Leaving Vientiane for Luang Prabang we had the option of a 45 minute air flight or a 10 hour bus trip. Wanting to see up close the mountainous countryside of northern Laos, we chose the latter. But to minimize discomfort we bought tickets on the allegedly best bus available – the self-proclaimed "King of Bus". It looked modern and clean enough but we were to discover later that it was harbouring a couple of dark secrets. The long, winding and undulating trip began well and took us through impressive scenery. In many places the narrow road was more like a country lane than a national highway, with lush vegetation spilling down to the verges. We stopped midway for lunch in a small village where we all ordered the beef noodle soup with mint and watercress. It was excellent.By late afternoon, though, the hot sun and steep hills were wearing down King of Bus and we were delayed by the first of four breakdowns. Water was summoned to refill the boiling radiator and after a wait to allow the engine to cool, we were on our way again. This happened several more times with the 4th breakdown being the most serious, raising the disturbing possibility that King of Bus was a spent force. But the crew finally managed to quench its inner fires and restart the engine, and we were off again. But it was now after sunset, exposing King of Bus’ second dark secret – it had no headlights! Blind and exhausted, and two hours late, King of Bus finally limped into Luang Prabang.
Luang Prabang. At the confluence of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers, Luang Prabang is the former royal capital of Laos, and these days the country’s premier tourist destination. The World Heritage Listed old town centre is lined with shady trees shielding characterful, well-maintained buildings and as in Vientiane, there appears to be a beautiful temple along every street. It’s certainly touristy but very, very nice.
Our first sightseeing stop was Wat Xieng Thong, Laos’ most magnificent temple built by King Setthathirat in 1560. An adjacent building with doors and walls decorated with beautiful golden gilt panels contains a golden 12 metre high funeral chariot. Other buildings on the grounds are adorned with colourful mosaic scenes.
Just before sunset on Wednesday, along with hundreds of others, we puffed and climbed the 329 steps to the summit of 100 metre high Phu Si that provides great views of the city and the Mekong that snakes languidly through it. Earlier in the day we had taken a 6 hour cruise along the river, 25 km upstream to the Pak Ou Caves packed with small Buddha images. Along the way we called into a couple of small Lao villages where some women were weaving and others were making decorative papers. The facilities provided for reboarding our long tail boat were rudimentary, consisting of just a narrow gangplank thrown across the mud onto the side of the boat. It was a great trip; this section of the Mekong is quite beautiful.
Along with all the visual delights, Luang Prabang is a tourist shopper’s paradise with silk and handicraft products in abundance. Susan led the way through the market, showing that when it comes to negotiating, she remains a fair but formidable force to be reckoned with.
Each of our days in Luang Prabang began well with breakfast amongst the foliage in the riverside café opposite our Sala Prabang Guesthouse, an artistically refurbished century-old mansion with French doors opening out to the restful Mekong view below. And the Lime Freezes and mulberry pies in nearby JoMa's Bakery/Cafe were equally memorable. Our guide book invites readers to decide for themselves whether Luang Prabang is the most pleasant small city in south-east Asia. We soon decided that it was.
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