One of the best parts about the former Laos capital of Luang Prabang was how we got there:Driving on winding, washed out roads in buses and mini-vans for the first few legs of travel in Laos moved us to agree that traveling by boat down the Nam Ou river would be the best way to get from the small, worthy town of Nong Khiaw to Laos' tourist center, Luang Prabang. Indeed, our boat ride was a welcome departure from the mad-cap adventure that is driving on roads in Laos - that guy behind you isn't just clearing his throat, his face is buried in a plastic bag for a reason.
Even though booking the boat involved running all over town and riding in the boat involved six hours on a thin wooden bench with a prehistoric engine roaring in our ears, scooting to Luang Prabang on the river was definitely the way to go. This fact is a proof of both the beautiful scenery along this stretch of the Nam Ou river and how insane the roads can be in Laos. We must also thank the friendly North Carolinian, Adam, for sharing his inflatable sleeping pad as a seat cushion. Spectacular limestone karst mountains and the common sight of waving local children bathing and playing on the banks made our river ride to LP one of the best parts of traveling in Laos and the noise and the back and butt pain faded away just faded away.Luang Prabang is an easy place to be a tourist. The main drag felt a lot like any city in Europe and really disappointed us at first. We had been really excited to visit LP as we had heard a lot of good things from other travelers and read much about its charms and atmosphere. If Chiang Mai is the Acapulco of Thailand, Luang Prabang is the Chiang Mai of Laos which, we decided after we got to know the city beyond the absurdness that struck us our first night there, might not be such a bad
thing. The same things that make LP a tourist safe-haven in Laos, also make it comfortable and easy. That first night we were repelled by the buffet food and crepe stalls aimed only at tourists, the glossy shops and restaurants on the main drag that stripped the area of anything resembling a unique personality, and the tired, uninspired nightly night market. By the time we left we had found quite a few gems at the night market, explored LP beyond it's main strip, and discovered that the small town did in fact have some character of its own. In a way it is really good that Laos and South East Asia have a place like Luang Prabang. Everyone travels differently, and if LP's safe and familiar atmosphere helps get people to Laos and SE Asia, then we approve. A lot of people that might not visit Laos otherwise were there with their friends and families getting a dose of the region and the country. Who are we to judge, anyway? We had one of our best breakfasts in months at a fancy French cafe in LP and shopped and meandered the town's backstreets as though we were right back in Europe four years ago. The more time we spent in LP, the
more we liked it. And it was an excellent reminder that tourism has two sides, positive and negative. The potential homogenization of LP is a negative, but the tourist dollars that all of the NY Times readers and wealthy foreign travelers bring to Laos are a positive (as long as tourism continues to develop naturally and healthily in the town and country alike).As safe and touristic as it is, LP has a lot to like. There are some magnificently crumbling temples (Wats) and in some areas the streets are frequently flooded with more monks in brightly colored tangerine robes than tourists. LP used to be the capital of Laos and it's interesting Royal Palace Museum was well worth the visit. Annette liked the palace for it's fairly recent history - many of the rooms and living spaces were decorated with items and in styles from a time not too far removed from our own. We also found a few shops that specialized in arts and crafts that were from the region, rather than just whatever tourists were likely to buy. A trip out of the tourist core to a bustling local market was also good for our souls. This place was the Fred Meyer of markets, as it had stalls selling everything from fish to garden tools.
 |
| Even sunsets are an event in LP |
Our experience with the slack-jawed masses on Mount Phousi convinced us that we should leave early to visit the nearby and famous Kuang Si falls. Haggling with a bunch of wily tuk tuk drivers early in the morning is always a great way to start the day, and before we knew it we were put-putting up to the falls. Kuang Si falls are a special set of small falls and pools below one large fall. Minerals in the water (we think) turn the color a distinct minty color. Those same minerals cling to rocks, dirt, trees, and even a staircase leading up to the top of the large fall, making the many areas in and around the falls look like they are dripping, alive with a shiny, rumpled substance. The pools themselves are excellent for swimming, leaping into from a rope swing, and getting your feet nibbled fish (a service tourists all over SE Asia pay for in malls that we were tickled - literally - to get for free). 
In a surprising and educational twist, Kuang Si falls is home to The Bear Rescue Sanctuary (also called Bear Laos, a play on the favorite national beer, Beer Laos), a sanctuary that rescues sun bears from all over SE Asia. The sanctuary works to teach people (Laotians and foreigners, alike) about the plight of bears in Asia, who are hunted legally and illegally for paws, fur, and bile. We also learned that sun bears really like hammocks and solving food puzzles to get their daily meals. The Bear Laos project was a nice addition to a beautiful area outside of the tourist-crush of Luang Prabang. We hung around the falls for almost 4 hours and hopped in the back of our tuk tuk, after summoning the driver away from what looked like an all tuk tuk driver pool tournament, and sped 
back to LP just as everyone else was starting to crowd the falls and pools in the heat of the afternoon.We left LP liking it a lot more than that first night, but still less hypnotized by it's tourist friendliness than other "tourist towns" we'd been to. The charms and pleasant surprises that remainged in LP left us wanting what we couldn't have: The entire town, it's buildings, temples, monks, and Mekong vistas, to ourselves. LP was really an excellent stop in some ways, but for us two days was enough. We left LP one day earlier than we planned, curious to see what the current capital, Vientiane, would be like.
No comments:
Post a Comment