Luang Prabang: the gem of the Mekong

During our 2,5 months of travelling through Southeast Asia, we stayed in Laos, and specifically Luang Prabang, for a couple of days.

When we were doing our research, we read in a blog that Luang Prabang is a place where you 'plan on staying for just a few days, but then end up staying for a week'. We took this with more than a grain of salt, but once we made it here, we completely agreed with it.

This small beautiful city has an extraordinarily nice atmosphere and is one of the highlights of Laos for many. We made this little travel guide for Luang Prabang to make sure you'll have as much fun as we did!

Contents of this guide

• Cruising the Mekong River

• Highlights of Luang Prabang

• Exploring the surroundings

• Where to go from here

• Practical information

Cruising the Mekong River

We can highly recommend travelling to Luang Prabang from Thailand by boat. It is not just a mode of transportation, but an experience in itself. In case you book a 'cruise' (which we will share more information about at the end of the guide) you'll probably have a similar itinerary as we did. First, you have to make it through the border, which should go very smoothly. Here you'll be put on a bus to cross the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge, whereafter you'll hop on the boat.

Along the way, you'll stop at two villages, one where you will have the feeling that you are a bit of an intruder and one that is completely geared to tourism with rice wine and beautiful fabrics. At the not-so-touristy village, you'll notice the poverty in which a large part of the Laotian population still lives. It's quite shocking to see but good to be aware of this.

The overnight stay in the transit town of Pakbeng can be quite fun depending on where you're staying. We booked a budget stay at the beginning of the town and had quite some mixed feelings about Pakbeng. For example, we didn't feel too comfortable getting money from the atm, but we did enjoy a very nice Indian meal. Moreover, we got to see the beautiful surroundings and bathing elephants in the morning while enjoying a delicious breakfast. If you're on a big budget, you can book one of the more stunning accommodations like Le Grand Pakbeng, which is so beautifully located.

At the end of the cruise, you'll visit the Pak Ou Cave, which you can only get to by boat and which is full of Buddha statues. After two days of relaxing on the boat, you'll arrive full of renewed energy in the fantastic Luang Prabang.

Highlights of Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is the most beautiful (small) city we visited during our trip through Southeast Asia because of the beautiful green surroundings, atmospheric Laotian and colonial architecture, and the cosy streets. The entire vibe of the city makes you want to stay here for longer.

To explore the city, you can rent a scooter, but it is also very doable to just walk around. The most beautiful landmark is the Haw Pha Bang temple, located near the Royal Palace. At the end of the day, this is also the street where the large but super cozy night market takes place.

Another special thing you could do very early in the morning is to experience the morning alm. There are many Buddhist monks in Laos and especially in Luang Prabang. At dawn, they collect food from the community. If you go, please don't be like some other tourists who ruin this ritual by standing in the way for a picture and talking too loud...

Across the street, you'll find Phousi Hill. It's a lovely walk to the top, from which you'll have the most stunning view of Luang Prabang and the impressive mountains surrounding it. It's truly breathtaking, but you'll be sharing the view with many others so coming there during sunrise might be even more special. The many bars and restaurants at the riverside offer a great place to watch the stunning sunset as well.

We can also recommend a visit to the UXO Lao Visitor Center. During the Vietnam War, Laos was heavily bombed by the United States to hinder Vietnamese guerrillas. Because of this, the country is still largely covered with cluster bombs. An immense amount of unexploded bombs still hinders the development of the country and kills people every day. We would advise visiting this center to better understand the history of Laos and the effect it has had and still has. It's also a good caution for if you travel further through Laos: don't divert from the paths!

Exploring the surroundings of Luang Prabang

Near Luang Prabang, at scooter distance, there are a few fun things to do. They're easy to combine, and therefore perfect for a day trip. One amazing stop is the Buffalo Dairy Farm. This is a communal project, the earnings are for the community and much of the dairy goes to the local kids. It's a fun place to visit as you can feed the animals, see the process of dairy making, and maybe most important of all, taste the delicious home made dairy products!

The most popular attraction is the Kuang Si Waterfall. It's very easy to visit and a nice place to walk around. The waterfall is extremely blue due to the limestone. If you want, you can swim in the little pools, but be prepared for the (not so little) fish nibbling your feet. Next to it, you'll also find the Butterfly Park and Tak Kuang Si Bear Sanctuary. At the bear sanctuary, you can spot the moon bears that were saved from poachers who catch these bears for Chinese traditional medicine. When making your way back to town, we would advise stopping at the Mekong Café or the Bamboo Farm Restaurant for a lovely riverside meal or snack.

Where to go from here

We didn't travel further through Laos as we were planning on going to Cambodia and had read some horrible stories about Laotian roads and minivans (but to be honest, you'll find those reviews anywhere when searching for it...). We also just wanted to save Laos for a next long trip, as we truly fell in love with it on first impression and wanted to more thoroughly explore it than we could.

Places we would definitely visit next time are Vang Vieng, Pakse and Si Phan Don. Vang Vieng is a laid-back backpacker place with beautiful mountains, waterfalls and hot air balloon rides. Pakse is the second largest city in Laos and is the base for exploring the Bolaven Plateau where you will find beautiful nature and waterfalls. You will also find the beautiful temple ruin Wat Phou here. Si Phan Dou is also known as 4000 islands. As the name suggests, the place is known for the many islands on the Mekong River. Many find this a relaxed place to be. It is also the gateway to Cambodia.

Practical information

How to travel
There are several ways to visit Luang Prabang. We chose one of the more popular ones among backpackers: a 2-day cruise on the Mekong River from the Thai border. Having read quite some horrible stories about very uncomfortable boats, we opted for a more luxurious version, the Shompoo River Cruise. This cruise comes with a guide, great lunches, and plenty of space to sit and even lie comfortably. Cruising the Mekong River is a lovely experience, so we would definitely recommend that.

Another way to reach Luang Prabang is by plane or bus from the neighbouring countries of Cambodia, Thailand or Vietnam. Airports can be found in Luang Prabang and the capital of Vientiane. From Luang Prabang, you can explore the country by minivan or train. You can book these easily via the 12GO website. As of recently, it has become possible to take the train all the way from the south of China to Vientiane, which has made it much easier to explore Laos. It's almost as if we knew this would happen when we decided to leave the rest for a later visit...

Where to stay
In terms of the best location to stay in Luang Prabang, we would highly recommend staying in the city centre, either in the Historic District, Pakham or near Wat Wisunarat, so you can fully soak up the amazing atmosphere here. Nevertheless, there are also plenty of beautiful riverside accommodations a bit further along the Mekong and Nam Khan River, which should be lovely as well.