interior of the temple is beautifully decorated with carved gold pillars, a brightly painted ceiling and many scenes from the life of the Buddha.

There are so many statues outside that are just as interesting as the inside. Since we aren’t Buddhist, we could only look at them and wonder what they were and what they represented.

COPE Visitor Centre

During the Vietnam War, the American military dropped more than two million tons of explosives on Laos. COPE (Cooperative Orthotic & Prosthetic Enterprise) was formed to provide aid for these victims by providing prosthetics and other medical services.

The COPE Visitor Centre is an educational facility where visitors can learn about the work that is being still being done. It is still supported by the US Government as they are continuing to search and remove the ordinances from these devices that were dropped.

A display of bomblets that were housed inside bombs that were dropped by the US. Many of these did not explode and are still capable of causing damage.

Once again we had a wonderful visit in Laos. Yes, it’s hot but there are so many sights to see and good food to enjoy.

Next Stop: Borneo and Brunei