Luang Prabang, Laos

Jan 9 - 16, 2019

A relatively small city in Laos, Luang Prabang, a UNESCO world heritage site, is a popular tourist destination, and for good reason. The combination of cultural sites, natural beauty and abundant shops and restaurants make this a tourist paradise.

Day 0 - Arrive in Luang Prabang, Night Market

Day 1 - Luang Prabang city

Day 2 - Rice Experience & Phousi Sunset

Day 3 - Mekong River Cruise

Day 4 - Kuang Si Waterfall

Day 5 - Alms Giving & Local students

Day 6 - Elephant Sanctuary

Day 7 Morning Market

Voyagers tips:

Accommodation: The more upscale hotels tend to be farther away from city center, whereas the guest houses near the night market are the most convenient but not always the nicest. Most major attractions center around the night market area. The center of action is around the intersection of Sisavangvong Rd and Ounheun Rd; if you stay within a few blocks from here, all major attractions are within walking distance.

Transportation: Tuk-tuk is the most popular method of transportation around town. As of 2019, $2 USD can get you anywhere in town with a bit of negotiation. As for getting a taxi from the airport to the hotel, it’s best to have your hotel arrange one for you. There is a flat $7 fee for taxi, whereas tuk-tuk will be $6. While the city is very walkable, the mid-day heat will make it unbearable to walk long distance, so tuk-tuk is a great option.

Food: We tried various street food and didn’t have any stomach issues. There is a side street off of the night market with tons of street food, and the courtyard on the western end of the night market is also a great place to eat and relax. There are many choices along the river with great views, Tamarind Tree was one of our favorite with great food and great prices. Nicer restaurants are also a great option when you get tired of street food or local food.

Day 0 - Arrive in luang prabang, Night Market

Fly from Taiwan

Night Market

Fly from Taiwan

We woke up early and left the house by 6am for our early flight. Luckily, buses are frequent and traffic wasn't too bad.

The first flight on China Airlines to Bangkok was nice. New plane, massive screen even in economy class.

We've been making good use of our Priority Pass lounge privilege during our world travel.

Bangkok airport was confusing and our second plane was small and old, but we got there smoothly.

Checked into our hotel in Luang Prabang. Xayana Home is highly rated on Tripadvisor and the location is great, but the room itself is just ok. It's showing its age and the drain doesn't work well.

I saw pictures online and thought the bathroom has these high-end stone walls. Turned out it's just tiles with stone-print that looks a lot like wallpaper.

We woke up early and got out the door by 5:45am to start our long journey from Taiwan to Laos: Bus to airport, connecting in Bangkok, and taxi to our hotel. It was a long day and Bangkok airport was a bit confusing, but overall nicely uneventful. Our hotel is a small guesthouse near the night market, which is the center of town. The location was great, the hotel itself was underwhelming, but we were glad we found a room for four people.

Night Market

We took a stroll in the night market.

Lots of interesting things for sale here. The market seems to go on and on and on.

It took me a while to figure out what these pretty chains are for... they're belts, look nice when you wrap it around the waste on a dress.

Night market food court. We ended up eating here several times, it's less crowded and crazy like the food street next to the market, it's more relaxed and a good place to chill at night.

Night Market here is the center of town in the evening, it’s definitely nice to stay close to it. Unlike night markets in Taiwan, which focuses more on special street food, it’s more about shopping here. There’s also a side street with lots of food options for sure, but the main street with vendors seem to go on and on and on…

Day 1 - city of luang prabang

Gold is big here. There are many temples in Luang Prabang.

Bamboo bridge. There are two that we know of. It's up for six months every year, then taken down as the water level rises. They rebuild it every year.

The students playing in the playground at this school. Must be recess time.

Dragon fruit shake turned out to be one of my favorite drinks here, and the Tamarind Tree restaurant by the river makes the best shakes.

Nice view of the river from this restaurant.

Apparently Obama had coconuts here.

Bet you didn't know Steve Jobs ran a guesthouse here.

This gong is bigger than the girls.

The gold temple is the most famous temple in LPB.

The girls are resting in the shade... watching their phone, of course.

Pretty wind chimes next to the temple.

Viewpoint cafe is at the tip of the little peninsula with a great view.

We chilled here to escape the heat for a while.

I guess M wasn't a fan of their mixed-fruit shake.

Beer, view, shade... happy place.

Each of these is a fold-flat card, very impressive.

I totally would've bought these if I had use for them.

This stand is popular... vegetarian plate for $1.50 per plate, piled as high as you want. We tried it today, it didn't taste good. You can ask them to toss it all in a wok to heat up.

Avocado shake was good. Sausages were very fatty.

Back to the night market food court, great place to chill.

We explored the city of Luang Prabang, from the temples to the bamboo bridges, and wrapped up the day with dinner at the night market.

Voyagers tips: There are tons of temples here, pick a few to visit. The golden temple is the most famous one. Start your day early to enjoy the cool morning temperature. LPB is very walkable, you can go back to your hotel to chill as the temperature rises. $2 tuk-tuk ride (with a bit of negotiation) can get you anywhere in town.

