vacilando | hungary

Sound of Laos

"Come on, let's dance.
Come on, we're close.
Come on and on, let's make a toast.

The sound of Laos is for songs and chants.
The sound of Laos is hometown on my mind.
When the reed pipe is played, familiar sounds will flow over the land" ~Thinlamphone

Feeling much like a hidden gem that is waiting to be explored, Laos has natural beauty like none other! Tucked away in wilderness are waterfalls flowing from the mountains onto limestone rocks, creating the perfect swimming hubs. These out of the world unfathomable heavenly cascades on planet earth have to be experienced to truly believe the kind of beauty that pachamama has created! Added to the picturesque landscapes are charming historic towns that continue to come alive with contemporary flavors bringing together the old & new, exquisite food, sporty adventures, the far & widespread Mekong river that meanders running its course across borders topped up with some of the most beautiful sunsets!

$1000 per person

10

days

27/10/24-05/11/24

Stay

Luang Prabang

Stay at an airbnb, facing Mekong River
Rating: 4 out of 5

Moving around Laos

Use the Bullet train, the Chinese government has invested heavily in Laos and the train starts in the capital city Vientiane, connecting all the main towns in Laos and culminates in Kunming, China.

Moving around within towns

inDrive app: works the best with a bidding option
kokok app: for tuktuks & cabs

Food Much

Luang Prabang

Le Banneton for Breakfast and Croissants

Vientiene

Hop Chai Deu: Worth trying the steamed fish in banana leaf, mushrooms in oyster sauce & tenderloin beef with their famous khao niaow aka sticky rice
Kua Lao: Grills and pastes that incudes the sour bamboo while enjoying traditional Laotian performances
Le Trio Cafe for Coffee
La terrasse for Brunch and Croissants

Vang Vieng

Kiwi Kitchen: Great brunch
Happy Mango Thai restaurant: Delicious thai food with mango everything (rice, smoothie, dessert), highly recommend.

Food Deliveries

Food panda

Currency

Kip
Thai baht and yuan also accepted

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Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang remains the heartbeat of Laos. A historic city embedded amidst the mountains and rivers is truly a traveler’s paradise. Surrounded by a confluence of the Mekong & Nam Khan river, visit this exquisite town to experience serenity & mesmerizing beauty while immersing yourself in Laotian food, culture & history!

What’s the best way to get to Luang Prabang?

Take the bullet train from Vientiene to Luang Prabang (2 hours). We booked them online using Baolau. Once you reach Luang Prabang station, there are shared minivans that drop you to your hotel / airbnb for 40000 kip per person ($2).

What's the best way to get around Luang Prabang & beyond?

Hire a scooter which ranges between 150000-180000 kip ($6-8) depending on the number of days. We insisted on giving a $100 deposit instead of leaving our original passports or $300 deposits which was the initial ask. It's never a good idea to submit your passport.

Our airbnb also provided a cycle, which is great for travel within town.

4 days in Luang Prabang are ideal

~10 things to explore:

1.) Wat Xiengthong

Entrance to Wat Xien Thong - 30000 kip ($1.5). There is a dress code which requires knees to be covered for both men & women. Alternatively, the Wat provides a traditional skirt for 10000 kip (50 cents). Aim to visit early morning before the sun becomes too hot & people become too many.

Built in 1560 by King Setthatirath, Wat Xiengthong is the most known monastery in Luang Prabang. Historically, it was used for royal coronation ceremonies until the Laotian monarchy was dissolved in 1975. With beautiful carvings and mosaics that were brought from Japan, stories and folklore span across the monastery including Prabang Buddha’s journey to Laos, as well as livelihoods from the days of yore! Walk towards the rear of the temple to find the tree of life mosaic, which holds deep significance in Buddhism as it depicts the tree where Buddha gained enlightenment as well as being the source of life that connects all life in harmony and balance.

2.) National Museum

Entrance: 60000 kip ($3). There is a dress code which requires knees to be covered for both men & women. Alternatively, the Wat provides a traditional skirt for 10000 kip (50 cents).

A must-visit, the national museum houses the Prabang Buddha, a statue in pure gold, which was built in 1st century AD in India, moved to Sri Lanka & finally, presented by the Khmer to Laos in the 14th century. It is of utmost significance to the Laotians and is brought out on every new year celebration in April to commemorate a fresh departure. Within the national museum is also the royal house, which encompasses the residential complex of King Sisavangvong. Ripe with folklore of a King who was exiled, the story weaves together his return to the throne, with similarities to the Ramayana. There are performances that happen in the evenings as part of the Royal Ballet of Laos, which are subject to individual taste I suppose, something that I would not recommend.

