Greetings, faithful followers! I have just returned from a glorious trip to Luang Prabang in Northern Laos and cannot wait to share all of my travel adventures with you all. Over the course of my three days in Luang Prabang I followed the plan I outlined in my last post – hand writing entries and notes in my journal to keep my memory fresh for when I return to write it all up on my computer. I am now working on writing everything out in proper blog-post format, but I have noticed that even the distance from my computer each night is not curtailing the amount I write in each post. Therefore, I will be writing up each day of my journey as a separate post and you will have to wait for a new installment each day. Now, let’s get started…
Luang Prabang is located in Northern Laos and is a registered World Heritage Site (although I’m not quite sure what that designation means, I suspect it has something to do with the rich cultural history found in that region as the city is a religious epicenter and old capital of Indochina). While overnight buses are available to take you from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, this mode of travel uses up way too much time when you only have three days, so Zenia, Saem, and I decided to fly up via Laos Airlines. We left work at noon to return home and finish packing in preparation for our trip and were picked up by the VFI truck at 1 pm, which Talia had arranged to take us to the airport. After dropping Nate, Rachel, and JJ off at the bus depot for their trip to Vang Vieng (a drinking, pot-smoking oasis), we headed toward the airport. Along the way, we bribed our driver for a quick stop at Fruit Heaven (we bought him a mango smoothie) as a farewell to our favorite smoothie place in Laos that we would be bereft of for three whole days. My pineapple-apple smoothie was delicious, as usual, a wonderful blend of flavors that makes my taste buds sing.
We arrived at the airport three hours (!) before our flight, as we had to take the truck at VFIs convenience rather than our own. We were accidentally dropped off at the International Departure Gates, which are fairly nice, but were soon directed toward the Domestic Gates (a two minute or less walk to the building next door), which were considerably less nice. As we were an hour too early even for checking in for our flight, we had to wait in the general lobby of the airport. We sat in uncomfortable blue seats in an area without air conditioning to await our check in time, watching a Thai TV soap opera (which I immediately recognized from an earlier episode we saw in Salavan) and napping. We checked in for our flight at 2 pm and were able to head into the departure area to await our flight, which was, thankfully, air conditioned. To reach this waiting area we had to pass through customs (yes, you must pass through customs even on a domestic flight here, although all they check is your ticket against your passport information). The wait did not feel as bad to me as it did to the others (I had packed a book to read) and at 4:15 pm we had boarded our plane and were ready for our 4:30 pm departure time.
The flight from Vientiane to Luang Prabang is short and easy, a mere forty minutes long. The instant we were airborne I fell asleep and only awakened when we began our descent into Luang Prabang. The city and surrounding countryside looked incredible from the air. The city sits in a basin, bordered by the Mekong River and the Nam Khan River, the land on which the Old City rests forming a peninsula where the two rivers meet. Northern Laos around Luang Prabang is filled with mountains. As you descend out of the cloud cover toward your destination you are confronted with densely forested mountains, tall, craggy and rough. There is something about these mountains that feels jagged and sharp even though they are covered in green and trees occupy every portion of ground that is not cleared into plots for agriculture (and there are very few plots in the mountains). The mountains feel at once old and young as you stare down at them. The peaks are not the smooth sided, gentle slopes of mountains you would associate with age and having been worn down by wind and water, but jagged to such a degree that even the blanket of green forest cannot cover or smooth. The aged feel of the land comes from the knowledge of its history, but the mountains suggest something new and untouched.
We flew over these peaks until we reached a basin and saw the Mekong River cutting a wide swath through the countryside. The basin is the site of Luang Prabang, nestled into this mountainous terrain directly next to the River. Our plane landed at the airport outside of town, although “outside” is a relative term here as it only took ten minutes to reach the city center from the airport. When we stepped off the plane we had expected it to be a bit cooler as we were further North, but it was just as hot and perhaps a bit more humid than Vientiane. Our hotel had sent a driver to meet us at the airport, so we didn’t have to fuss with a tuk-tuk, which can be quite a hassle in these countries as they often have deals with local guesthouses to tell tourists that their intended residence is uninhabitable, closed, or a terrible place to stay in an effort to get you to stay somewhere else. The driver (who we suspect also owns the guesthouse) drove us around town a bit so we could orient ourselves and see some of the sights briefly.