Day 2 - Rice experience & phousi sunset

Shoes off, heading to the farm.

Using water buffalo to plow the field.

The buffalo dropped three pineapple-sized poop right before we jumped in to walk behind it. It was his welcome gift to us.

Spreading out 3mo-old seedlings to allow space to grow.

Harvest time!

It took some work to wash all the mud off our feet. The nails remained black.

Thrashing to knock the rice off of the plants, then using a fan to blow away the lighter empty shells.

Farmers from different villages carry rice differently.

Pounding it separates the rice from its shell.

By tossing and swirling pounded rice, you can separate out and throw away the shells, as well as separate out smaller grains for feeding animals.

Milling to make rice flour.

This is the small mill.

Interesting way to cook rice. Smells good.

Sugar cane grinders, uses leverage to squeeze out juice from the sugar canes.

The fruit (or juice) of our labor.

Cheers!

The masters there were good at bamboo weaving, but we only learned to make stars.

We wrapped up our experience with a delicious meal.

The rice wine wasn't the best, but it was interesting.

Desert time!

What a great way to wrap up an awesome experience!

The Rice Experience at Living Land Farm was fantastic, definitely exceeded our expectations. The tour guide explains the 13 steps of making rice and lets you try hands-on each of the steps. Very unique, fun and educational!

Voyagers tips: Book directly on their website, and they’ll contact you via email to confirm the reservation. You pay upon arrival, either with card or with cash.

phousi hill sunset

There's an entrance from the middle of the night market street, but we followed google and took a long detour. Google isn't always reliable.

The hike isn't long, but the climb was definitely a good workout, especially in the heat and humidity.

The view is already great half way up.

This is a very popular spot in LPB, the most popular spot for sunsets.

Pollution makes for a more dreamy sunset. Sad, but true.

This rock that juts out makes a great picture, people line up to take pictures on it.

Going... going... gone!

Top of the hill where we watched sunset.

Time to head back down.

Night market is a tent city. Hard to believe this entire market is put up and taken down completely every evening.

We headed to Buong for a nice dinner afterwards. Good food, good ambiance, great place to enjoy a meal.

Mount Phousi, or Phousi Hill, is by far the most popular spot for sunset. The view is indeed beautiful there, if you can get past the crowds.

Voyagers tips: Don’t trust Google Maps, it takes you to a side street away from the night market street. There is an entrance near the middle of the night market, and both entrances work, so pick one that’s closest for you. The climb takes about 20-30 minutes and is pretty steep. Plan to get up there about half an hour before sunset to take some pictures before sunset. Expect big crowds.

Day 3 - mekong river cruise

utopia cafe

mekong river cruise

Today is the day for home schooling during the day and sunset cruise in the evening.

utopia cafe

We went to the popular Utopia Cafe for lunch, with plans to continue home schooling there. It got too hot there though, even in the shade. The restaurant itself is nice.

Voyagers tips: This is one of the most highly rated restaurants in LPB on Trip Advisor. It’s a bit farther from the main streets, but that’s how they can afford such a big space by the river. It’s a bit of a walk, but the restaurant is nice and you’re given plenty of freedom to hang out as long as you want, no pressure. It’s a relaxing restaurant during the day, supposedly a popular bar for backpackers and younger folks at night. It’s worth a stop. Just bring bug spray and don’t expect quick service. Food is ok. Ambiance is definitely the selling point here.

mekong river cruise

Khopfa sunset cruise was fantastic. We weren’t sure about the sunset cruise but it turned out to be a fantastic experience!

Voyagers tips: Resist the temptation for a local private cruise. We got plenty of offers to take out a small private boat for 150k kips, but decided to go with Khopfa due to its good reviews on TA. It’s relatively pricey compared to the others (150k adults, 75k kids), but it’s worth it. Nice boat, decent drink and food selection, and comfortable seats to lounge in. Khopfa and Sa Sa are the two larger cruise ships with great reviews on TA. We went with Khopfa and was very happy with it. Stick with these two for a great experience!

Day 4 - kuang si waterfall

Kuang Si Waterfall is beautiful. Multiple levels of waterfall near the bottom, reminds me of Krka National Park in Croatia.

There is a bear sanctuary at the entrance of the park, an interesting stop.

Various types of bears. Don't recognize the grey one at the end.

Several small waterfalls make this a beautiful park.

The hike gets more serious after the second swimming area.

There is a post online that talks of a secret pool after passing a fence. This is a nice quiet area we found, not sure if it's the one mentioned on the post. We didn't jump in here though.

Heading into the cave!

It's really dark, and there are no signs or descriptions, so you don't really know how deep it goes. We did get to the end where we could no longer fit in the path forward.

A nice big swing outside the cave.

There is a swimming area just 5 minutes away from the cave. Ivan tries out the rope swing here to swing into the pool. Fun!

A learned how to clear the moss with a long bamboo stick.

