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 Traveller's Tales: Getting around in Luang Prabang, Laos
Know the most popular landmarks in Luang Prabang, Laos. You may read about best transportation, recommended travel itinerary, suggested routes and directions. Also, you might want to read our
Luang Prabang city guide,
and Vientiane city guide.
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| R Horgan |
02 June 2005 |
Stayed at La Residence Phou Vao - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Luang Prabang was not what I expected. It was smaller, older, more rural than I imagined. There are many picturesque views in and around LP, and I had seen photos from other travellers posted on websites. I guess it led to an unrealistic expectation that beauty would surround me at every turn. The truth is that the Mekong is muddy, many of the streets in LP are dusty, and the Wats are not in the best repair (especially after I'd seen so many impressive temples in Thailand).
Having said that, once you start to explore Luang Prabang and the surrounding area, you find lots of natural beauty.
The hill in the centre of town (I just can't think of the name right now) offers spectacular views of the surrounding town and countryside.
There are basically two places to visit in the area: Kuang Si Waterfall and Pak Ou Caves.
The Kuang Si Waterfall is spectacular. We spent two hours there, but I could have happily spent the entire day. It is peaceful and you can shoot an entire roll of film (or fill a memory card) trying to capture all of its unique beauty.
The caves were only mildly interesting in my opinion -- the main reason to visit them was to have an excuse to cruise on the Mekong River with fantastic views of mountains exposed with every bend in the river.
We ate at a couple of restaurants in town, and while the food was good (the highlight was the "Luang Prabang Salad")the service was a poor quality. I spent many weeks in Thailand ahead of this trip to Laos, and the Thais offer a very high level of service everywhere. In Cambodia a couple of weeks earlier the service was not refined, but there were lots of people ready to assist you. In Luang Prabang I found that the servers were inattentive, sometimes surly, and often simply not to be found.
We booked the trip to the Pak Ou Caves through a local travel agent a day ahead (though you can just walk up to the river and grab a boat if you want). The agent arranged a pickup at our hotel, and delivery to the riverside. We were then parked on a hard wooden bench with a German couple where we waited for about an hour with no explanation except that another passenger was coming. When the bench got too hard the four of us in turns asked the fellow coordinating our trip what was going on. He squirmed and mumbled, but generally just kept walking away. I kept following him until he finally said he would jump on his motorcycle and go ask his boss what to do. This didn't happen -- finally the four of us were loaded on the boat 90 minutes later than scheduled departure, without the mysterious missing customer.
This seemed to be a pretty normal approach to service in LP, which is really just a village trying to figure out how to cater to the spectrum of visitors that range from backpackers who consider indoor plumbing to be a blessing, to well-heeled travellers who are accustomed to having everything done for them.
I'm probably in the middle somewhere, but I was often surprised when a van or a boat would deliver several of us to a destination, park or tie up, then let us off with no explanation about which way to go, or any hint about what to do. Even the backpackers would look around in confusion and ask, "Which way do we go?". This happened at EVERY location I visited.
If all this sounds like I didn't enjoy Luang Prabang, I must say that I enjoyed it very much. It is real Laos -- not a slicked up version of Asia for western tourists to visit. It is surrounded by incredible natural beauty, and the trip was one of the highlights of my time in South East Asia.
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| A Wilczek |
30 December 2004 |
Stayed at Villa Santi Resort - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Luang Prabang is awesome and I am very glad I went. People are very friendly and I felt very safe. One day we did the 4 hour cave tour and 4 hour waterfall tour in one day. These two tours will cost you about $50 per person at the hotel (ripoff)or you can go anywhere in town and get the same trip for $10. I highly recommend the restaurant Nazim as it has great indian food. I would also recommend the crepe place for a snack, a bit expensive but a nice european touch. I would also recommend renting a bike for the day as it is a great way to see the city and tour the temples/wat's and at $1 a day it is the best bargain there is. I loved this city and can't wait to get back.
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| P English |
16 March 2003 |
Stayed at Villa Santi Hotel, The - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Great town and people, good night market at top of town, textiles and food may only be on weekends. Hired a moped and went to waterfalls, which were amazing, but be prepared for a unpaved road halfway there - leaves you a little saddle sore! But the views on the way of rice paddies and small villages were worth the pain!
