Our local bus journey from Luang Namtha to Luang Prabang was comfortable, long but comfortable. And most importantly, uneventful. No chickens but lots of locals and bags of rice. However, we all had seats to ourselves and the a/c worked. Aside from a long tuktuk ride with a driver who spoke no English and clearly had no idea where our guesthouse was, we finally arrived to Xieng Mouane Guest House. We chalked it up to a unplanned city tour…in the dark.
We instantly loved Luang Prabang. Its narrow streets, funky cafes, French inspired architecture and obvious history lured us in right away. Picking accommodation from afar (thank you Ron again and again for all the endless hours of research to find our next bed) is hard and time consuming, basing decisions on travel site reviews and bad maps. There is always a collective sigh of relief when we arrive, all the stars line up and we find the character, price, cleanliness and location are all up to snuff. Xieng Mouane Guest House is a short walk from the centre of Old Luang Prabang (where you want to be), close to the river, on the morning monk route and relatively quiet. We had the suite on the first floor with two rooms, unbelievably high ceilings, narrow doors leading out to the street and garden and private bathroom.
We ended up staying for 4 nights. A welcome length of time after lots of moving. Highlights during our 3 full days included; visitng the Wat Sieng Thong temple, cruising the Night Market, enjoying a bottle of wine (something we had not had or seen for months) and eating at the corner crepe and juice bar steps away from our guest house. Janet, having a nose for finding coffee, found a great brew at the Scandinavian Bakery which she trotted to every morning before breakfast. Marge (her mom) would have been proud. Our transportation of choice was bicycle and motorcycle.
We instantly loved Luang Prabang. Its narrow streets, funky cafes, French inspired architecture and obvious history lured us in right away. Picking accommodation from afar (thank you Ron again and again for all the endless hours of research to find our next bed) is hard and time consuming, basing decisions on travel site reviews and bad maps. There is always a collective sigh of relief when we arrive, all the stars line up and we find the character, price, cleanliness and location are all up to snuff. Xieng Mouane Guest House is a short walk from the centre of Old Luang Prabang (where you want to be), close to the river, on the morning monk route and relatively quiet. We had the suite on the first floor with two rooms, unbelievably high ceilings, narrow doors leading out to the street and garden and private bathroom.
We ended up staying for 4 nights. A welcome length of time after lots of moving. Highlights during our 3 full days included; visitng the Wat Sieng Thong temple, cruising the Night Market, enjoying a bottle of wine (something we had not had or seen for months) and eating at the corner crepe and juice bar steps away from our guest house. Janet, having a nose for finding coffee, found a great brew at the Scandinavian Bakery which she trotted to every morning before breakfast. Marge (her mom) would have been proud. Our transportation of choice was bicycle and motorcycle.
We rented motorbikes one day and headed about 32 km to find the Tat Kuang Si Waterfall. We had been warned by local tuktuk drivers the road is dangerous. We decided to check it out and turn back if it felt wrong. We felt we had the road to ourselves, it was paved the whole way with gentle curves. No problem. Sometimes it’s hard to know who is giving you an honest warning and who is just trying to sell you. Not to mention the juggle of deciding what is the safest choice, especially with kids, given you are in a foreign country with a completely different set of standards. Remember, entire families of up to five or six will pile on their motorcycles and head from A to B. The road took us through villages and seemingly endless fields of rubber trees, teak forests and rice patties. Janet is getting quite excited about her new talents as a motorcycle driver (ok, It’s almost a scooter) and dreaming of trading in the Honda Odyssey for a Honda 125 with a basket on the front.
The waterfalls did not disappoint. There are numerous levels of turquoise coloured pools all connected by pretty little waterfalls. The largest waterfall is at the top and falls about 250 feet. We hiked up to the very top on the right side which was a bit steep and slippery for flip flops. At the top you can walk right across the falls looking back down to the first pool. There is a much better descent down the other side (which you can use to go up too if you figure it out quicker than we did) taking you back down to the various pools accessible for swimming. The best pool was the second one with a 12 foot waterfall we could jump off and a fabulous rope swing off a tree hanging over the pool. Yes, we all jumped and swung till we were water logged. It is definitely the backpackers scene in the pools and the later you go, the more crowded it gets. Just outside the park gates there was a number of food stalls offering everything from grilled fish, noodles or rice to baguette sandwiches.
The other cool thing about Luang Prabang is the daily ritual where the monks collect food from locals and tourists. They have a specific route and starting at about 6 am they depart from their monasteries to walk the route to collect their “daily bread” or rice, nuts, fruit etc. This is the only food they get for the day. By 6:30am the trail of monks dressed in their orange robes is as far as you can see down the street. They walk along in bare feet carrying a metal bowl strapped to their shoulders. The locals and participating tourists kneel on straw mats along the edge of the street and pass out food to every monk, without looking up at them. It is fascinating to watch and worth the early rise.
On our other full day we rented bicycles and toured around. The girls are fabulous now at navigating traffic on these big city bikes. We got caught in the rain but even that did not deter us from backtracking at the end to find the Jo Ma bakery with cappuccino and chocolate chip cookies to die for. We ventured across the river to the weaving and paper handicraft village called Xang Kong. The roads became pretty marginal and hilarious to navigate on our one gear bikes. Just when we thought we had officially entered “deliverance country” the village we had been aiming for came into view.
All in all, Luang Prabang was one of our highlights. Sometimes you can’t explain exactly why certain places stand out. Mmaybe it’s just the feel of a place or the mood of the traveler or a great combination of both.
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