Luang Prabang: History and Heritage on the Banks of the Mekong

Robynne Tindall, Contributing Editor | Dec 14, 2017 11:30 am | Add a comment | 2131 reads

The UNESCO World Heritage city of Luang Prabang in northern Laos is close enough to Beijing for a long weekend getaway, yet feels a world away. Sitting at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers, the sleepy city is a wonderful blend of gilded Buddhist wats and crumbling colonial architecture. China Eastern offers four flights per week to Luang Prabang from Kunming. If you are traveling during the rainy season, be aware that flights on this route are often canceled due to unpredictable weather, so you may want to consider flying via Bangkok instead.

What to see

The best way to experience what Luang Prabang has to offer is simply to wander the streets of the peninsula where the Nam Khan meets the Mekong, stepping in and out of temples and stopping for a coffee and croissant in one of the many French-influenced cafés. Rise with the sun to catch the alms-giving ceremony, when locals gather and kneel along the street to offer food to the city’s more than 200 resident monks. Visitors are welcome to take part, but the ceremony is a sacred affair so be sure to be respectful – wear modest clothing, keep your distance, and don’t use flash photography. If you want to learn more about Luang Prabang’s history and culture, adventure and eco tour providers Green Discovery offer half and full-day heritage tours in Luang Prabang.

What to eat

Even if you haven’t visited Laos before, many of the signature dishes of Lao cuisine – green papaya salad, larb, sticky rice – will be familiar to fans of the cuisine of neighboring Thailand, as there has been considerable interplay between the two cuisines. Popular dishes local to Luang Prabang include deep-fried river weed with chili sauce, roasted eggplant and chili dip, and or lam, a mildly spicy and bitter stew flavored with a type of peppery local wood bark. To learn more about the flavors and ingredients used in Lao cuisine, take a hands-on cooking class and market tour organized by Tamarind restaurant (approx. USD 35), held in a beautiful garden just outside of the city.

Where to stay

Luang Prabang is crammed with boutique hotels and guest houses, most at the mid- to high-end of the price spectrum. On the Nam Khan side of the peninsula, Burasari Heritage offers well-appointed rooms in charming traditional Lao teakwood houses (the on-site spa is also excellent). Note that if you want a hotel with a swimming pool, you may need to stay slightly outside of the peninsula due to planning restrictions. However, this won’t be a hardship in a hotel like the Luang Say Residence, which has five pavilions spread out among lush gardens, a 15-minute walk from the center of the peninsula.