We took a sleeper bus from Huay Xi to our first stop in Luang Prabang. This was a bus, with beds! It was basic; two levels of mattresses held in place by rails but it was comfortable and we were able to get a bumpy night’s sleep on the way. When we got on the conductor showed me my seat (bed!). I asked where our other bed was and he gestured to my bed. Confused! He gestured at my bed again… Oh! It’s for two people. Remember this if you book a single ticket; you will be sharing with someone else.
We were surprised by Luang Prabang. It was very clean and modern, lots of big buildings and not what we had expected at all. When we saw the general clientele we realised; this is a tourist city, built mainly for older (eek!) tourists starting their Mekong river cruises. This can’t be the real Laos, there were more tourists than locals.
We spend our time eating Laos BBQ, which is huge here. We went to some absolutely stunning waterfalls at Kuang Si. The water was so clean. We were really impressed at how clean the attraction was.
We got up very early one morning to see Alms-Giving. At sunrise each day all of the 200+ Buddhist monks from the local temples walk through the town collecting the food offerings given to them by the locals. It’s a supposed to be a very respectful tradition but must say it was completely ruined by the tourists. There are signs around the town advising how to behave at alms-giving (what you should wear, only take photos from across the street.. etc) but here was everyone taking selfies, flashing photos in the monk’s faces. It was really, really embarrassing. We actually saw this ceremony again when we were up early to leave Luang Prabang. We were far away from the tourist area and it was the humbling, peaceful procession it was supposed to be. Beautiful. Head outside of the town to witness this ceremony for what it is supposed to be.
We rented bicycles (for 10,000 KIP / £0.90 each, bargain!) and took the local ferry across the Mekong to explore the villages there (another 10,000 / £0.90). This was a completely different world to what we had seen on the other side. There were no proper buildings for a start, only wooden huts. It was the weekend so there were lots of locals out cooking eating and singing together. We bought a BBQed fish each for less than a third of what is charged in tourist town. The guy had a big bucket of fish, keeping them alive until he needed them. The woman next to him was BBQing lots of frogs… I didn’t try those those! So, it turns out you can get off on the beaten track here, you just have to try harder.
DO | Kuang Si Waterfalls: 20,000 KIP / £1.80 entry. Minibuses organised by local operators cost 30,000 KIP / £2.70 but tuk-tuks are also available which should be more cost-efficient if there is group of you.
Rent a bike to explore the other side of the river; 10,000 KIP / £0.90 rental from the hostels, which was half the price tour operator and bike shops wanted. Plus, I always feel more comfortable giving my passport to a hostel than a random shop.
Head to the river. You’ll see the ferries moving constantly back and forth and be able to see the ramp to queue up on. The vehicle ferry costs 10,000 KIP / £0.90 each way, unless you decide not to rent a bike, in which case go for the passenger-only ferry; 5,000 KIP / £0.45 .
Wat Xieng Thong: is beautiful and worth a visit if you aren’t templed out already. The mosaic here is particularly Instagrammable; 20,000 KIP / £1.80 entry.
Tak Bat Alms-Giving Ceremony: this happens every day at sunrise. There are 35 temples in Luang Prabang, so a lot of monks to collect their offerings. However, stay away from the city centre to be able to appreciate the ceremony for what it is supposed to be. Cost; free!
Night Market: Due to the more upmarketness of the town the night market is a bit cleaner and calmer than others I visited in South East Asia. Still worth a visit though and it’s hard to escape at night; it takes over the entire town.
Watch the sunset over the Mekong: you’ll see a little beach area on the river-front where most people head to, but watch it from where the ferry departs from to avoid the crowds!
EAT | There are great backpacker options behind the day market, offering cheap fruit shakes, local food and sandwiches.
The BBQs and other food (coconut pancakes, cake, fruit…) at the night market are fantastic but you’ll pay tourist prices for them.
Contradicting myself a little here as I really do make a big attempt to eat local food, however Jomo coffee shop does fantastic lattes! Western prices, owned by a Canadian and aimed at travellers, but it is a Laos chain that you’ll find in other cities here. A Laos Starbucks!
STAY | We stayed in Khomesavanh Guesthouse, which is in a great location down by the river; a double room cost us 105,000 KIP / £9.40. Dorm rooms were also available.
TIPS | If you arrive in to the bus station early morning you won’t find much going on but hang on and a tuk-tuk will appear. Lifts in to town cost 20,000 KIP / £1.80 and once you get there you’ll find lots of places open from 6am as they are catering to the alms-giving spectators.
GETTING IN | We took the ‘VIP’ sleeper bus from Huay Xi to Luang Prabang (145,000 KIP / £13 each). Be aware that if you book a single ticket you will be sharing the bed/seat with someone else.
Note: We always try to source our tickets ourselves to save money, so we booked this travel independently by travelling to the bus station during the day. In hindsight, it wasn’t worth the time and cost of a tuk-tuk to do this as the agencies in town offer tickets for 180,000 KIP / £16 including transfer to the station.
GETTING OUT | I went on to Vang Vieng from here. Minibuses are available from any tour operator in town and depart multiple times throughout the day. Cost is 100,000 KIP / £9. There are local buses available for 80,000 / £8, but they take up to two hours longer.