Three ladies in pink hiking back down.

We decided to stop at the second swimming spot and take another dip. The emerald water is so inviting, can't resist!

The water is cold here. Ivan's legs cramped up a few times, likely due to the cold water.

The fish really nibbles at your legs and feet, it's quite a weird feeling.

This big tree looks like it's made of many skinny trees.

Megan tries out her new pants from the night market. It's very common here.

Kuang Si Falls near Luang Prabang is beautiful! No wonder it’s the #1 day-trip destination from Luang Prabang. Swimming next to the waterfalls was awesome. Cold, but awesome!

Voyagers tips: You can book a tuk-tuk or car/van to the waterfall, it’s about a 45min ride. A private tuk-tuk is about 300k, we booked a private van for 350k for a more comfortable ride without smelling the exhaust. It’s definitely best to book private transportation to allow flexibility on return time, as you just don’t know how much time you want there. Many group tours only allow 1.5 - 2 hours there; we ended up spending over 5 hours there. Take the time to climb up to the cave and the swimming spot next to it, it’s worth the hike. The cave was scary and you couldn’t see much, but it was an experience. A 5-minute hike away is a nice swimming spot with a rope swing. We spent time there and met some great travelers there. If you’re just spending two hours near the bottom, sandals are find and they’re easier to put on after swimming. If you want to go to the top to the cave area, sneakers are best.

Day 5 - local students

Alms Giving

Local Students

Alms Giving

Alms giving is the ritual where people line up on the street to give food to the monks walking by. It takes place at 6am everyday, Ivan woke up early enough to do this. Ivan bought a basket of sticky rice and was confused as to how to hand the rice to the monks, since they weren’t separated into small bags. It turns out you just pick up a ball of rice with your hand and puts it into a monk’s basket, and repeat the process for every monk. I felt sorry for the monks, as it was certainly not sanitary. I’ve only read about giving rice, but I did see other food in the monks’ baskets. I sat on the little stools when I did this, as did most tourists, but in hind sight I should’ve kneeled to show respect. There were surprisingly few people giving, and also few monks. Perhaps this wasn’t the most popular spot for alms giving? I’m still not sure. I was on the eastern side of the night market street.

Voyagers’ tips: You can buy a basket of sticky rice right on the street, the lady will collect the basket back when you’re done.

Taking a tuk-tuk to the farm where the classroom is located.

This impressive mom is riding with four people on the scooter, including her. Now that's impressive!

This girl in green speaks the best English, the others rely on her to translate. She's a natural leader, will go far when she grows up.

Megan got their table engaged.

The whole classroom plays hang-man (they call it pac-man) on the white board.

Class dismissed! We really enjoyed meeting these kids!

We tried the busy food street at the night market. Tried their version of a hot pot.

Chicken heart was chewy. The sausages were too fatty.

Ivan likes his avocado shakes.

Our guide from the rice experience farm also teaches English there at night to students that want to learn English outside of regular school. We went there to visit the students. It was a fantastic experience, it was great to see these kids going above and beyond after school to improve themselves. Tourism is a major source of income here and poverty is a big problem, English is a great way for them to get out of poverty when they grow up.

Voyagers tips: If you go to Living Land Farm for the Rice Experience, ask them about visiting their English class. Alternatively, you’ll often see students on Phousi Hill eager to practice English with tourists, ask them about their schools and be open to visit them. It’s a fantastic experience, a great way to meet local students while helping them out. If traveling with kids, it’s also a great way to expose your kids to how kids in other countries learn.

Day 6 - elephant sanctuary

We spent a lovely day with these elephants.

MandaLao owns a nice big santuary.

We all put on these "ninja shoes". They aren't the most pleasant shoes to wear, to be honest. And aren't cleaned very well since last worn.

We take a boat to the other side of the river, where the elephants are.

The elephant wasn't shy about relieving himself in front of us.

Passing by a site where a new railroad track connects China to Laos (part of China's belt and road project). China is gearing up to be a superpower. Meanwhile, US is investing in...

MandaLao, the elephant sanctuary that provides the no-ride experience. It believes in serving the elephants rather than the other way around, and tries to let the younger elephants return to the wild when they grow older. It was a great experience, and as we learn more, we regret the past experiences where we rode on elephants for fun. You live and learn, this was a fun, enjoyable and educational experience.

Voyagers tips: You can book directly on the MandaLao website and pay online. Be advised, the ninja boots aren’t waterproof, and the inside gets a bit itchy if you wear shorts. I’d recommend wearing long pants inside the ninja boots if it’s not too hot.

Day 7 - morning market and takeoff

On our last day in Luang Prabang, we toured the morning market before heading off to the airport. The morning market has a lot more groceries than the night market, and it’s clientele includes a lot more locals doing grocery shopping. It was an interesting market. Megan got a bit grossed out in the fish section though.

Voyagers tips: The market spans several streets, so it’s hard to pinpoint a spot on the map, but google maps will get you to one of the streets if you look up “Morning market”, and you can roam around from there.