Luang Prabang is quite small, but has an amazing feel and atmosphere. As you walk around town you feel safe, welcome, and relaxed by the aura this place exudes. While we have heard that there is occasionally a purse snatching or some other nefarious occurrence, it is hard to believe when you are standing in downtown Luang Prabang with its sleepy streets and congenial atmosphere. The city was highly influenced by the French (and I can easily see why the colonizing French would prefer to settle in Luang Prabang), so the streets have red brick sidewalks, the houses are very French looking with balconies, French doors, and other foreign quirks. As you walk down the street, it would be easy to imagine you are somewhere in France from the architecture alone.
After our drive, we went to our guesthouse, which was located in the heart of the Old City. It was called Villa Laodeum and it is a beautiful place to stay that I would recommend to anyone coming to Luang Prabang (and quite affordable too at only $22/night for a double occupancy room). Our room was beautiful, located upstairs with hardwood floors, pretty green walls, and an excellent air conditioning system (a must have in any place you stay in SE Asia). We dropped off our belongings after drinking our complimentary orange juice given to us during our check in and then headed out to explore the Luang Prabang Night Market (as it was now 5:30 pm), which was conveniently located just two blocks from Villa Laodeum.
I must say that this was my favorite Night/Day/Local Market I have visited so far (in Thailand or Laos). The Night Market in Chiang Mai was fun, but way too intense and frenzied. The Luang Prabang Night Market is significantly smaller (about 1/10 of the size or so), but more peaceful and relaxing. The Night Market in Chiang Mai was a mass of people, stalls, and activity. There never seemed to be a moment where you could simply breathe in Chiang Mai; even the simple act of walking down the street at the Chiang Mai Market was exhausting. The Luang Prabang Market is quite different. The people in Luang Prabang are quieter, more willing to allow you to look at the goods before attacking you for a sale, they sit on a blanket behind their wares, rather than moving around and getting in your face as they do in Thailand, and they are more willing to bargain here. In addition, the items sold at this Market are almost all (except a very few, aka the BeerLao shirts) local handcrafts, rather than the jumble found in Thailand (where you sometimes wanted to search for the Made in China sticker). At the Luang Prabang Night Market it is easy to stroll through the street, glancing at the silk scarves, wooden bowls, silver jewelry, paintings, and cobra whiskey (literally, a cobra in a bottle of whiskey) for sale at each stall. While the goods may have been slightly more expensive than what could be found in Vientiane or other large cities, I preferred buying my goods there as I know that 100% of the money is going into the hands of the maker as opposed to a good percentage going to a middle man in the other locations.
I went on something of a spending spree while at the Market. My first purchase was a small bottle of rice wine alcohol for my family to try. Our wandering attention at the Market was caught early by a stall covered with bottles of all sizes, some of which were filled with cobras, other types of snakes, and scorpions! Saem wanted to stop to buy a bottle of cobra whiskey that our friend Samir stationed in Bangkok had requested someone buy for him. In Luang Prabang, as soon as you stop at a stall a small stool is offered so you can sit down, examine the wares, and bargain more comfortably. You take the small stool, sit down in front of the stall, and begin the buying process. Bargaining in this country is definitely an art form. You must show interest and admiration for the goods, but not appear too eager. It is best if a white person can be shopping with a non-white person (Asian) as the price for a white falang goes up exponentially when we are alone. Each side of the bargaining group must insist they are doing the other a favor. Protestations of “Good price, just for you” and “Lucky day for you, only for you” are commonly heard and they must be returned with “I only buy from you” and “I only want to buy this from you, out of everyone at the Market.” You must go into the process with a great deal of patience as buying five scarves can take ten minutes of bargaining once they are all picked out. It’s an exhausting process, but can be quite enjoyable if you are in the mood.
We sat down at the cobra whiskey stall and began the process, which involved drinking a shot of 15% rice wine alcohol. As soon as that shot was down we were refilled with a shot of Lao Lao, a 50% alcohol that most of the Lao people drink. It feels like a ball of fire sliding down your throat and I would suggest only consuming it in the form of a mixed drink in the future. I only took a little sip and decided that was enough sampling of strange alcohols and we were ready to bargain. This purchase was acquired quite quickly and we were off once again. Over the course of walking the market for the next couple hours I also purchased a silver ring and necklace for myself, a cute shirt, two Laos silk scarves, and other odds and ends. I don’t know what came over me (perhaps the Lao Lao), but I bought more that night than I had in SE Asia so far. I had a lot of fun trying out my horrendous bargaining skills (I really am terrible at it as I can’t help but feel bad that I am asking for a lower price – something that is fairly taboo in America), which could explain my overzealous purchasing. *See below for an example of my bargaining prowess.
