Psykit Photography

Enroute to Luang Prabang & places to visit

// May 30th, 2010 // Photography, Travel

After a day in Bangkok we fly to Luang Prabang (LPQ) to begin our travel of Laos or “Lao” as the locals call it.

By definition, Laos is a country/name while “Lao” refers to the language as in “He speaks Lao as he is from Laos”.

The Lao language share the similarity of the Thai language in most of its spoken words. People in Laos will greet you with “Sabaidee” with both hands together like one is praying. The Thais greet you with “Sawasdee” instead but with the 2 hands together praying motion. Apparently “Sabaidee” in Thai means “I am very well” hahaha… what a way to greet if you take it as Thai language. In Lao it means “Hi/Hello”.

We fly by Lao Airlines although Bangkok Airways do serve BKK-LPQ route as well. As far as I know only these 2 carriers serve this route. Airasia however flys to Vientiane only from Kuala Lumpur but not Luang Prabang.

We were early so we have to wait in the departure hall at Suvarnabhumi (the real Thai pronunciation of this airport’s name is actually “Suvarnabhum”), fortunately they have a few public PCs with internet access (browser only)  in the departure hall for passengers to use.

The flight to Luang Prabang take around an hour but it was not fun at all. Due to the Lao Airlines’ small planes (ATR 72) the whole journey was a mix of giddy, cold sweats and air sick. Anyway, it’s worth to sacrifice a little to get to this UNESCO Heritage Site.

The airport is very small and is close to town of Luang Prabang hence we quickly got ourselves at a restaurant by the Mekong river for lunch. This place is one hell of a nice and relaxing place to have lunch and chill.

Tough time selecting what I want to eat. I actually wanted to try all of it if we have a big group. I would summarize the “national” food of Laos is indeed everything with sticky rice (khao niao in Thai). haha… they have sausage with sticky rice, chicken with sticky rice, vegetables with sticky rice, etc. OK seriously the national dish is “Lap Lao Beef” served with sticky rice. I kinda like it very much. I’ll talk about it later when we get to the topic of Lao food.

While waiting for our food and overlooking Mekong river.

The wind was blowing hard and caused the leaves to fall… edited with a little antique effect. That “Noah’s Ark” ship look-a-like is actually a restaurant & hotel for guests.

After lunch we start visiting temples (Wat in Thai/Lao). This is the famous That Makmo or That Pathum as this stupa resembles a lotus or watermelon.

Next to That Pathum/Makmo is the Wat Visunalat (Wat Visoun). Foreigners are required to pay 10,000 kip to enter.

Kip is the currency of Laos. Thai baht, US dollars, and Kip is interchangeably used in Laos. They normally accept any of it although Kip is the preferred currency. Note that Kip is no longer valuable outside of Laos so budget accordingly on how much you need and spend it all before leaving.

Giant statue of the Buddha inside Wat Visuon.

And many other smaller Buddha statues.

Grab the bamboo can of sticks below the table and start shaking to see your future and luck. The sticks that got out of the can while you shake can be referred to the numbered board with a paper explanation of your future/luck.

We head to the Phousi Luang Prabang (Phousi temple or Mount Phousi). We have to climb up the hill by the steps to get up the hill.

Supposedly an imprint of Buddha’s foot. I asked and couldn’t get confirmed facts.

It looks like a giant foot step to me.

Serpents or “Naga” protects the temple from evil spirits. The story started of when One nāga, in human form, attempted to become a monk; when telling it that such ordination was impossible, the Buddha told it how to ensure that it would be reborn a man, able to become a monk. Monks could only be in the form of human therefore the naga is not allowed to be a monk. He was then allowed to remain outside of the temple to guard buddha and the temple.

Location map of Phousi temple.

Main religion of Laos is Buddhism although they have been practicing animism a long time ago.

Phousi temple has statues representing Buddha in the seven days of the week. Certain events of life of the Buddha are represented by poses or postures of the Buddha.

At the top of the Phousi hill. Manage to get some shots of Luang Prabang town. Since this place is so serene, quiet and calm there is no need for traffic lights at all. Cars are minimal with motorcycles being the bulk of the transportation mode here.

Lao Airlines’ plane landing at Luang Prabang Airport.

No big complexes, no long queues, no frills, no problem. I like the simplicity of the airport. Out of the airport from the plane is less than 15 mins.

Luang Prabang up close.

On our way down from Phousi hill.

Next to Phousi hill exit is the Luang Prabang National Museum. I will talk more about this museum on my next blog post.

Dinner at one of the restaurants next to Mekong river. I like the interior a lot. Oversize chairs, incandescent lights, clay floors and walls and it’s cooling without a need for a fan. The weather in Luang Prabang at that time was around <18^C at night. Just nice.

After dinner we head to the night market at the corner of Sisavangvong Rd. and Kitsarat Rd.

Since Laos was once ruled by the French… you get to see lots of French loaf with a variety of fillings for sale.

I bought one of these shoes for only 20,000 Kip. The lady bowed and prayed to me as I pass her the money as I was her first customer for that night. I pity her. She got a baby in her arms while trying to sell me one of her handmade hand-sewn shoes. When you think you had the worst, think about this.

It was 14-Feb-2010 that day when we arrived and a Cafe here promoting their sushi buffet.

We bought quite a lot of pillow covers below. My aunty just said to me when I asked why we need to buy so many: “Just support them” . Enough said.

I find this ATM special without the usual heavy glass doors. A good camouflage for the machine too.

Some of the food that I shot before I hit the sack at the hotel. Dried seaweed from the Mekong. Looks yummy.

You got no 7-Eleven or whatever-mart here. Get your water and drinks like this.

Duck and quail eggs. These are not fresh and is already cooked. Why not fresh? It’s about to hatch therefore they cooked it and sell. I was told not to try it since we can’t afford to get diarrhea as we have a few days more in Luang Prabang and Vientiene.

Lots of meat to choose from all grilled with their Lao style spices and flavour. Very tempting and yummy.

To be continued… I will talk about the food, market, Pak Ou caves and other places in Luang Prabang…