Legendary Louang Prabang (Part 2): The Essentials of the City

It has been months since my last post, and I realised I haven't even finished telling my story of Louang Prabang. So here it is.

Breakfast at Joma Café

When you arrive at Louang Prabang (LP) by night bus, most probably you couldn't check-in at your hotel immediately unless you have made prior arrangements. Plus, you'll be awfully hungry. For me, the best way to begin your day in LP is indulging your barely awake senses al fresco in one of the French-style cafés around town. Personally, I chose Joma Café, a Canadian chain operating in what is formerly French Indochina.

Once you come to your senses with their delicious coffee, head out to your hotel and enquire if you may check-in early or at least leave your luggage behind. Lucky for me, my hotel allowed guests to leave their luggage.

Freed from the crushing weight of my backpack, my LP tour began. There are literally hundreds of temples in this town, but I'll be sharing only the ones I was able to go to.

The Nam Khan and Suburbs of Louang Prabang viwed from Phousi Hill

Phousi Hill and Wat Pa Phouthabbat

The most prominent topological feature of the town is the Phousi Hill, and for a tourist who wants to first get a bird's eye view of the entire plain he wishes to devour that day, this is the place to go. From the Phousi one can see the two rivers, the Mekong and Nam Khan, the picturesque world heritage site / old city as well as the outlying suburbs.

Half-way to the peak of Phousi, there is a temple called Wat Chomsi, and it is worth a visit also. At the foot of the hill, there is another temple, Wat Pa Phoutthabat which, according to a guide I read for the trip, houses a unique wood carved panel depicting Persian and Europeans explorers. This is a departure from traditional temple wood carvings in Laos whose subjects usually are scenes from the lives of the Buddha, some local legend or some historical events with Lao characters. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to observe this peculiarity because I read the guide only after my visit in Phousi Hill.

A small wat in Phousi Hill.

 

Wat Pa Phoutthabat, the wat at the foot of Phousi Hill.

A closer look on the wodcarvings of the main entrance to the sim.

Supposedly, there is an entrance fee to the hill, but, lady luck struck me again I went up and down with practically no one asking me a fee. Most probably it is because of one or a combination of these factors, (a) I went there very early in the morning (7:45am) when tourists are not yet in sight, (b) I climbed using the back entrance along Kingkitsarath Road, on hindsight I noticed only I was using that entrance that time, and (c) I have typical southeast asian features, which could pass as a local.

Portion of the back entrance of Phousi Hill.

 
Royal Palace and Wat Pha Bang

Descending from Phousi Hill through the main entrance, just across the street is the former Royal Palace, and now museum. It is an impressive mansion housed in a compound which also includes the Wat Pha Bang.

Facade of the Royal Palace at Louang Prabang.

 

East Section of the Royal Palace.

Palace back door.

Western Section of the Royal Palace.

Courtyard view of the Palace.

Interestingly, Wat Pha Bang, houses an image of the Buddha called the "Pha Bang". The image according to legends, is the guardian of Laos, much like the Palladium of Troy. The image had been transferred to Vientiane when the capital was moved there. Twice Vientiane was sacked by invading Siamese forces and at every instance the Pha Bang was brought to Siam only to be returned later because people thought that the image brings good fortune only to Laos and it was a curse to other kingdoms, like Siam.

Wat Pha Bang

Ornate door to the main hall of Wat Pha Bang.

King Sisavang Vong Monument and the Royal Conference Hall in the background.

At the back of the Royal Palace is the Garage of vehicles (both automobiles and carriages) used by the last ruler-Kings of Laos, King Sisavang Vong and King Sisavang Vatthana. This is quite a treat for vintage car lovers, and the attraction is free.

Wat Xieng Thong

This is the most celebrated Wat in Louang Prabang, the main hall was built in 1560 by King Setthathilat. It has a large courtyard with smaller halls or sims dotting the complex.

Main hall of Wat Xieng Thong.

Facade of Wat Xieng Thong.

Detail of panel wood carvings of the sim.

Minor halls in the Wat.

One of the many pavilions dotting the wat.

A stupa also within the wat's compound.

One of the interesting halls in the compound is the Haw Latsalot, or the Funeral Carriage Hall. This contains the carriage which bore the body of King Sisavang Vong to cremation. This was to be the last known royal funeral because his successor King Sisavang Vatthana abdicated the throne during the Pathet Lao revolution, and he died an ignominious death caused by malaria.

The Haw Latsalot or funeral carriage hall.

Front view of the funeral carriage of King Sisavang Vong in Haw Latsalot.

