Cor blimey, hoards of westerners and a vast array of accented English was the biggest impression I got from Luang Prabang. I haven’t seen so many tourists in one place for eons, certainly not on this journey. And of course where the hoards descend the locals flock to take advantage, except Laos isn’t really like that. Without doubt there were plenty of locals offering their services for transport, none were overly pushy though, all accepted a polite no thank you. Touts for guesthouses were very thin on the ground. Even the nightly craft market was a leisurely affair, no hassle off hawkers and no overbearing demands to buy anything. It isn’t exactly a large city, it is very laid back though. Tourists are only really en masse in two streets, the riverside road and the one on which the nightly market is held. Despite the presence of so many, even I could tolerate the tourists. (Photo: Farming newly exposed area of riverbank – Ou Nam, Nr Luang Prabang, Laos)
The night food market was slightly different, it isn’t exclusively tourists there, but few Laoitians sit and eat, they tend to do it take away style. The basis of most stalls is simple, load your plate as full as you can, for about 1€. A table of platters stand before you, typically a choice of 15-20, all vegetarian. If you want meat pick what you want barbequed and that’s another 1€. There’s little need for the meat, but for carnivores it makes for complete satisfaction. Of course the knack is to pile your plate as high as possible, get as much for your money as you can. And of course that’s precisely what I did the first night there, the second I held back a touch more, it was too much for me and I hate wasting food. It gets a bit cramped and the various stalls do a brisk trade and want a quick turnover, hence they’re keen for you to eat up and sod off. So there is little chance to relax over a long cool beer, but they cater well for tourists, there’s always the crafts market and plenty of bars. (Photo: Bamboo raft – Ou Nam, Nr Muang Gnoi, Laos)
I seem to be hitting a good number of festivals on this trip, it was the local Buddhist celebration, which I’m embarrassed to say I never remembered precisely what it was about. I does last a few days though, and culminates in a firework free for all, which was brilliant fun. But first of all is the boat racing, dragon boats that is. None of your namby-pamby western rowing, this is Hawaii five-o style without the outriggers. The crowds were out in force, and for once the locals outnumbered the tourists. The town itself was nigh on deserted, but along that stretch of the Mekong it was chaotic. I must admit though, few seemed to take too much notice of the races themselves, the picnics were out the beer was flowing and life gave way to carnival. Throughout the three days boats could be seen slowly being built, some more than 5m long, all destined to be lit up and floated down the river for the grand finale on the last night. (Photo: Water buffalo– Ou Nam, Nr Muang Khoa, Laos)
Health and safety be damned, it was utter mayhem and everyone had immense fun, well at least the locals and my small group did. Number one priority, forget all about any firework code. Number two, buy plenty of fireworks because they last no time what so ever. Bear in mind that most are small with a very short burn time, they’re also dirt cheap, 30p buys ten mini bangers, or bees. They were being lit and thrown everywhere, into the road, at peoples feet, into the path of cars, literally anywhere. And no, it wasn’t just irresponsible adults it was mainly kids, to the delight of adults close by. I must admit to holding one too long, the explosion tingled a bit but wasn’t enough to hurt or damage. Whilst it did seem utter pandemonium there was some semblance of supervision for the very young, the adults would light the fireworks for them and allow them to sling them into the road. (Photo: Riverside village – Ou Nam, Nr Muang Khoa, Laos)
Many tourists looked less than impressed, but the locals lapped it up. One actually explained that they did keep an eye on their children, they did ensure they weren’t too over the top. The river itself was aglow with thousands of illuminated boats, candles flickering from within crepe paper creations. Garlands of palm fronds and candles floated down, gathering in clumps along the riverbank. How none of the moored boats caught fire was beyond me. In the sky a continuous stream of Chinese lanterns continued to be released for hours, it was an amazing spectacle. Both garlands and lanterns are released for good luck, to make you wishes come true. I didn’t worry about wishes that can never be, simply cackled with laughter as we threw more fireworks, sharing them around between the kids surrounding us. (Photo: Ferry crossing – Ou Nam, Muang Khoa, Laos)
That last night was a great release for me, I’d spent days at my computer chasing publishers and planning the next stage of the trip. I wanted to cross into Myanmar overland, but it’s no longer possible. By land it’s only possible to travel close to the border, the surrounding area is closed to foreigners. It looks like I’ll have to wait until I leave Asia, then I can fly in on my way home. So next will have to be Vietnam, which I should cross into tomorrow. I’ve a month visa and intend to travel north to south. In many ways I’ll miss Lao, but I will be back, of that I’ve no doubt. I’ll miss the monks banging their huge drums, cymbals ringing in the background. Some of their music and chanting is enchanting, sure makes you want to move your feet. It was also a delight to see them letting off their own fireworks within the temple complexes. They’re a bit more devout here than seemed in Tibet, so it was nice to see them let their hair down; well they would have done if they weren’t bald. (Photo: Local temple – Muang Khoa, Laos)
