Laid-back Laos (Post #6)

Dear Friends and Family,

 Sabadi (hello) from the province, Luang Prabang, Laos! From Japan, we flew Air Asia 7hrs to an overnight lay-over (8hrs) in Kuala Lumpur, then flew 3 hrs to tropical Luang Prabang, Laos. ……too much travel time! Next trip we’ll pay the bigger bucks and fly direct! Luang Prabang is so cool, it was worth it. The airport is small and visa processing was easy.  
We were picked up by the guest house and driven 15 minutes to our teakwood bungalow overlooking the Nam Kiau River where we were met with a wonderful surprise! We arrived in time to attend the Festival of Lights and dragon boat parade down the main road in town. This annual celebration is held the day after a full moon and features numerous colorful tissue-paper dragon boats propped up on bamboo platforms and wheeled through the town’s main road for about one mile. Then they turned left into a Buddhist temple courtyard and lined up for judging before being launched into the Mekong river. It was magical! Hundreds of lit candles illuminated the boats, accompanied by scores of traditionally dressed Laotians, singing, dancing and drumming, as they proceeded down the street. People carried decorative marigold offerings with candles in the middle. Each dragon boat represented a different city/province and each boat/ presentation was judged. The winners received money for their village. Throngs of photo-taking spectators lined the street, following the floats towards the Mekong river, where more dancing continued. It was an amazing spectacle that we felt lucky to witness. The idea is to pray/wish away the bad things in life and ask for good, i.e love, health. Homes and businesses are decorated with lighted paper star lanterns, and sidewalks are lined with paper flowers lit up with candles. People believe the smoke from the candles carries their wish/ prayer, and the release of the dragon boats signifies letting go of the bad.

Our guesthouse shuttle van returned us to our bungalow late that night. Breakfast was served on our veranda, surrounded by tropical plants, overlooking the gently moving Nam Khan river. After breakfast, we were joined by an English speaking guide, “Xiong,” who had escorted Bruce’s brother and his wife for their visit to Luang Prabang a few months earlier. We agreed to use his services the next day for a 4hr RT boat ride on the Mekong river in the morning, followed by a visit to the Kuang Si waterfalls in the afternoon. The cooling breeze on the boat trip felt wonderful after the sweltering heat and humidity of Luang Prabang. We saw water buffalo cooling off in the river, white herons, boys frolicking in the water and loads of fisherman. The Mekong is huge and flows through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos ,Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Along the way, our boat stopped at “Whiskey Village” where we learned about the process of making home made whiskey from white rice, and were given samples. Some of the bottles contained snakes or scorpions. We walked up a steep path into the village and watched local women weave linen, another source of income for the poor village. There were beautifully woven scarves, table runners, clothing, etc. offered for sale.  

We continued on the Mekong river to the Pak Cou caves, a buddhist shrine housing hundreds of Buddha statues, some dating back to the 16th century. Though we weren’t there at the right time, once a year villagers ceremoniously wash the statues. After a tasty Pho lunch back in Luang Prabang, we were driven to the incredible Kuang Si waterfalls. The falls are in a tropical garden park setting with a bear reserve near the entrance. The reserve houses eight kinds of bears, wandering around freely, and we saw several, including cubs, up close. There was a chain-link fence around their enclosure and at night the bears are caged indoors. After we passed by the bear reserve, we entered the lower-falls area. We were overwhelmed with the beauty! We continued walking and saw several levels of fantastic waterfalls. The water was milky-blue, from limestone deposits, cold, and clean. Tourists happily frolicked in the waters, and we did too. It was truly like a scene from fantasy island.  

On the way back to Luang Prabang we stopped at a couple of villages where we learned a bit about the three main Laotian ethnic groups Laos, Khymer, and Hmong. We watched a shaman dressed in black with a black scarf covering his head dance and beat an instrument similar to a tambourine, as he chanted aloud. Our Hmong guide explained that he was chanting thanks that a young girl was feeling better after a serious illness for which he had performed an earlier healing ceremony. A couple of villagers ran through with a young, slaughtered pig raised high…all part of the thanksgiving ceremony!  

We stopped at a rice paddy field where Xiong explained the process of rice farming. In Vietnam there are 3-4 harvests per year but in Laos, only two. Xiong works as a tour guide, and is also a rice farmer. His family grows “mountain” rice, but we stopped with him at a “low land” rice field. We ended the 12 hour day with dinner at the home of Xiong’s cousin. We were treated like honored guests in their humble home and shared a meal with them of chicken, pork, fish, and steamed rice. They surprised us with a traditional Hmong good luck ceremony normally performed at births and weddings, to wish us the best in our travels.  

Over the next couple of days we explored picturesque Luang Prabang. We climbed ~300 steps to the top of Mount Phousi (pronounced poo-si) for a great aerial view of the city, nestled between the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. At the top of the sacred mountain we found another Buddhist shrine where people placed flowers, incense and candles. A woman sold tiny birds in small bamboo cages at the base of the mountain. The theory is you release the bird at the top as you make a wish! Nearby, we saw Wat Xiengthong, a stunning Buddhist temple complex, covered in colorful mirrored glass mosaics, and lots of gold, all sparkling in the sun. We walked until we came to the place where the Nam Khan flows into the Mekong river. We enjoyed strolling around and drinking cold, refreshing fruit shakes made with pineapple, lemon, banana, mango, and coconut milk and giant fresh squeezed oranges juice for only $1.25! We ended the days winding our way back through canopied stalls of the night market which cover the Main Street each evening and where tourists can buy just about anything imaginable. Though we had our shuttle van to/from the city center, we did our share of walking, and hopped on/off of three-wheeled motorized “tuk-tuks” as well.

 
We left Luang Prabang and headed to a village further north. We’ll write again soon! 

Hope this finds you all well.

Love, BnL

Author: bnlmos

We are a retired couple, together nearly 35 years, who love International travel. Having a "blog" is brand new to us, so have patience as we do our best to keep in touch with our friends and family. Please feel free to comment on this blog or contact us via personal email. brucemos@hotmail.com View all posts by bnlmos