Lovely Luang Prabang
July 1st, 2006
We left Chiang Mae June 25, 2006, and took a short flight to Luang Prabang, Laos, a small city (22,000 residents) located at the junction of the Mekong and the Nam Khan rivers. Luang Prabang served as the capitol of an independent kingdom for many years and later served as the royal residence when the kingdom became a protectorate of France. The communists moved the capital to Vientiene. Off the beaten path and undeveloped, the city has lost none of its charm. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and my favorite city of the cities I’ve seen in SE Asia.
We stayed at the Villa Santi hotel, a former royal mansion with quiet courtyards and tastefully decorated rooms. The two-story hotel opened in 1992, expanded two years later, and was renovated in 2001. It is owned by a Lao businessman, who married a member of the former royal family. The Villa Santi has just 25 rooms and is more than a century old.
The Villa Sant1 lacks some of the conveniences of larger hotels in newer buildings. It doesn’t have a gym, a business center, or a pool. (The same company operates a larger resort and spa with more amenities.) The guest rooms are air-conditioned but do not have TV sets. The beds are covered with mosquito netting. The water did not drain in our bathtub. Rooms are expensive, starting at $150 per night to $250 per night. They are well worth it, though, if you can afford it. In my opinion, the Villa Santi is the nicest hotel we’ve used — and we’ve used some excellent hotels — in SE Asia. See www.villasantihotel.com for more.
We attended a welcome ceremony at the Villa Santa at the end of our first day in Luang Prabang. Local people danced for us, shared their sake, and tied strings around our wrists for good luck.
Luang Prabong’s commercial district is located on a narrow peninsula with the Mekong River on one side and the Nam Khan river on the other. Sisavangvong Road is dotted with craft shops, Internet cafes, and restaurants serving tourists. Some of the stores are quite expensive, but you can often find the same goods in the market for much less money. Luang Prabong’s craft market is open each night from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., which allows market workers to do other things during the day.
We visited the National Museum, a former Royal Palace, which has been preserved by the communists. The Palace was built in 1904 and is filled with interesting objects including a famous painting of the last monarch, King Sisavangvong The portrait features the king’s roving eyes —and a roving foot! (Both seem to follow you as you move around the room.) The walls of the throne room are covered with fantastic glass mosaics installed in the 1960s. The museum’s most famous piece — a small Buddha statue — is just a copy. The original, standing 33 inches high and made of 80% gold, is kept in a safe.
After visiting the National Museum, we took a bus ride to another temple on another hill up another —
328 steps — long set of stairs. The walk to the Wat Pha That Chomsi was tiring. However, it’s worth the climb.
STARTING ON UP….
HALFWAY THERE…
MADE IT!
Luang Prabang’s most famous temple is the Wat Xieng Thong, the Temple of the Golden City, located near the junction of the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers. The walls inside the “Red Chapel” are illustrated with black and gold stenciled designs. The exterior walls are decorated with beautiful mosaics. The mosaics were created in 1957 to commemorate the 2500th anniversary of Buddha’s birth. (You’ll find similar mosaics in the Throne Room of the National Museum.) The rear gable is decorated with a mosaic illustrating the three of life.)
INTERIOR
EXTERIOR
The king’s funeral pavilion is located near the chapel. The pavilion houses the king’s funerary carriage, a barge-like vehicle equipped with rubber tires. It was built in 1962 to carry the body of the dead king to the crematory. It is a fantastic looking thing, housed in a tall building with a too-small front door. (The front wall of the building is made of huge wooden panels. Workers must dismantle the entire wall to move the carriage out the building.) The carriage was never used and — barring a restoration of the monarchy — never will be.
Entry Filed under: Freeman Fellowship
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