3.) Night Market

Bustling with people, the night market brings together everyone in Luang Prabang. With a plethora of food stalls, touristic shops & super reasonable massages, the market is extremely characteristic of the city. The food is simply delicious, easy on the pockets offering an array of different cuisines, though the recommendation of course, is to try everything Luang Prabang, with a special shout out to the noodle soup, steak & sausages.

4.) Alms ceremony

Staying late at the night market and rising at the wee hours of dawn for the alms ceremony seems to be the Luang Prabang way! One can witness the town line up, locals and tourists alike, preparing to offer alms to the monks who step out of their wats between 5:30/6:00 am. What may have commenced as a traditional ceremony has now become more of a touristic spectacle & I’m not entirely sure that the monks are enjoying the performance that is required of them every single morning.

5.) Breakfast at Le Banneton

Considered the top bakery in Luang Prabang, Le Banneton does have scrumptious croissants that kept us going back! Their brunch, quiches, crepes & array of breakfast options are all worth trying. With great views of the city, we enjoyed Luang Prabang mornings with croissants & iced lattes in hand.

6.) Traditional Arts & Ethnology Centre

Entrance: 35000 Kip (approx $2)

The TAEC museum pays homage to all the Laotian tribes, some of which include Akha, Hmong, Kmhmu & Tai Dam, showcasing their culture, and heritage. With different exhibits, TAEC offers insight into indigenous communities while advocating for cultural intellectual property rights to protect the traditional knowledge and cultural expression of the indigenous peoples. It has a store within the museum as well as a TAEC store within the city if you are looking to purchase authentic Laotian handicrafts.

7.) Xang Kong Village

Across the french bridge is the source for handicrafts where one can witness paper making and weaving in action. In the village of Xang Kong, one can find a wide variety of handcrafts at a much more reasonable price. We bought all kinds of souvenirs including paintings, paper lamps, postcards & fabric from Xang Kong, which remains the hub for Laotian handicrafts.

8.) Phousi Hill:

Entrance: 30000 Kip ($1.5)

With around 300/400 steps leading up to Phousi Hill, it’s a place in the center of town where folks rendezvous for a 360-degree birds eye view of Luang Prabang. It gets mighty busy during sunset and people huddle together to enjoy the evening on their phones as they capture every last ray of sunshine! The view itself is beautiful but I would suggest making it up there for the sunrise to miss the hustle bustle all together.

9.) Waterfalls:

These out of the world unfathomable heavenly cascades on planet earth have to be experienced to truly believe the kind of beauty that pachamama has created. Tucked away in wilderness are waterfalls flowing from the mountains on to limestone rocks, creating the perfect hubs for swimming.

Getting to Kuang Si from Luang Prabang:

A cab can be rented for 800000 kip ($36). Since we had a scootie for 4 days, we decided to bike, however, the roads were being renovated & remnants of oil were left on the road because of which we slipped and hurt ourselves. There was a community hospital close-by and we were able to get bandaged up. If the roads are amiss, it might make sense to spend the extra cash and hire a car.

Entrance to Kuang Si: 60000 kip ($3) which includes the electric car that transports everyone to the entrance gate of the falls.

Kuang si itself is too crowded & touristic & the vacilando recommendation would be to spend a day at Tat Sae waterfall.

Tat Sae waterfall:

Getting there: A 30-minute bike ride away from Luang Prabang, followed by a boat to the waterfalls: 25000 kip per person (approx $1)

A smaller delight, feel free to carry a picnic and make a day out of it! Swimming in the glacial freezing water in the midst of the scorching heat is a whole lot of fun and climbing up through the waterfall is an adventurous path to get to the top.

A steep walk through the jungle walk leads up to hidden caves, which are better accessed with walking shoes rather than flip flops in case you’ve arrived waterfall ready.

10.) Pak Ou Caves

Getting to Pak Ou Caves from Luang Prabang: The prices for the boat ride recently increased. From 65000 ($3.5) a few years ago, the boat ride to Pak Ou is now 150000 ($7). You can board the boat from Watnong bus station located right opposite Saffron Coffee at 8:00 am. The journey will take around 4 hours (two hours to commute back & forth with a few stops along the way including an option of a pit stop at Xang Kong Village) returning to Luang Prabang around 1:30/2 pm.

We biked to the caves and took a boat to cross the river, which costs 15000 Kip ($.75 cents).

