Let’s say you want to plan a trip. (this is a constant state of being for me.)
You decide on your criteria. You want to go somewhere with waterfalls and boat rides, caves, a wild animal refuge, shopping into the wee hours of the night, homemade whisky, skilled artisans, excellent coffee and croissants, opportunities to meditate in spiritual surroundings, great prices, and friendly locals. Where might you go?
How many of you said Laos?
Exactly.
Despite a relatively short visit to Luang Prabang, the ceremonial capital of Laos, I was able to experience all the above. Here’s how it went:
I lost track of how many hours (days!) it took to fly from LA to Taipei to Bangkok to Luang Prabang. But eventually, our travelling group of 3 friends arrived, bleary-eyed, at the tranquil and gorgeous Villa Maly, our home away from home for the next several days. The villa was the former residence of Lao royalty and exudes tranquility and shelter. We are greeted with a welcome platter consisting of hibiscus and mango juices, crispy slivers of fried banana, Mekong river weed(!), and the most incredible little peanuts – salty and spicy and citrusy and completely addictive. These are served in a charming woven bamboo mini-basket. I could get used to Laos, I think to myself.
Despite our exhaustion, we stroll out into the evening which is when the town comes alive, thanks to the night market. We take in the seemingly endless array of merchandise – herbal teas, spices and Lao coffee beans, woven fabrics, painted coconut shell bowls, cloth purses, T-shirts, harem pants, woodcrafts, lanterns, rugs, scarves, homemade whisky, and “bamboo speakers for smart phones” – that stretches on and on along Sisavangvong Road.
Dining al fresco under a canopy of brightly colored paper lanterns and feasting on flavorful chicken, veggies, and rice, I succumb to this town.
Breakfast the next morning is at the Villa in a sublime outdoor setting. There is a mix of continental offerings (croissants! coffee! freshly-made yogurt!) thanks to the still-pervasive French influence in their former protectorate (Laos was granted independence in 1954) as well as local specialties like dragon fruit, homemade pineapple and papaya jams, and a sweet coconut parcel bundled up in a banana leaf. I had read that the Lao people don’t typically greet one another with the standard “How are you?”, but instead will ask “Have you eaten?”. My kind of place.
After visiting the Royal Palace and several temples (known as wats) replete with breathtaking golden Buddhas, we round a corner and luck out; here is a traditionally-dressed bride and groom posing for photographs.
We then wind our way outside of town to the magnificent Kyung Si waterfalls.
The force of the original 200 foot waterfall eventually carved into the surrounding landscape and created stunning tiers of water.
Perched on the edge of cascading turquoise pools, we are welcomed by dozens of graceful, purple butterflies and served a tasty picnic lunch of vegetable soup, rice, chicken and peppers, vermicelli with egg and vegetables, pork with vegetables, and tangerines and small sweet bananas.
A short walk at the water’s edge brings us to the Tat Kuang Si Bear Sanctuary.
I nickname the denizens the “Varsity Bears” because each one sports a genetic white V marking on his/her chest. These lucky creatures were freed from poachers who sell bear bile to those who believe in its medicinal properties. And as if this wasn’t enough to take in on one day, we also visit a remote village where chickens
run underfoot as women weave scarves on very rustic looms (one variety – the denim and cream-colored scarves – turn out to be highly popular) and wooden furniture is being made.
After a necessary caffeine and sugar boost at Joma coffee shop in the town’s center, we take on the night market. It occurs to me that the night market favors the seller, not the buyer- heck, we are exhausted from the heat and all the activity and besides, it’s almost impossible to see merchandise clearly in the dark. But this
doesn’t prevent us from stocking up on mementos and souvenirs. My favorite purchases include local Bael leaf tea, renowned for a multitude of healing properties including gastrointestinal issues, and handmade hair “scrunchies”, sold by an enterprising young Lao girl who, when not selling her wares, sprawls behind her merchandise and watches Disney films on her electronic device. I also pick up a beautiful embroidered skirt in peacock blue which is a bit large so the seller immediately tailors it for me on the spot (while I wait.. and… go back and purchase more hair ties from Scrunchy Girl).
The next day dawns – again cool in the morning and then warming up considerably as the hours pass by.
We ogle more golden Buddhas, heavily gilded over bronze or wood bases, in yet unvisited temples. The oldest, Wat Visoun, dates back over 500 years to 1512. We also drop in on the royal car museum where a young female attendant passes the time weaving stunning designs on fabric. Next we embark on a long, narrow boat to visit a traditional whisky-making village, high atop the riverbank. As much as we try to follow the heavily-accented explanation of the process, we keep getting distracted by the rows of glass whisky bottles sitting on makeshift wooden shelves right in front of us. There is something large IN those bottles. OH! Each one contains a…wait for it….SNAKE! The Naga, or serpent, is both magical and protective in Lao lore and we see renditions of them frequently.
Just please… not in our food or drink! We decide to forgo the whisky samples and convince ourselves the decision is solely based on the blistering temperatures.
The heat is a bit more bearable on the water and as we continue down the Mekong, we eventually arrive at Pak Ou caves, a holy site.
After balancing across a rickety woven bridge, we ascend steep stairs up into the cave where approximately 4000 (mostly wooden) Buddhas in all shapes and sizes have been placed by the locals over the past hundreds of years. It’s quite a vista from inside the cave shrine as we peer out onto the river, where our longboat awaits.
Gliding along, we arrive at a paper-making village where we encounter monks, protected from the blazing sun by big yellow umbrellas.
They stroll casually through “town” in their saffron robes and occasionally smile or chuckle. There is something magical about watching them and we congratulate ourselves on our good fortune for, at dawn tomorrow, we will be up close with more of these iconic figures.
