by Michael Buckley

Originally published in Going Places - Malaysia Airlines inflight magazine in 1998. Copyright 1998 by Michael Buckley, reprint by special permission.

If you’re up at the crack of dawn, you can catch the town’s most extraordinary sight. Scores of saffron-robed monks file out of the monasteries and make their way barefoot through the streets, bearing gold-topped wooden alms bowls. Along the route, locals wait to present sticky rice and other food to the monks--thereby earning merit by performing this good deed. Theravadan Buddhism dictates that women cannot stand higher than monks, so women kneel on bamboo mats to present food, while local men stand; as a mark of respect, women wear a traditional shawl, while men drape one shoulder with a white scarf. A long line of monks creates a swirl of orange, accentuated by the soft morning light; the scene is framed by russet monastery roofs, tall palm trees, and whitewashed colonial housing. Within an hour, the monks complete their rounds, and melt back into the monasteries-and the streets become quite ordinary again. 

Although this ritual can be seen in numerous parts of Southeast Asia, it’s particularly striking in Luang Prabang because of the density of temples and the concentration of monks. Out of a population of 15,000 residents, there  are over 500 monks in this former royal capital of Laos. The oldest part of the city is where royalty and nobility once resided--patrons of temple building in centuries past.

In December 1995, the entire town of Luang Prabang was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, ranking it alongside architectural treasures like Angkor Wat or the Taj Mahal. The UNESCO report identified 33 temples and 111 historic Lao-French buildings for specific restoration, citing Luang Prabang as the best-preserved traditional town in Southeast Asia--a kind of outdoor museum. Luang Prabang’s natural and cultural beauty are well-preserved because of the town’s isolation--although it flourished as a trading outpost among the peoples of upper Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, southern China and Burma, there was little contact with non-Asian countries until the French arrived in the mid-19th century.

Luang Prabang is jewel-like: tiny and compact. The "setting" is what gives it a jewel-like aura: the town is encircled by peaks and rivers, and camouflaged by palm trees and dense tropical foliage. From a distance, only golden-spired stupas can be seen--flashes of gold among the greenery. The town is sited on a peninsula at the strategic junction of the Mekong and Khan rivers--originally, ramparts to the south and west sealed off the land approaches. At the heart of Luang Prabang is Mount Phousi, a 150-meter-high rocky outcrop with forested slopes, dotted with sacred shrines and stupas.

Because of its diminutive size, Luang Prabang is easily explored on foot, by bicycle, or by boat. "You don’t need a key," says the hotel receptionist, dismissing my inquiry about a bicycle lock. "There are no thieves here." And so I ride off- lockless- through the streets, being greeted with a chorus of "sabaidee" (hello) from other cyclists. Life moves at bicycle pace here: there’s no particular rush--even the motorcyclists putter along at a gentle speed. A woman cycles past me with her baby in the front basket; another cycles along holding a parasol to ward off the mid-day sun. Traffic is light--the only time the roads get busy is when schools let out for lunch, and students on bicycles throng the streets. Otherwise, the area around markets is brisk, with motorcycle hybrid vehicles delivering or loading goods. And it is true that few locals bother to lock their bicycles--even at the markets.

Down by the Mekong, I stop at a wooden structure perched over a hillside--a restaurant where you can take in Mekong waterlife. The waiter serves some som tam (spicy papaya salad), and then sits down to practice his English. And so the town works its charm: for reasons of war, politics and physical isolation, Luang Prabang has preserved an older, slower, more traditional way of life--old Asia, Asia without the crowds, Asia without the traffic.

The final destination of the day’s cycling is the monastery of Wat Xieng Thong, a temple I have visited before--but one that merits many visits. Right now the sky is clear and the sun is close to setting--and that’s when the temple is bathed in a gorgeous light. Wat Xieng Thong is a feast for the eyes and the soul: the stuff of Oriental fairytales. The grounds provide a tranquil harmony of elements--gardens of bougainvillea, frangipani and hibiscus, shaded by banyan and palm trees. The main temple is pure Luang Prabang style, with graceful low-sweeping roofs of glazed tiles. The rear of the temple is encrusted with colored glass pieces in a red background, depicting a bodhi tree; inside, gold-stenciled wooden pillars support a ceiling decorated with dharma wheels. In the Wat Xieng Thong compound are several striking chapels--one housing a rare bronze reclining Buddha; another sheltering a 12-meter-high gilded wooden funeral chariot. The exterior of this building features wooden panels of Ramayana figures, sculpted by master artisan Thit Tanh. The setting sun brings the dazzling gold-leaf-overlaid figures to life--they practically glow.

