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Luang Prabang, Lao PDR, Pt I

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"Will Luang Prabang be the refuge of the last dreamers, the last lovers, the last troubadours?" --Marthe Bassene, 1909

Not many people think of spending vacation time in bombed-out, impoverished, communist South-East Asian backwaters along the Mekong River. I'm happy that they stick to the run-of-the-mill boring things like cruises to some dumb tourist-trap islands in the Carribbean, the intolerably boring and expensive city of London, or artificial creations like Disney. It leaves jewels like Luang Prabang to people who do think of bombed-out, impoverished, communist SE-Asian backwaters as ideal vacation destinations, like Lao. (Laos officially calls itself the Lao People's Democratic Republic and is attempting to drop the colonists' "Laos" moniker.)

Luang Prabang (LPQ) was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 1995, six years after opening for tourism, which is the reason why I went to LPQ along with the recommendation of a backpacker coworker. (If it's good enough for the backpackers, it's good enough for me, as long as I can find a hotel with room service.) After Paro, Bhutan, Luang Prabang (pop 16,000) is also one of the world's smallest cities with an international airport.

HISTORY: LPQ's historical significance derives from its being the capital of the Lan Xiang kingdom from its founding in 1353 until the capital was moved to the present Lao capital Vientiane in 1545. The name, which translates to "Great Buddha," refers to a Buddha given to the King of the Lan Xiang by his Khmer supporters. When the Lan Xiang kingdom collapsed in 1694, a weak independent monarchy was re-established in LPQ, a monarchy that lasted until the communist revolution in 1975. After the Chinese Black Flag Haw sacked the city in 1887, the King accepted the protection of the French, who ultimately left. Why he accepted the protection of cheese-eatin' surrender monkeys who won't even protect themselves is anyone's guess.

Some 32 of the original 66 temples have survived, which make for a delightful experience along with Luang Prabang's quaint 1920s French colonial architecture, the shy but friendly populace, the city's setting nestled in the hills of the Mekong watershed, and the company of monks entertaining themselves at internet cafes.
The "outskirts" of Luang Prabang from the air. Luang Prabang is the best-preserved example of the South-East Asian muu baan city organization, which dates to the city's founding. Rather than have a radial city with government at the core, the city was structured around neighborhoods anchored by a Buddhist temple. Each neighborhood set its own rules and banded with others only in crisis. Notice in the picture the compact but non-radial form of urban planning.
I stayed at the Villa Santi Resort, shown here. For a Best Western price ($70/night), one gets a buffet breakfast, transport around town in a Mercedes-Benz shuttle van, a fantastic granite and rosewood-trimmed room, MTV Asia and Channel V, minibar, and all the other conveniences of a world-class hotel. The only thing wrong with the hotel was that the young woman who met me at the airport held a sign saying "Ms. Jones." There are at least 30 Adrian Joneses in the world, and they're all male. Alas, most Americans get this wrong, so I can forgive the Lao.
Thanon Sisavangvong is the main drag in Luang Prabang. The Thanon (street) has at least three other names. Along this stretch are various handicrafts stores, French and Lao cafes, wats (temples), and internet cafes. The buildings are decidedly French colonial, and the atmosphere therefore takes on a vaguely Parisian flavor.
Another example of French-colonial architecture is the Saynamkhan Hotel on Th Kinkitsalat. Lonely Planet criticizes the interior restoration as having "cheap, thin carpet and fake linoelum upstairs."

The Villa Santi Resort's in-town sister accomodation is the Villa Santi Hotel on Th Sisavangvong (the main road). Formerly a royal residence and home to a princess, the 120-year-old French-Lao home was seized in 1976 but returned to the princess in 1991. Shortly after, one Mr. Santi opened the hotel.

My favorite dumb-American incident happened in the hotel's lobby one afternoon while I waited for the shuttle van. An American backpacker, fresh into town with her boyfriend, walked in and wanted a room (since most everything in town was sold-out and she didn't plan ahead). The only room available was a suite, which wouldn't be available for another hour. The dumb American, who obviously hadn't read her Lonely Planet, insisted on seeing the room, and then tried to bargain the rate because "it wasn't ready at check-in time." She got huffy and finally left. Doesn't basic decorum suggest that if you're in the market for a $250/night suite, you don't need to see it first, and you don't need to bargain for it?

(BTW, important point, the hotel and resort are often sold out during high season, Dec to Feb, so pre-book. Be sure to alert the hotel of your flight status so that they can send the shuttle van to the airport to greet you.)
The Croix Rouge (Lao Red Cross) offers its world-famous hour-long massages for around 15,000 kip, or USD 1.50.
A samlor motors in front of the Bureau de L'Administration Provincale de Luang Prabang. While many Lao speak fine English, you'll hear much more French than English in Lao.
The sky turns a pinkish-blue behind a hill. The river is the Nam Khan, which runs parallel but opposite the Mekong for a short distance, forming a peninsula upon which the historic district is set.
Boys play soccer in the river.
Here the Nam Khan meets the Mekong (far right). The Nam Khan flows left to right, and the Mekong flows right to left, thereby forming the Luang Prabang peninsula at center left.
Crossing the Nam Khan means walking across this vintage Communist bridge. Beware, the boards are missing in a few places.
I took this picture when I dropped my laundry with a local shopkeeper to remember which shop where I left it. In Bangkok I found it cheaper to buy new clothes than launder the ones I had, but Lao laundry service is cheap enough at 10,000 kip/kg, or 45 US cents per pound. An unusual luxury was wearing clothes line-dried in the sun (which Tide commercials make seem special), since the laundry shops have no dryers. (For all I know, the clothes could have been washed by hand too.) If I had this laundry service in Chicago, I think I would never wash a stitch of clothes again.
Just outside the historic district, the roads quickly become narrow and dirt-packed.
Flower-power beats the bomb. Lao is the most heavily-bombed country in the history of aviation (on a per-capita basis), although creative uses have been found for many casings. This is seen at a temple entrance.
There are lots of cocks in Luang Prabang. In fact, I was awakened every morning by a cock (left), with his hen (right). Contrary to popular rumor, they cock-a-doodle-doo all day long. And being awoken by a cock is a helluva lot better than being awoken by a buzzing alarm.
Look really closely at this house: it's the house that the Marlboro Man built. Made in USA to boot!
I don't know much Lao (beyond sabaai-dii, "hello"), but judging from local driving patterns, this sign means, "tourists in the roadway; think about dodging them."
Here is a stack of Lao banknotes totaling $9 next to my wallet (see white lines). Cash strategy is important in Lao. The best thing to do is to bring lots of $1 bills and perhaps Thai baht, although I found my THB useful only for the taxi ride to the hotel when I arrived back in Bangkok. Converting a few dollars into kip can't hurt either, but with the largest Lao bill worth 50 cents (and these not always being available), be prepared to fatten your wallet with money worth about as much as dot.com stock certificates. Of course, with the exchange rate currently around 10,000-to-1, money conversion is easy and you can often pay in USD and receive kip change. Technically, use of the baht and dollar is illegal, but Lao is very lax about restrictions on tourists (exept the prohibition on Lao members of the opposite sex in hotel rooms). The desperate need for hard currency trumps communist doctrine. BTW, there is some bargaining in the markeplace, but the prices are already ridicuolously low, so it's not necessary to bargain hard. (Please don't ecnourage the Lao to do it... nobody wants to see Lao become the next India or Morocco.)