Things to do in LUANG PRABANG
Below are a few places we ventured to while in Luang Prabang:
The Royal Palace, Historic District
8am-11:30am & 1:30pm-4pm
30,000LAK per person
Dress Code: Must have covered shoulders and knees. Remove shoes before entering the temple and place them on a shoe rack.
The Royal Palace was built formerly for King Sisavang Vong and his family. After his death in 1959, it was converted to a museum dedicated to preserving and displaying royal items. Built during the French colonial era, the palace's architecture highlights French and Laotian styles and is a statement piece in the heart of Luang Prabang. The palace also offers a garden area and a car collection, all included in your ticket price.
Wat Xieng Thong - Temple, Historic District
8am-5pm
20,000LAK per person
Dress Code: Must have covered shoulders and knees. Remove shoes before entering the temple and place them on a shoe rack.
Wat Xieng Thong is Luang Prabang’s largest temple complex and one of the most important of Lao monasteries. Primarily used for coronations and annual festivals, it is now a tourist hotspot with over twenty structures decorated with elaborate mosaic patterns and wall carvings. It is a no-brainer why this complex is so popular. Among the structures, you will come across the Red Chapel, which houses a reclining Buddha, several one-person shrines and a home to preserve the funeral carriage of King Sisavang Vong.
The Pak Ou Caves, Pak Ou
8am-5pm
20,000LAK per person
The Pak Ou Caves is a religious site for locals, filled with over 4000 Buddha statues of all shapes and sizes. The cave has two openings: an upper and a lower cave. Climbing around 200 steps, you will reach a gate that takes you into a dark but spacious cave. This cave is tranquil and meditative. However, my personal favourite is the lower cave. Although smaller, less peaceful and more crowded, the lower cave has light seeping into the limestone cave, adding a little more atmosphere.
Kuang Si Waterfalls, Ban Long
8am-5pm
20,000LAK per person
Kuang Si Waterfalls are several cascading falls of pure turquoise water surrounded by jungle. Starting at the bottom, you will take one of the easiest walks up a waterfall, where the views progressively improve. There is one central viewing platform, and if I remember correctly, there are three swimming areas. Be aware that the water will be cold if you visit during December.
Saa Paper Handcraft Shop, Xangkhong Village
8am-6:30pm
Saa Paper Handcraft Shop is, as it sounds, a shop selling paintings, bookmarks, notebooks and small nik naks, all from their own crafted paper. The best part is the tour of how the paper is made. Taken through the process of what materials are needed step by step and seeing it in the making was an unexpected add-on.
Wat Sensoukharam - Temple, Historic District
6am-Sunrise 6pm
Dress Code: Must have covered shoulders and knees. Remove shoes before entering the temple and place them on a shoe rack.
Wat Sensoukharam is an impressive monastery distinct for its red exterior and golden embellishments. Even though we could not venture inside, we could still admire the stunning architecture of the temple. Luckily, when we visited, we could easily explore the complex as we were the only two in sight. This meant we had no issues seeing the complex in all its glory.
SUGGESTIONS
If you have spare time and are wanting to do more, below are a couple more activities to do in Luang Prabang:
Tat Sae Waterfalls, En
8am-5:30pm
20,000LAK per person
Tat Sae Waterfalls, north of Luang Prabang, is an alternative to Kuang Si Waterfalls. This fall has similar cascading turquoise water and jungle surroundings, and to get to Tat Sae, you can easily find a tuk-tuk to take you there.
The View of The Royal Palace from Wat PaHuak
Alms Giving Ceremony, Historic District
Sunrise 5:00am/5:30am-7:00am
Dress Code: Must have covered shoulders and knees. Remove shoes before entering the temple and place them on a shoe rack.
Alms Giving Ceremony is providing food to support monks and novices in their practice of Buddhism and in return they will pray for you. On arrival to the ceremony area, the custom is to buy a food offering from a local stall to donate to one or several monks. Monks will come and go and to be included in this, you will have to wait patiently knelt on one of the many mats placed on the floor. Once a monk has acknowledged you, you are allowed to stand up and place your food offering into their silver bowl. But you MUST NOT touch the sides of the bowl when emptying the food into it. Kneeling back down, pour water slowly from a small jug provided into a small bowl, also provided, whilst they chant their prayer.
The ceremony is conducted by locals on a daily basis and as a tourist who is visiting this ceremony, you should either fully immerse yourself or take a step back and watch from the sidelines. Either way, you should be respectful of this religious practice.
Lao Pottery House, Ban Thon
8am-5pm
$12 or $39, depending on the workshop
Lao Pottery House is a company situated in the town next door to Luang Prabang that provides half-day workshops and 1-hour pottery classes. The village is renowned for its pottery making, which is what the family-run business hopes to preserve. Be aware that to get to this town, you will either need to book the half-day workshop that includes transport or rent a bicycle and take the ferry.
Mount Phousi, Historic District
6am-Sunset 6pm
20,000LAK per person
Mount Phousi, translating to ‘sacred hill/mountain’, is one of the best views of Luang Prabang. Climbing 300 steps to the top, you will find a 360 panoramic view of the town, including scenes of the river, jungle and mountains. On the climb up, you will come across a few Buddha images, a small temple and a golden pagoda, so if you want to visit them, remember to pack clothes to cover up. Also, you can stop off at the bottom of the hill to see a dishevelled temple, Wat PaHuak. Despite its lack of love, it is still an exciting find.
One of Wat Xiang Thong's Structures
Accommodation in VANG VIENG
Below are two accommodations we stayed in when visiting Luang Prabang:
Apple Guesthouse 1, Historic District - GOOD
Pros:
- Amazing host
- Great location
Cons:
- Darkroom
- Dated decor
= £23.12 per night
Ban Suan, East Luang Prabang – GREAT/BEST
Pros:
- Big space
- Living amongst locals
Cons:
- No central air-con
- Further away from the main centre
= £25.78 per night
For 1 night of our stay in Luang Prabang, we had a room booked for Singharat Guesthouse. On arrival, they told us that they unfortunately were fully booked – not sure how that happens – but they had another guesthouse close to the night market we could stay in. After some deliberating from the reception, a room was given. What looked okay on the surface quickly became a room that was a disappointment. The shower was broken, the lights were broken, and cockroaches were roaming the room. So, if you book to stay in Singharat Guesthouse, say no to their second place, Golden Lotus Place.
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