Rear view of the same carriage.

Here ends a treatment of the essential sites of the town, apparently all of these can be found along Sisavang Vong Road. For the tourist pressed for time, walking along Sisavang Vong Road will suffice for what is an introductory promenade of this World Heritage Site.

All photographs found in this post are by the blogger.

Legendary Louang Prabang (Part 1): Bus-ride and Waking-up in a Different Time

Of course, a visit in Laos would not be complete without seeing Louang Prabang, a World Heritage Site. LP has been the seat of power for several centuries of the Northern Lao Kingdom and home to many noble families. Being farther from the Kingdom across the Mekong, LP was able to enjoy less incursions from Siam, compared to Vientiane. Likewise, it has retained a more quaint Lao ethos, thus enjoying the privilege of being a repository to distinctly Lao architecture, weaving, cuisine and many others.

Part of Louang Prabang across the Nam Khan River viewed from Phousi (Sacred Hill)

The Mekong in this part of Laos

Going to LP via Vientiane

Going to LP is as easy as requesting your hotel's front desk for an arrangement, almost every single hotel and guesthouse in Vientiane will have this amenity. I booked a sleeper bus for 200,000 Kip. The fare included the van from the hotel to the Northern Bus Station. If I am not mistaken the real cost of the bus-ride alone is 150,000 to 160,000 Kip. The extra 40,000 to 50,000 Kip goes to the van that picks you up, and as commission to both hotel/guesthouse and the "agent" that handles the arrangements. I didn't mind the difference because the van that picked me up was really good and it was on time, plus, all I really had to do was wait for them to give me my ticket.

The first of the many wats I explored in LP - Wat Pa Phoutthabat

I am a bit on the corpulent side though, and the idea of sharing a bunk in the sleeper bus with another person was beyond my expectation, had I known, I would have insisted on just getting a VIP bus than a sleeper one. From Vientiane to Vang Vieng there were a lot of empty bunks so I just took one. But, at Vang Vieng, the bus took in more passengers, so I ended up having to share the bunk with a Thai tourist. It was a bit uncomfortable, although I only lost a few minutes of sleep because of this discomfort.

A quaint French Colonial-era Mansion along Sisavangvong Road

The bus ride from Vientiane to Louang Prabang is approximately 12-hrs. We left at around 8:40-pm  in Vientiane, and arrived at around 7:50-am in Louang Prabang the next day.

Going to the Town Centre

The bus station is some 5 - 10 minutes away from the town centre of Louang Prabang. In order to get into town, one has to get a songthaew, they will charge you 60,000 Kip, but you can wait for some other passengers and haggle-down the price to 15,000 to 20,000 sharing the cab of course.

Sisavanvong Road, Louang Prabang

Louang Prabang Accommodation

I stayed in the Louang Prabang Legend Hotel. I booked the hotel through Expedia with a whopping 70% discount! Needless to say I had my best bang-for-the-buck experience here. The hotel also is in a very quite neighbourhood but within walking distance to the town centre, which was most suited to my travelling style.

My bed at the Louang Prabang Legend Hotel

La Vie en Vientiane (Part 2): The 5 Must-See Attractions

Wat Sisaket, Laos foremost Royal Temple

One of the things I loved with my hotel is its very central location: the extra money I spent on the accommodation was offset by the fact that I needed not take any tuktuk to the attractions.

For the tourist pressed on time and have only 1 day to spend in Vientiane, the 5 must-see attractions are the following:

1. Wat Sisaket

Brief History / Description:

This Wat was built by King Anouvong in 1818 and was the only temple spared during the Siamese sacking of Vientiane in 1827. This was the country's main political temple, in the sense that, this is where the nation's nobles take their oath of fealty to newly crowned Kings. When the French established the Kingdom as its protectorate, the nobles came here to swear fealty to the colonial government too.

Verandah enclosing Wat Sisaket, something peculiar to this Wat as many other Wats in Laos do not have this.

Thousand Buddhas surrounding the Wat.

Things to See
The "thousand buddhas" on display. The murals inside the "sim" or main hall. The untouched "mondop" or temple library which is beside Lane Xang Ave.

Attraction Fee
Foreigners - 5,000 Kip or approximately  PhP 30
Locals - 2,000 Kip

The Mondop or Library / Archives of Wat Sisaket protruding to Lane Xang Ave. and half way out of the enclosure already.

The Main Hall of Wat Sisaket, this is about as close one can get a photo. Photography is not allowed inside.