We dock back in Luang Prabang and as we ascend the formidable hill into town; we are hot, dehydrated, and… hallucinating? Because surely that cannot be….but it is… a group of Lao teenage girls huddled around a boombox which is blasting Pitbull….
It’s going down, I’m yelling timber
You better move, you better dance
Let’s make a night, you won’t remember
I’ll be the one, you won’t forget
Good advice, actually, so we settle into another outdoor restaurant for fried lemongrass stalks.
These are delicious, stuffed with herbs and chicken, and there is also peanutty satay. For dessert, mango crisp pie and coconut ice cream. YES!
We arise at 5am the next morning for a very special treat; a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which should also increase our good karma for the afterlife. We get to participate in the daily, 600 year old Tak Bat ceremony; the distribution of alms (warm sticky rice) to the monks for their morning meal. There is a proper way to do this which includes wearing a white crossbody sash and either kneeling or sitting on a low stool, holding a lidded bamboo basket of the freshly prepared rice. Eye contact (or talking) is not permitted so as the monks appear we keep our heads low as we pinch off balls of rice and drop them into their pails. There is no quality control in play; some monks get a giant wad of rice and others receive a small spoonful worth.
We get a good view of a continuous display of bare brown feet and soon realize that the line moves very quickly. It’s all we can do to keep up (recall the I Love Lucy episode where Lucy and Ethel are working in the chocolate factory, conveyor belt scene?). We are discouraged from “pre-shaping” rice balls during the interludes as the monks will refuse to eat rice which is not freshly pinched. Eventually we realize that we can’t be perfect and we won’t succeed to fill every single pail; it’s enough just to be in the moment and enjoy the experience. (See —the Buddhism is already having its impact on us!).
We then visit the morning market which features a veritable cornucopia of produce, and also proteins (squirrel for dinner? how about some tiny, quivering shrimp?), fifteen kinds of rice for sale, giant pots of simmering stews, fermented river fish, tantalizingly delicious smells, fresh jackfruit being segmented, and an assault and battery incident. This occurs when I step just a smidge too close to an old woman’s collection of leafy greens and she THWACKS me on the leg with a thick bouquet of hardy lemongrass stalks. Not a pleasing sensation.
The remainder of the day gets spent strolling some lovely “off the beaten path” streets and alleys where colonial Luang Prabang is still intact before we collect our “goodbye” token from the Villa (a festive and colorful charm which is a symbol of good luck and prosperity), bid farewell to this unexpected delight of a town, and take off into the Indochina skies for Siem Reap, Cambodia.
RECIPE: LAO ROASTED PEANUTS
Click here to view the recipe!
20 Comments
This trip (and the food!!!) looks amazing!! I’m heading to Thailand, Cambodia (Siem Reap), and Vietnam in November. I need to add a future trip to Laos to my future trips list 🙂
Lucky you! You will have a fantastic time. Happy to share more or answer any questions. I’m off again myself to Asia in April – mostly Bhutan and Thailand for 3 weeks..can’t wait.
As always, I love reading your blog. Since we share a love of travel and creatively prepared food, I look forward to each installment that you write. Please don’t stop!
Thanks so much, can’t wait to explore Asia together soon!
Mouth watering delicious descriptions, and not just of the food! Not sure I will ever get there – so many places a bit higher on the bucket list that are a bit easier to get to – but it all sounds wonderful. Glad you enjoyed!
thanks for your note and you never know! in the meantime, you can always live through the great asian food available…and these yummy peanuts! 🙂
The most beautifully written and immersive blog yet You are a “master word spinner” and I was with you the entire trip. Where’s next?
Love,
Marty
Thanks Marty…I so appreciate your comments. Means alot coming from you. I’ll be headed back to Asia in mid April for 3 weeks, so stay tuned to hear more about Thailand, Bhutan and South Korea!
Did you eat yet?
Yet? Yet?
🙂
Holmes’ living vicariously thru your travels. We are always up for anything you make. Peanuts????
Holmes’ always living vicariously thru your travels. What a great experience. You know we are up for any food you are cooking. Peanuts???
Alysa!!! I just wanted to carve out time tonight to read this blog…..so happy I did….what amazing travels and experiences you are having and thank you so much for sharing them! I love your writing style…wish I could claim the same :)) I also love that you are living your dream of travel….sweet to know that is happening for you! I am living my own little dream in Asheville NC with Beaufort House Inn….all the same really….keep us all intrigued by your adventures….hugs! Christina Muth, Asheville NC
Thanks so much, Chris! Yes, you modelled what it means to follow your dreams and you’ve done an amazing job there at Beaufort House Inn. i think so fondly of my time there and still enjoy my coffee mug memento! perhaps one of these days i’ll do an asheville-focused blog piece and head back for your delicious breakfast and wine hour. be well and thanks so much for reading – and writing.
Alysa- Amazing!! Thanks for continuing to share your fascinating and beautifully descriptive prose with us. I am thoroughly enjoying the experience of vicariously living your adventures!! Enjoy every minute of your travels . . . you’ve earned this incredible opportunity to live your dreams!! XOXOXO
Thanks for reading – and commenting! Glad I can share at least one trip a year with you. And hopefully more in the future!
Awesome as always!!!!! I love reading about your adventures …….. you have a knack that reels us in!!!
Thanks, Jocelyn. look forward to sharing travel stories after our next whirlwind adventures in April/May!
Thank you for introducing me to this wondrous corner of the world. It looks and sounds amazing! You would be such a good travel organizer, Alysa. I want to go on all your trips!
Thanks for writing. I’ve been so fortunate in my life to experience some amazing places and I love sharing them with wonderful people like you!