The quiet road leading up to our hotel was lined with French colonial architecture intermingled with traditional Lao wooden houses on one side and a slow-moving, palm tree-fringed river on the other. Just like my gut feeling when we first arrived in Thailand last year, I knew we were going to have a great few days in this charming town.
Luang Prabang lies at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers in Northern Laos and is surrounded by lush, green mountains. The old town between the two rivers is just a few blocks wide filled with numerous little cafes and restaurants, many of which sit right alongside one of the rivers offering gorgeous views. A calm vibe envelopes the city, probably led by the fact that there are over 30 Buddhist temples. On almost every block, visitors can catch a glimpse of golden Buddha statues, sparkling pagodas, ancient stupas, and monks going about their daily rituals, such as alms collecting and ceremonial drumming. After spending most of our time in larger, bustling Southeast Asian cities like Bangkok, Hanoi, and Chiang Mai, Luang Prabang was a wonderful change of pace.
Laos lies in the middle of three countries that we made it to last year – Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia, and we found it quite fascinating to see the blending of all three cultures here. Ladies carried their goods for sale through the streets, just like in Vietnam, with the traditional bamboo shoulder pole, and chickens owned the city streets just like in bustling Hanoi.
I have yet to see a chicken in the streets of Chiang Mai after more than two months of living there.
Tuk-tuks are a popular mode of transportation similar to Thailand and Cambodia. The temple designers took inspiration from Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Look closely at the wooden pillars in the temple windows…they mirror the stone pillars at Angkor Wat.
Of course, cuisine is one of the areas where the mixing of cultures is most apparent.
Laotian Cuisine
Cuisine is of utmost importance to the Lovgrens, so Laos quickly won us over with amazing food that rivaled our beloved Thai cuisine. There were a couple traditional dishes that we weren’t fans of, such as the o-lam stew, so Thailand still gets the win. However, hands down, when it comes to meat on a stick, Laos wins!! Pork skewers, spicy sausages, juicy all-white meat chicken breasts grilled to perfection.
And yes, finding all-white meat is a novelty at Asian street food stands. Remember this “chicken on a stick” fail from Cambodia?!!?
Yeah, poor Cambodia, just can’t compare to their neighbors in the street food category.
Our favorite of all the meat-on-a-stick in Laos was a yellow curry lemongrass chicken. Oh my…tender, juicy, bursting with flavor!
Of course, there is much more to Laotian cuisine than grilled meats. Just like in Thailand, the curries are phenomenal – green, red, yellow – we had them all. This unique curry was a lychee and pork red curry.
Rice noodle dishes, similar to Vietnamese cuisine, add diversity to the menu. I enjoyed a chicken rice noodle soup a couple mornings on our hotel porch as it is a typical Laotian/Vietnamese breakfast. I was pumped to find at the local morning market one of my favorite foods from Vietnam, banh cuon, as well as one of the few foods that impressed me in Cambodia, coconut sticky rice grilled inside bamboo. In Cambodia where it is called Kralan, the mixture also contained red beans and shredded coconut, which added a unique texture and flavor. Cambodia actually did this one better!
A traditional Laos dish that we really enjoyed was larb (or laab). Larb is a minced meat salad, usually made with chicken, pork, or beef and seasoned with fish sauce, lime juice, and herbs. Northern Thailand has their own variation of larb but different seasonings are used, such as cumin, cloves, and cinnamon instead of lime and fish sauce. They are definitely unique dishes.
At a restaurant named Khaiphaen, we had a chicken and mint larb with roasted squash, chili, and lime. For dessert, we enjoyed a pandan and coconut panna cotta with mango, crispy rice, and chili syrup.
Pandan is an herbaceous tropical plant that is popular for use in many desserts and gives them a natural bright green color. Often considered the “vanilla” of Southeast Asia, the mildly sweet flavor and soft aroma can be hard to describe. We highly recommend the creative local cuisine at Khaiphaen, not only because their food is delicious, but because they are a teaching restaurant for marginalized youth.
Our most daring food adventure took place at the night market. Every evening, the main street is closed to traffic, and vendors set up tents to sell their handmade goods in the glow of the Buddhist temples.
One tiny alleyway off this main road is lined with grills and food stands, and we were told that trying the food here is a must-do while in Luang Prabang. The narrow lane gets packed with people pushing around, shoulder-to-shoulder. As we made our way through, the smell of all the grilled meats was heavenly, and then we spotted the famous all-you-can-eat buffet for the equivalent of only $2 that many travel bloggers rave about.