Temples date back to the 16th century in Luang Prabang--there are more than 30 wats scattered around the town (there used to be double that number).  Temples were the center of the Lao universe, and until the French arrived, were the only structures allowed to be constructed of brick. The wats are treasure-troves of mural-painting and sculpture: the best-preserved and most lavish are the temples lying on the peninsula between Wat Xieng Thong and the Royal Palace. These wats were formerly associated with royalty; the villas and residences of the royal Lao family were also located along this strip. Next to the palace is Wat Mai, inaugurated in the 18th century: the exterior walls of the main temple bear magnificent gold stucco bas-reliefs recounting the legend of Pavet, the last incarnation of the historic Buddha, amid a profusion of village scenes. Wat Pak Khan, known as the Dutch pagoda, features carved doors showing Dutch traders who visited in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Luang Prabang’s temples are being painstakingly restored under World Heritage Site plans--with particular attention to artwork damaged by monsoon rains and tropical humidity. A new traditional-style pavilion has been constructed on the Palace grounds to house Pra Bang, the standing Buddha image that gives Luang Prabang its name. The 83-cm-high statue, reckoned to be 90 percent gold, was reputedly made in the first century AD, and is a source of spiritual protection for Laos.

By the early 19th century, Laos was effectively under the control of the Siamese, who later ceded the territory to the French, with the most significant treaties negotiated between 1893 and 1907. The Lao king was reduced to a figurehead: real power was held by the French. The French built little infrastructure in Laos--the place was regarded as the land of the lotus-eaters, where an indolent lifestyle prevailed. It was too mountainous for plantations, there was little in the way of mining, and the Mekong was not suitable for commercial navigation. Some half-hearted attempts were made to cultivate rubber and coffee, but the main export under the French was opium. Only a few hundred French resided in Laos: they mostly left the running of the place to Vietnamese civil servants. The king was allowed to remain in Luang Prabang, and the Lao carried on farming as they had for hundreds of years.

The French finally got into gear--from 1907 to 1925 there was a spate of colonial building in Luang Prabang. The French administration used styles developed in Vietnam, but instead of simply transplanting European architecture, adapted designs better suited to the climate--wooden houses with internal corridors to provide cool air circulation. There are temple-inspired styles, such as a headmaster’s house--a remarkable blend of Lao-French architecture. Not so inspiring are the French public buildings--the former customs building, post and telegraph office, school, hospital, and gendarmerie. To build these, the French imported Vietnamese laborers who established their own quarter at the south side of the peninsula, constructing two-storey Chinese shophouses to live in.

The most peculiar hybrid structure in Luang Prabang is the former Royal Palace, now a museum. The palace was constructed from 1904 to 1909, and although intended for occupation by Lao King Sisavang Vong, the building was commissioned by the French colonial administration, which explains the mix of French and Lao architecture. The effect was intentional--to cement the relationship. At the front entrance, high up on the front of the building is a crest of Erawan, the three-headed elephant, symbolizing the three kingdoms of Laos. The pillars below bear French fleur-de-lys emblems; you sweep up stairs made of Italian marble; inside are French mirrors and Czech chandeliers alongside traditional Lao lacquered and gilded furniture.

The last room on the Royal Palace tour features oil portraits of the last king, Sisavang Vatthana, and the queen and crown prince, who gaze down from the walls, looking somber and dignified. The monarchy endured until 1975, when it was banished under the incoming Pathet Lao government. The 1970s and 1980s were a period of austerity in Laos; in the 1990s, however, royal style has been revived in Luang Prabang in the interests of tourism, Buddhism has been re-adopted as the national religion, and traditional festivals have been revived. The biggest and most important festival is Pimai (Lao New Year) which used to feature parading royal elephants, draped in ceremonial blankets: an ear of each elephant was lifted up and a sermon was whispered into it before the elephants took part in the procession. Today there are no longer any royal elephants: Pimai kicks off with the crowning of Miss New Year, who is paraded through the town on a float; the following days see the ceremonial washing of Buddha statues, construction of small sand stupas in wats (as symbolic requests for prosperity in the coming year), processions of monks, folksinging, fairgrounds--four days of fun and festivities.