Opening Hours
Morning - 8:00 am to 12nn
Afternoon - 1:00pm to 4:00pm


2. Wat Simuang

The main hall or "sim" of Wat Simaung.

Brief History / Description
This Wat was built on a former site of a Khmer temple. The ruins of this ancient temple can still be seen at the back of the "sim". Vientiane's guardian spirit or "naga" is said to reside in the "lak meaung" or the city's stone pillar, gilded in gold and covered in saffron cloth. Legend has it that the place has been consecrated with human sacrifice, a girl which was pregnant at that time.

Things to See
The "lak meaung" or sacred stone pillar of Vientiane housing they city's guardian spirit. The blackened teak ceiling due to the constant burning of candles and/or incense over centuries. The ruins of the ancient Khmer temple. Numerous worshippers doing various devotions.

Remnants of the ancient Khmer site (black mound) enclosed by a shrine.

Attraction Fee
Free

Opening Hours
No official opening hours, as with many Wats in Laos, this could mean from sunrise to sundown.

3. Patouxai

Brief History / Description

Built in the late 1950's to commemorate the heroes of the war by the Royal government. Many see the monument as an analogy to the Arc de Triomphe, as it is in one of the endpoint of Lane Xang Avenue, the main thoroughfare of the city much analogised to the Champs Elysées in Paris. After the revolution, some of the hindu carvings of this monument which was associated to the now defunct Royal government, was chipped-off. There remains still numerous carvings that are very attractive.

Things to See
The carvings, both inside, on the ceiling and outside.

Hindu Iconography remnant of the now defunct Old Royal Government.

Attraction Fee
Supposedly 3,000 Kip.
But I don't know why I was not charged any, it was probably because I didn't bother climbing up or because I looked liked a local.

Opening Hours
8:00 am - 5:00 pm

4. Pa That Luang

Pa That Luang, National symbol of Laos

Brief History / Description
Built on an ancient Khmer site, the present "that" or stupa is already a reconstruction from the 1930's. The original stupa was said to be built by King Setthatilat in the mid-16th century. It was deserted much like the entire city after the Siamese Invasion in 1827-28. Later, around the turn of the 20th century it was reduced to a pile of rubble by Chinese brigands looking for gold.

Things to See
The main golden stupa and 30 minor stupas. Small buddhas housed in the cloisters.

That Luang seen from the parade grounds.

Attraction Fee
Supposedly 5,000 Kip, but I didn't pay any, see explanation below.

Opening Hours
Supposedly 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, except on Mondays and public holidays.
I came on a Sunday trusting this information, but I found the attraction CLOSED. To my mind 23 August is not a Lao public holiday. I am still wondering until now why it was closed.

5. Buddha Park or Wat Xieng Khuan

Brief History / Description

Located some 25-km from the city centre, this park is a relatively recent attraction built in the 1950's by a self-styled holy man Bounleua who merged the Hindu and the Buddhist world views. Bounleua later fled Laos during the revolution and he established a similar attraction right across the Mekong in Thailand. He was said to have gone in seclusion and came out building this concrete sculptures of Hindu and Buddhist icons.

Things to See
The main watermelon-shaped stupa which houses Bounleua's meditation on hell, earth and heaven in sculpture. The many other sculptures scattered throughout the park. The huge reclining buddha statue.

Attraction Fee
5,000 Kip. + 3,000 Kip for cameras.
But, I don't know why I was not asked to pay even if I was bringing a hand-camera.

The watermelon stupa housing the sculpted meditation of Bounleua on hell, earth and heaven.

The entrance to hell.

I already forgot in which place was this, it could either be earth or heaven.

The huge reclining Buddha at the background of other figures of both Hindu and Buddhist iconography.

Opening Hours
Daily 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Getting There
Taxi Service (200,000 - 250,000 Kip) - can be hired from your hotel or guest house.

Hired Tuktuk (150,000 - 200,000 Kip) - that you can hail anywhere in the city.

Commuter Bus (6,000 Kip) - the cheapest, and which is the one I have personal experience of is by commuter bus. Just go to the Central Terminal at the back of Talat Sao or the Morning Market. Then ride the Green Bus no. 14. This bus will pass by the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge but it's ultimate destination is somewhere off Wat Xieng Khuan. Do remember that buses in Laos generally do not have stop-buttons, you have to shout to signal the driver to stop, or, you can tell the driver to stop you at the Buddha Park and then sit near beside him to ensure he remembers you. The locals generally know the Buddha Park as Wat Xieng Khuan, so do remember this name.



To be continued...