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| P Garrett |
12 December 2002 |
Stayed at Villa Santi Hotel, The - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Overall didn't find Lao-cuisine to be as exciting as either of its neighbours Vietnam and Thailand. However we ate well in the nearaby French-run L'Elephant and a cafe under the same ownership directly oppositte from Santi (adjacent to Blue House). There are loads of other cafes catering to backpackers etc - but although promising-looking gastronomically not very notable.
There are also loads of tours on boats and other 3 and 4 wheeled vehicles going to "the waterfalls" and "Buddha cave" - but we felt that the range of tourist activities was not yet well developed - everyone was being shunted through the same two places. So we took a guided Merc from Diethelm Travel (one of only 5 in Luang Prabang) and fixed our own tour up into the hills - very worthwhile, and still good value. It was an ideal 3 night trip - longer and you better bring some good books, or start working on writing that novel...
Bangkok Airways offered their usual smooth service on our route from Chiang Mai via Sukhothai into Luang Prabang, and back to BKK. Backpackers also arrive on the boats up the Mekong - but having viewed their seaworthiness I'll personally wait a few years until they've got something a little more comfortable in service - at which point I'd definitely give it a try.
Shopping-wise there are a lot of the same product that many Asia regulars will know from BKK's JJ's market - slightly cheaper, but few fresh discoveries. However at the Hmong market (and elsewhere in town) look out for the attractive hand-made bedspreads and cushion covers. There are some nice silks and silk hangings to be had. And on a design front the two silhouette figures that occur in a lot of the work could probably give the writers of X-Files a few script ideas (you'll see what I mean!).
There are some nice paper products including lanterns and decent-value large format photo albums or scrapbooks. The silverware described in the guidebooks however was of disappointing quality - most looked like it had been knocked up in school first-year metalwork classes. One shop was an exception with some nice bracelets etc that looked like they'd been constructed with love rather than haste!
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| K Larsen |
10 December 2002 |
Stayed at La Residence Phou Vao - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Luang Prabang is a city filled with Buddhist temples (wats) and French colonical architecture. The town feels very mellow, and part of the delight is just strolling around town, observing the day to day life there. It's well worth taking a boat trip on the Mekong (we liked the Pak Ou caves), and a drive out into the hills to see some lovely waterfalls, which gives the opportunity to see some village life. We took the hotel shuttle into town, walked in town, then took a tuk-tuk back to the hotel.
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| M Dathan |
26 August 2002 |
Stayed at Calao Inn, Le - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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We took boat trips up and down the Mekong (organised through the Calao) to visit the Kuang Si waterfalls and the Buddha cave at Pak Ou. The waterfalls are no longer exist as seen in tourist photos - the middle tier has collapsed and all that remains is a huge torrent of water pouring down through the gaping hole in the rock. However, the trip out there is probably still worth the effort as you get to see rural Laos.
Similarly, the trip on the river and the opportunity to stop off at villages along the way makes the excursion to the Pak Ou Buddha cave worthwhile.
A strong recommendation for dinner in Luang Prabang is a French/Loatian restaurant called "L'Elephant". It has a lovely atmosphere, excellent service and great food, ranging from tradional french onion soup to water buffalo steak.
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| S Newton |
12 August 2002 |
Stayed at Calao Inn, Le - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Interesting place. Don't take the speedboat from the north, however, unless you wish to see your life flash before your eyes.
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| C Vanwinkle |
23 July 2002 |
Stayed at Villa Santi Hotel, The - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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very cool place to visit...mellow...not a ton of people....motorbikes the way to travel around town!
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| T Giesen |
29 June 2002 |
Stayed at Calao Inn, Le - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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We do not recommend the boat trip up river to the caves, it was uncomfortable and the caves at Vang Vieng are much more spectacular. Le Elephant Restaurant within easy walking distance is excellent and we enjoyed our breakfasts on the veranda at Le Calao.
We would recommend Le Calao to anyone.
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| D Christoph roth |
31 May 2002 |
Stayed at Muang Luang Hotel - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Nobody will miss Luang Prabang during a Laos- tour.
We were one of the only persons, travelling by own car, rented in Vientiane (this must be planned, 8 hours to Luang Prabang through the mountains, but only recommended for ex-perienced drivers )
Donīīt miss the upper sections of Kuang Si waterfall.
Good great and cosy wooden terrace-restaurant
over the Nam Khan river behind Phousi- mountain,not mentioned in the most guide-books
(forgot the name )under a roof of reed.
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