I’m still having some trouble reconciling myself to parting with 40,000 kip on a single purchase and have to keep reminding myself that this is only around $5 and not that much to spend. I suppose I will finally adjust when I’m ready to head back to Thailand. :) The Market was full of colors and people, an oddly beautiful sight to behold if you look at it properly. There is just something quintessentially SE Asian about it (although you never know, it might be a Western construction the people here have simply fallen in line with) that it made me stop and appreciate once again where I was – traveling in SE Asia. After we concluded our business at the market, we dropped our purchases off at our guesthouse, changed clothes, and headed out for dinner and fun.
We ate at a restaurant recommended by everyone (Zenia’s friend, Lonely Planet, Vanessa, and a website on eco-friendly tourism Vanessa recommended to me), called Tamarind. The food was spectacular! The restaurant was a quick walk from our residence (five minutes) and served authentic, traditional Laos cuisine with some modern quirks. We began with a dipping platter that offered four traditional dips served with sticky rice. It featured a smoky eggplant dip, fresh tomato dip, chili paste, and a fiery chili dip. They were all superb and ended up being my entire meal as my main course arrived covered in egg (so Saem ate it for me!). Dessert consisted of a fresh fruit plate with a chili-sugar dipping blend. It was a thoroughly enjoyable meal, which we all consumed in culinary delight. After dinner we headed out to explore the night life, heading toward the one section of town with bars. We decided to go bar hopping on Saturday as it was already quite late (10 pm) and the bars only stay open until 11 pm. After examining the array of bars available (three main bars) we chose the Lao Lao Garden for drinks. This bar/eatery is a fun little place with an ever continuing path behind the main building into gardens with tables here and there among the plants. We sampled some Lao cocktails, which was a bold move on our parts as the main liquor ingredient is Lao Lao. Luckily only about ¼ of a shot is used in a single cocktail, so the fire is muted and the effects aren’t quite as horrendous (it is entirely possible to get drunk on a single shot). We had a lot of fun hanging out until closing time at which point we headed back to our guesthouse. Our plans for Saturday were quite extensive, so we headed off to bed and were asleep when our heads hit the pillows at 12:30.
Lauren Buying Two Silk Scarves-
Lauren- These are very beautiful scarves.
Woman passes Lauren a stool to sit down
Lauren- Are these Laos silk?
Woman- Laos silk. Number One. (Lauren assumes this means they are top quality)
Lauren looks at Laos scarves as the woman unfolds every scarf her eyes pause on
Lauren- How much?
Woman- 120,000 Kip each. Pointing…120,000 kip, 120,000 kip…
Lauren- That’s too much, I can’t afford that.
Woman- Special price just for you. Good deal for you. Lucky day.
Lauren- It would have to be a very good deal.
Lauren Continues looking at scarves; Woman whips out a calculator
Woman- How much you pay?
Lauren types in 40,000
Woman- Ohhh! Too low.
Woman types in 110,000
Lauren- Too much. I buy two. I don’t have much money.
Woman- Silk number one, very good price just for you.
Woman types in 90,000
Lauren- Still too much. I’m buying two, just from you. Out of all these people I only want to buy from you.
Woman- I give you very good deal, but just for you. Lucky day for you.
Woman types in 80,000
Lauren- Still too much. I can’t afford that much. I still have to pay for my guesthouse. I don’t have much money to spend.
Lauren types in 100,000
Lauren- I’ll pay this much for two. I’ll buy two from you for this price.
Woman- Too low.
Woman types in 120,000
Woman- This for two. You buy two for this. Lucky day for you.
Lauren- Too high.
Lauren types in 105,000
Woman- Ok, that is good
Lauren passes over money, woman passes over scarves
Lauren- Kawp Chai
Woman- Kawp Chai lai lai.
End Scene.
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That sounds like a buy one get one free deal to me. Very good.. or should you have gotten 3 for that price?
ReplyDeleteI agree.. I hate bargaining.. hate hate hate it. I sold some furniture on craigs list and Aaron said I dropped the price to much and go back and ask for more.
In my oh so loving way.. I responded "No, you are just being a greedy jerk. If you want more then next time I suggest you be here when someone comes to pick up our old crap. You know I don't do this so leave me alone. Besides, you were just planning on giving it to Goodwill. So be happy with what you got. Now you have hurt my feelings, and I am taking this money and going to buy a new purse at Brighton."
By the way.. I am so glad you are back. I wasn't sure how much longer I could go without an update.. man I hate withdrawls!
ReplyDeleteGlad I'm not the only one having withdrawals. I love our phone calls and gchats and I wouldn't miss them for anything, but it's your daily blog that holds the real magic. What am I going to do come August 8th?
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