Entrance to Pak Ou Caves: 30000 Kip ($1.5)

The caves are a religious site for Laotians and as you enter the lower and upper caves, you will find hundreds of Buddha statues, some donated by people themselves. The Buddha statues are either in a meditative posture found in a seated position with both hands on the lap; standing with both palms facing us relaying the message to stop arguing; Buddha sitting with one hand facing down calling the earth to witness & standing with arms pointing downwards invoking rain.

Vientiane

The current capital city of Laos is known for its clear blue skies, magnificent sunsets & historical sights. In 1560, King Setthathirath moved the capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane in fear of a Burmese invasion. Much of Laotian history can be found in the National Museum.

2 days, 5 things to explore:

1.) National Museum

Entrance: 30000 Kip ($1.5)

Slightly away from the city center and closer to the railway station, the National Museum of Laos outlines Laotian history from the prehistoric ages & onwards. In 1353, King Fa Ngum founded Laos which includes parts of present day Thailand commencing the Lan Xang dynasty or land of million elephants that lasted 350 years (1353-1707). As a child, he spent time with the Khmer empire and married a Khmer princess. He was succeeded by many kings with King Setthathiraat becoming one of the greatest kings in 1550’s.

Despite moving the capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane to build stronger defenses, the Burmese conquered the kingdom in 1573. Although King Setthathiraat’s son, King Sourigna Vongsa did win back the Kingdom, after his passing the Lan Xang Kingdom got divided into three regional kingdoms. Given the lack of solidarity between the fractured kingdoms, Siam (now Thailand) saw an opportunity and attacked resulting in the Lao-Siamese war (1778-1779) bringing Laos under Siamese suzerainty until 1893.

It was during this time that the French arrived, had a military face-off with the Siamese, defeated them & initially signed an agreement to divide the territories. As history goes, despite the agreement, the French expanded its colonization bringing Laos under colonial rule until 1954. The Laotian monarchy served as a placeholder even after the French were forced to leave and the Kings remained in power during the American invasion in the 1960’s. The American war on Vietnam & South-East finally ended in 1975, which was also the time when Laotian people protested dismantling the Laotian monarchy, which resulted in formulating Laos people’s democratic republic (PDR) that still stands today.

2.) Patuxay Victory Monument

Entrance fee to climb the steps: 3000 Kips (0.38 cents)

As the framework of pedagogy of the oppressed highlights, often times the oppressed assimilates aspects of the oppressor, which in this case is reflected in the Patuxay monument that uncannily resembles Arc de triomphe with well two extra gates. Nonetheless, with beautiful Laotian carvings, Laos reclaims their independence as the nation stands proudly as the people’s democratic republic. The world peace gong is currently at the Patuxay, made 350 years ago in Indonesia. It continues to adorn countries that are playing an eminent role towards cultivating peace.

4.) That Luang

Timings: 8:00 am-12:00 pm & 1:00 pm-4:00 pm

Entrance Fee: 50000 Kip ($2.3)

In the center of Vientiane, the capital city has a gold covered Buddhist stupa. The original stupa or that luang was built in 1566 by King Saysetthathirath and restored in 1953. A national cultural monument of significance, the centerpiece symbolizes a lotus bud perhaps representing the simultaneity of cause and effect. The pinnacle of the stupa is real gold while the rest has been painted gold.

5.) Wat Sisaket

The Sisaket was commissioned in the 19th century by Chao Anouvong, the last monarch of Vientiane. The wat was intended to be his private monastery. Only a few years later, in the 1860’s Vientiane was invaded by the French. However, the soldiers ended up using the temple as barracks because of which the Wat was saved becoming the city’s oldest Wat.

Laotian Food

Staying in the center of Vientiene lends itself to walking to all the main sites & enjoying delicious Laotian food at the myriad restaurants & cafes.

One favorite included Hop Chai Deu, which has live music and an array of different flavors, we tried the steamed fish in banana leaf, mushrooms in oyster sauce & tenderloin beef with their famous khao niaow aka sticky rice which in Laos is serious sticky business, ha.

Another recommendation is Kua Lao, housed in a well-preserved French colonial building with a staircase made of Laotian timber, which has traditional performances every night & simply fantastic Laotian food! We tried their grills & much-known pastes (such as sour bamboo) that tend to accompany the mains.

Vang Vieng

An adventure town, by the Nam Song River, Vang Vieng is the perfect pitstop between Luang Prabang & Vientiane. Connected by the bullet train, you can soar high in hot air balloons, swim deep into caves and lagoons, and walk over deathly bridges, Vang Vieng has all kinds of thrilling escapades.