After 20 months of traveling the world, we have sampled a lot of street food, so we let our guard down for a moment before realizing that this was a risky choice. As I started filling up my plate, the European backpacker dude next to me coughed while leaning over the food to serve himself. Then, a little, old Chinese woman decided to use the serving chopsticks to start taste-testing items on the buffet. There was a constant swarm of people hovering over the stand and pushing to get through. For a moment, my germ-a-phobe nature and good sense made me want to return my plate and run. But, hey, we had made it 20 months without either of us getting food poisoning or any terrible illness, so I decided to stick it out and roll the dice. Was this going to be the meal that finally takes us down?!?!
But, just look at those delicious, heaping bowls of cheap food!
Luckily for us, we both made it through without even an uneasy stomach gurgle. Taco Bell gives me more problems.
The highlight of our Laotian cuisine experience was at a restaurant called Tamarind where we opted for their tasting menu. The sampler platter included three popular Lao snack foods – fried sesame Mekong River weed, Lao beef jerky (sin savanh), and a spicy sausage.
All three were winners, but I was most surprised by how much I enjoyed the famous river weed. The highlights of the main course were deep-fried chicken-stuffed lemongrass and herbed fish steamed in a banana leaf.
Of course, just like in Thailand, a sweet, coconut sticky rice is the most popular dessert. But, in Laos, they tend to serve it with a variety of fruit and coconut cookies instead of just mango.
River Experiences
The Mekong and Nam Khan rivers make an idyllic backdrop for this quaint, relaxed city. Many of our delicious meals were enhanced with beautiful views of one of the rivers. A restaurant called View Khem Khong served us the best green curry beef we have had anywhere as well as a spicy pork larb with a great view of the Mekong River.
Our dinner at Tamarind was on the Nam Khan river, and from there, you can see a bamboo bridge lit up over the river. The water level is only low enough during the dry season, so the bridge has to be rebuilt every year. There is nothing quite like walking over a rickety bamboo bridge that literally bends with every step, especially under Jimmy who I watched with a careful eye walking in front of me.
On the other side, we enjoyed drinks at a fancy bar/restaurant with plush pillow seating overlooking the bridge and the river below.
A cruise on the Mekong in a traditional boat is a must while visiting the city. Instead of paying for one of the expensive tourist drinking cruises, we bought our own dollar drinks and then negotiated with a local for a cheap, private cruise up the river.
The two rivers and the beautiful Buddhist temples make the compact city an absolute joy to wander around. A lovely park with benches to relax on and enjoy the scenery is at the edge of town where the two rivers meet.
Buddhist Temples
With over 30 temples in Luang Prabang, a person could spend days trying to see them all. However, three stand out above the rest that are worth a mention. Wat Xieng Thong, built in the 16th century, is one of the oldest temples in Luang Prabang and considered a superb example of Laos temple architecture and traditional art. The main hall features a two-tiered, low-sweeping roof, a glass mosaic of the tree of life on the rear, and gold-on-black stencils depicting stories from Buddhist cosmology.
A rare reclining Buddha from the 16th century is housed in the Red Chapel, which is also decorated with ornate glass mosaics.
Wat Visounnarath is Luang Prabang’s oldest temple, originally built in 1512. The stupa is often called the watermelon stupa because of the shape of the dome. Four lotus flowers can be seen on each of its corners.
Lastly, every city seems to have a hill to climb to see a view or a sunset, and Luang Prabang is no different. Although most of the city is flat, a fairly large hill called Mount Phousi rises up in the center with a golden stupa at the top. On the walk up, visitors encounter numerous Buddha images hidden amongst the trees and rock walls.
The reward at the top is a beautiful view over the Nam Khan on one side and, if timed correctly, a sunset over the Mekong on the other side.
Waterfalls and Turquoise Pools
A trip to Luang Prabang would not be complete without a visit to Kuang Si Waterfall about an hour outside of town. The multi-tiered, travertine waterfall has numerous turquoise blue pools surrounded by lush greenery.
The setting is absolutely stunning, and there was something about the turquoise pools and terraces amidst the verdant jungle that just screamed “This is Laos” to me. Being able to play underneath the waterfall was an added bonus.
Granted, this time of year it is FREEZING, so a dip on a hot day in cool water would have been a bit nicer than a dip on a cool day in ice-cold water. But, another bucket list item completed…swimming underneath a waterfall in the Laos jungle. Check.
Oh, and a sunset over the Mekong while sipping cocktails. Check.
And crossing over a bamboo bridge. Check.
And eating ridiculously good food. Check.
Luang Prabang is a perfect location to unwind, eat amazing cuisine, and soak in the gorgeous scenery.
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