In terms of preserving tradition, the inscription of Luang Prabang on the World Heritage List in 1995 could not have been more timely. With new roads snaking in from Vientiane and from the Chinese border, and a new airport, tiny Luang Prabang was about to experience rapid expansion and transformation--not entirely positive. Now the town’s character has been preserved--and its future assured--with new zoning laws restricting advertising billboards and decreeing that no out-of-character buildings or concrete eyesores can be constructed. That means no plague of photo-finishing shops or fast-food outlets. Power and telephone lines have to be buried. Under the UNESCO plan, there are three zones for preservation: the old quarter, a peripheral building zone, and natural zones along the Mekong River banks. A real conundrum is how to maintain Luang Prabang as a World Heritage Site and yet accommodate the greater number of tourists that designation will attract. So far, Luang Prabang authorities are handling increased tourism well: the plan is not to build new hotels--rather to modify existing mansions for use as hotels.

The innovator here is the Santi family. In 1992, Lao princess Kampha and her husband Santi Inthavong renovated an old French colonial mansion, turning it into a stylish 11-room hotel called Villa Santi. Lao antiques provide interior decor; on the upper floor is a restaurant serving tasty Lao dishes; at the back is a garden where performances of classical dance are sometimes staged. This style of hotel proved so popular that the Santis built a larger wing in classic Lao style. Down by the Mekong is another renovated French mansion: on the wall is a picture of the original owner, Monsieur Doree, taken in 1904--Doree was a French trader who married a Lao woman and stayed on in Luang Prabang. In 1996, the mansion was openedafter beautiful restoration in a Canadian-Lao joint-venture, which explains why it is called the Auberge Calao. The Auberge Calao has only five guest rooms, which is very much part of the plan in Luang Prabang’s old quarter: in this zone, the only new hotels that can operate must have fewer than 15 rooms. This has lead to the opening family-run guesthouses such as Vanvisa, a French-style dwelling, and Paphay, a Lao timber house.

Outside the fully-protected zone, larger hotels can be constructed, subject to design approval. An eye-catching design has been utilized at Mouang Luang Hotel, completed in 1996. The hotel draws its inspiration from Luang Prabang temples, with layered sweeping roofs on the outside, and on the inside, royal-style teak furniture with handwoven silk upholstery, and traditional woodcarved panels on the walls--all made by local artisans. Staff dress in traditional Lao costumes, and the restaurant serves Luang Prabang specialties on its varied menu. Director Amphone Nolintha says she wants guests in this 35-room hotel to experience the richness of the town’s art and traditions. Luang Prabang’s World Heritage status is doing a lot more than preserving the town: it is helping preserve a way of life by boosting pride in traditional ways and culture.

EXPLORING BY BOAT

Luang Prabang is a riverine town: the first French explorers arrived here by boat. You can still experience that intimate feeling of discovery by taking day or overnight trips from Luang Prabang. A popular day trip is an excursion by covered wooden longboat along the Mekong River to Pak Ou Grottoes. The river runs wide here, cutting a swath through jungle-clad banks and limestone gorges. En route you can stop at small villages--Ban Sang Hae is engaged in the production of moonshine whiskey, made from glutinous rice. Pak Ou Grottoes are about 25 kilometers upstream from Luang Prabang: the grottoes are sacred caves tucked into limestone cliffs, filled with hundreds of gilded and wooden Buddha statues. The caves were once occupied, creating a unique place for monks and hermits to dwell and worship. The king of Laos used to visit once a year; today, at Lao New Year, hundreds of pilgrims wend their way out from Luang Prabang in a candlelit procession.

Pak Ou means "mouth of the Ou River". After a picnic at the grottoes, you can detour up the Nam Ou tributary--a great ride, as the banks here are much closer than on the Mekong, and the limestone cliffs are more dramatic.  Depending on the season and water levels, a wooden craft can venture right up the Nam Ou to Phong Saly Province. Because of poor road infrastructure, a lot of trade proceeds by boat in this direction, so you see cargo boats negotiating sandbars and minor rapids, and many villages en route. An excellent destination or stopping point up the Nam Ou is the village of Muang Ngoy, with an entrancing setting enclosed by lofty karst peaks.

Bionote: Michael Buckley is the author of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos Handbook (Moon Publications, USA, 1998). With 730 pages and 116 maps, this is the most comprehensive guide to Indochina available.