Cor blimey, hoards of westerners and a vast array of accented English was the biggest impression I got from Luang Prabang. I haven’t seen so many tourists in one place for eons, certainly not on this journey. And of course where the hoards descend the locals flock to take advantage, except Laos isn’t really like that. Without doubt there were plenty of locals offering their services for transport, none were overly pushy though, all accepted a polite no thank you. Touts for guesthouses were very thin on the ground. Even the nightly craft market was a leisurely affair, no hassle off hawkers and no overbearing demands to buy anything. It isn’t exactly a large city, it is very laid back though. Tourists are only really en masse in two streets, the riverside road and the one on which the nightly market is held. Despite the presence of so many, even I could tolerate the tourists. (Photo: Farming newly exposed area of riverbank – Ou Nam, Nr Luang Prabang, Laos)
The night food market was slightly different, it isn’t exclusively tourists there, but few Laoitians sit and eat, they tend to do it take away style. The basis of most stalls is simple, load your plate as full as you can, for about 1€. A table of platters stand before you, typically a choice of 15-20, all vegetarian. If you want meat pick what you want barbequed and that’s another 1€. There’s little need for the meat, but for carnivores it makes for complete satisfaction. Of course the knack is to pile your plate as high as possible, get as much for your money as you can. And of course that’s precisely what I did the first night there, the second I held back a touch more, it was too much for me and I hate wasting food. It gets a bit cramped and the various stalls do a brisk trade and want a quick turnover, hence they’re keen for you to eat up and sod off. So there is little chance to relax over a long cool beer, but they cater well for tourists, there’s always the crafts market and plenty of bars. (Photo: Bamboo raft – Ou Nam, Nr Muang Gnoi, Laos)
I seem to be hitting a good number of festivals on this trip, it was the local Buddhist celebration, which I’m embarrassed to say I never remembered precisely what it was about. I does last a few days though, and culminates in a firework free for all, which was brilliant fun. But first of all is the boat racing, dragon boats that is. None of your namby-pamby western rowing, this is Hawaii five-o style without the outriggers. The crowds were out in force, and for once the locals outnumbered the tourists. The town itself was nigh on deserted, but along that stretch of the Mekong it was chaotic. I must admit though, few seemed to take too much notice of the races themselves, the picnics were out the beer was flowing and life gave way to carnival. Throughout the three days boats could be seen slowly being built, some more than 5m long, all destined to be lit up and floated down the river for the grand finale on the last night. (Photo: Water buffalo– Ou Nam, Nr Muang Khoa, Laos)
Health and safety be damned, it was utter mayhem and everyone had immense fun, well at least the locals and my small group did. Number one priority, forget all about any firework code. Number two, buy plenty of fireworks because they last no time what so ever. Bear in mind that most are small with a very short burn time, they’re also dirt cheap, 30p buys ten mini bangers, or bees. They were being lit and thrown everywhere, into the road, at peoples feet, into the path of cars, literally anywhere. And no, it wasn’t just irresponsible adults it was mainly kids, to the delight of adults close by. I must admit to holding one too long, the explosion tingled a bit but wasn’t enough to hurt or damage. Whilst it did seem utter pandemonium there was some semblance of supervision for the very young, the adults would light the fireworks for them and allow them to sling them into the road. (Photo: Riverside village – Ou Nam, Nr Muang Khoa, Laos)
Many tourists looked less than impressed, but the locals lapped it up. One actually explained that they did keep an eye on their children, they did ensure they weren’t too over the top. The river itself was aglow with thousands of illuminated boats, candles flickering from within crepe paper creations. Garlands of palm fronds and candles floated down, gathering in clumps along the riverbank. How none of the moored boats caught fire was beyond me. In the sky a continuous stream of Chinese lanterns continued to be released for hours, it was an amazing spectacle. Both garlands and lanterns are released for good luck, to make you wishes come true. I didn’t worry about wishes that can never be, simply cackled with laughter as we threw more fireworks, sharing them around between the kids surrounding us. (Photo: Ferry crossing – Ou Nam, Muang Khoa, Laos)
That last night was a great release for me, I’d spent days at my computer chasing publishers and planning the next stage of the trip. I wanted to cross into Myanmar overland, but it’s no longer possible. By land it’s only possible to travel close to the border, the surrounding area is closed to foreigners. It looks like I’ll have to wait until I leave Asia, then I can fly in on my way home. So next will have to be Vietnam, which I should cross into tomorrow. I’ve a month visa and intend to travel north to south. In many ways I’ll miss Lao, but I will be back, of that I’ve no doubt. I’ll miss the monks banging their huge drums, cymbals ringing in the background. Some of their music and chanting is enchanting, sure makes you want to move your feet. It was also a delight to see them letting off their own fireworks within the temple complexes. They’re a bit more devout here than seemed in Tibet, so it was nice to see them let their hair down; well they would have done if they weren’t bald. (Photo: Local temple – Muang Khoa, Laos)
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