Five Nights in Luang Prabang

I was really looking forward to Luang Probang because we met so many people who loved it.  Of all the cities we visited in Laos it has the most French colonial influence and caters to tourists other than backpackers.  It has a mix of European/ Asian influences  with charming buildings, cafes and cobblestone side roads but also with many Buddhist temples and monks chanting throughout the day.

We arrived in Luang Prabang in the evening and went straight to the night food market.  We tried spring rolls and dumplings but the highlight was a vegetarian buffet that only cost dollar.  You could fill up a huge bowl or plate with a variety of rices, pastas, veggies etc.  I think I ate this almost every night. 

After dinner we met up with our friends and went to the popular backpacker bar called Utopia which has a nice chill vibe and has a great view of the lake.  The bar closed around 11:30 and there were tons of Tuk Tuks waiting outside to take everyone to the only nightlife in Luang Prabang still open that late: the bowling alley.  We played two games and drank several beers and it was an exceptionally fun night.  It was filled mostly with backpackers but there were also some Loasian people who were very talented bowlers.

Our first full day we rented bicycles to explore the city (I am slowly getting much more confident on bikes and have no problem biking next to moving vehicles anymore). We had soup for breakfast at a lake side restaurant and visited a few temples but it was so unbearably hot that we ended up spending a large portion of the day in our air conditioned room and coffee shop.  After another vegetarian buffet we explored the night market which is definitely one of my favorite tourist markets so far. The things they were selling were unique compared to the other countries we'd been to and the salespeople were not pushy at all which makes shopping so much more pleasant.  Our big purchases were bamboo speakers, elephant slippers and Andrew bought a pair of balloon pants (he finally caved in to the "backpacker uniform".)

 

The next morning I woke up early and enjoyed a Sunrise Yoga class that was offered on the lake at Utopia bar.  We then decided to spend the day at a waterfall about an hour and a half away from the city center.  It is the main excursion in Luang Prabang with Tuk Tuk drivers ask "Waterfall?" every 2 minutes so we decided we'd have to check it out.  At the beginning of the park there is a Bear Rescue Centre which rescues Asiatic Black Bears that from the illegal wildlife trade. It was around lunchtime and the bears were very active and seemed very happy and we could have watched them for hours longer. 

The park had several lagoons and pools of bright blue water and a huge waterfall with many tiers.  This was the most magnificent waterfall we'd seen yet but which also meant there were ALOT of tourists there. Luckily, some friends we met told us about a secret spot halfway up the hike to the top of the waterfall where there is a sign that says "Danger Do Not Pass."  If you do pass, then you arrive at a beautiful private pool of water that is middle of the waterfall.  It was truly a magical experience to get away from the crowds and have such a beautiful spot to swim to ourselves.

The main waterfall is beautiful but very crowded

The next day we made the spontaneous decision to do a two day one night experience with elephants at Elephant Village about 45 minutes away from Luang Probang.  We were originally planning on trekking with elephants in Northern Thailand but our friends suggested this company.  It also seemed like a better bang for your buck than in Thailand and got very good reviews.  When we arrived we were immediately impressed with he vicinities.  It was right on the river and doubled as a hotel with a beautiful pool and buildings.

There was a very nice young British couple who also signed up for the two day experience and we were the only 4 people staying the night at he resort. Within the hour we were feeding the elephants, learning the commands and climbing onto their backs. Andrew and I both road elephants in Africa but Asian elephants are relatively smaller than African elephants and unlike in Africa we were able to ride without a saddle, right on their necks!  It was much rockier than we expected but such an unbelievable sensation to have direct contact with this magnificent animals.  We then took an hour long trek with the elephants through the river and surrounding areas with one of us riding on the neck and the other riding a seat with the mahout (elephant trainer).  I loved every second of it.

Afterwards we played with and fed the elephants and then after lunch rode them into jungle where they would spend the night. It was nice to know that they are able to stop working and just relax and eat (which is really all they like to do) from 4pm onwards.  We then took a boat to a waterfall (which didn't really compare to the one the day before) and spent an our or two swimming. That night the four of us had a great dinner in the gazebo and enjoyed the luxury resort to ourselves.

 
We woke up early to pick up the elephants from the jungle and bathe them in the river. The mahouts told us to try standing on them and Andrew fell off of his. My elephant love splashing around and another just wanted to stay under the whole time just to cool off. We then decided to spend a few extra hours at the resort and just relax by the pool. Overall it was a really great experience and I am happy we chose Elephant Village. I am even more in love with elephants than before.

We ended the day with another quick stop to the night market and going to a restaurant called Hive which is known for its ethnic fashion show and hip hop performance by local Laos students. Unfortunately the fashion show wasn't performing since it was the low season but the hip hop show was pretty amusing.

A big tourist attraction in Luang Prabang is the procession of monks at dawn? I had read that this tradition has turned more into a show for tourists and was advised that if I was to participate in the offering of rice to the Monks, I should do my research and do it correctly.  I therefore opted to watch from a distance and be as discreet as possible.  It was very nice to watch but also pretty frustrating to see tourists walk up inches to the Monks and stick cameras in their faces.  Also, many local people capitalize on this tourist attraction and sell inedible quality sticky rice to tourists who are dressed inappropriately and make the offerings incorrectly.  I'm glad I woke up to watch the young monks (Andrew couldn't wake up that early) but have realized later in my travels that this tradition happens in most Buddhist cities and is much much less touristy. 

I loved Luang Prabang, especially the elephants and the vegetarian buffet, but I was ready to move onto an area of Laos less touristy.