Luang Prabang

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Luang Prabang (pronounced LOH proh-BAHNG, also spelt "Luang Phabang", "Luang Phrabang", "Louang Phrabang", etc) is the former capital of Laos and a UNESCO World Heritage city.

	luang prabang Travel Guide : 1 Understand 2 Get in 2.1 By plane 2.2 By road 2.3 By boat 3 See 4 Do 5 Buy 6 Eat 7 Sleep

Understand

The main road of Luang Prabang is a wonderful patchwork of traditional Lao wooden houses and hints of European architecture - reminders of when Laos was the French colony of Indochine. Golden-roofed wats, decorated with mosaics and murals of the life of Buddha sit under the gaze of wrap-around balconies and 19th century shuttered windows.

A tourist trail is forming between the capital city of Vientiane, the small riverside village of Vang Viang, Luang Prabang, and Huay Xai at the Thai border to the west. This loop can easily be covered by combination of road and river in a week, but 10-15 days is best to fully appreciate the lush countryside, magnificent temples, and friendly people. The boat ride between Luang Prabang and Huay Xai is considered by some the high point of their tour of South-East Asia.

Get in

By plane

The airport is just north of town and has sheduled flights from/to Vientiane, Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Siem Reap. Visa-on-Arrival (good for a 15 day entry permit stamp only) is available at the airport - price is USD30 (payable in USD).

By road

Highway 13 connects Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng and Vientiane in the south and via Highway 1 to the north. Highway 13 is sealed and in good shape all the way to Vientiane. There were some shootings along this road (between Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang) some years ago ago, including one incident in which two foreign cyclists died in crossfire, but at the moment it appears to be safe.

There are three bus stations, each a little bit out of town, who serve different directions. Tickets can be bought at every travel agent in town for a little surcharge, or at the bus station, or when boarding the bus.

By boat

Boats ply the Mekong to and from Huay Xai at the Thai border, stopping in Pakbeng where you can connect with bus and truck heading towards the north-east and the border with China. Slow boats leave several days a week, usually around 08:00. Expect to spend the night in Pakbeng if you're taking a slow boat (the safest option), or to arrive in Huay Xai deaf, shaken and either exhausted or exhilerated from three hours in a speedboat.

Long distance ferries to Vientiane stopped running when Highway 13 was sealed a few years ago, but it may be possible to do the trip by private tourist boat when the water levels are high enough. Read more about fast and slow boats in the section about Laos.

See

• Haw Kham - the former royal palace.

• Phou Si - the main hill, from which you have a good view of the whole area.

• Vat Xieng Toung - the oldest monastery in town and one of the most beautiful.

• Kuang Si Falls - large waterfall, accessible by boat or truck hire.

• Pak Ou Caves - the famous "Buddha caves" are some km north of town on the Mekong and can be reached by boat or road.

• Rent a bicycle and cycle around the countryside.

• Local market

• Monks at dawn collecting alms of rice from kneeling villagers (and early-rising tourists). Ask your guesthouse host to assist you the day before in preparing if you'd like to get up and give alms in the morning.

Do

• Riverboat trip to the Buddha Caves and Whiskey Village - two hours northwest of the city, the Mekong passes by a series of caves set in limestone cliffs above the pale green water. The lowest and most accessible of these cave is a sacred place for the Lao. Whenever a Buddha statue becomes too old or damaged to venerate in a wat, it is place in what is known as the Buddha cave. Inside, just out of the sunlight and stretching back into the darkness, are thousands of Buddha statues of every size and material. Some are no more than a few centimeters tall, others several feet high. The ones in the back are hardly recognizable as more than worn lumps of wood, but others retain there serenity and grace under flaking gold paint and a thick layer of dust.

Buy

A night market (on Sisavangvong Road) caters for the tourists with every kind of souvenir you could want. Day markets are along Setthathirat Road.

• Scarves, wall hangings, and other local crafts from the small Hmong market or the regular evening market, held along the main street

• Weird cast-off Chinese goods at the local market

Eat

Restaurants line Sisavangvong Road and the road along the Mekong. Local specialities include:

• french baguettes

• watercress

• fried dried seaweed with sesame seeds dipped in a chili sauce

Sleep

There's an abundance of hotels and guesthouses in town and touts will find you when you arrive.

• Sala Luang Prabang: fine restored colonial villa with comfortable rooms, but it has its price

• Xieng Mouane Gusthouse: another villa with different nice rooms

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