Luang Prabang, Laos has been the sleeper hit of the trip for us! It is so incredibly charming and the people have such an innate generosity of spirit. It’s a peaceful place that was such a nice respite after the pace of Bangkok and Chiang Mai! The city center is a UNESCO world heritage site. It’s quaint, it’s lovely and I’m only bummed I waited this many years to visit. We could have easily spent a few weeks here. So many great restaurants, shops and, of course, all the beautiful scenery to take in as well.
It is especially nice at night in the city center. There are cafes and restaurants lining the street on the walk to the night markets. Most have outdoor seating, some in little garden areas with overhead lights or lanterns adding to the ambience. The night market itself is wonderful. We found it much more manageable than the ones in Thailand that seemed to go on forever and were so crowded that you could hardly move. You could easily wander through the stalls, take your time and not feel moved along by the tidal wave of people!
The Mekong River is an easy walk from the city center. You can easily hire a boat captain for a very reasonable amount to take you out on the river. We hired a boat one of our first days there to go to what we’d heard was one of the “must see” sites, the Pak Ou Caves. They are several ancient caves that are filled with Buddha statues. It was nice to see, but we ended up just enjoying the time on the river more than the actual walk through the caves! It was almost two hours up the river and then a little over an hour back.
Our captain took us by a village on the way back that had a whiskey distillery and local weavers. The man was quite proud of his whiskey business. He was offering us samples when we’d barely set foot in the village…dangerous!
The women make amazing silk scarves and handmade crafts. We loved talking to the different women in the village and meeting their children. They all seemed to enjoy meeting Jack!
On the way back home, our timing is perfect to catch the sun as it sets. Our boat captain, Somai, cuts the engine and we are able to sit and watch as it slips behind the mountains on the river. It’s completely quiet as if everyone along the river is doing the exact same thing. I am pretty sure that is the exact moment I fell in love with this place.
The Detour Diary 