Luang Prabang, me and a decade-long love affair

In late February, I took a long-distance bus trip, crossing countless steep passes of the northern provinces of Vietnam to northern Laos, to the beautiful ancient capital located on the banks of the gentle Mekong River of neighboring Laos - Luang Prabang.

I fell in love with this place the first time I set foot here 10 years ago. I fell in love with the peaceful atmosphere, the beautiful temples lying peacefully beside the blue river. I fell in love with the daily morning alms-giving footsteps of the monks. I fell in love with the colorful night market and the delicious grilled dishes. I fell in love with the smallest things like the creaking wooden fence when opened and the chirping of birds on the porcelain trellis every morning. So, even though I have been everywhere, I am still willing to return to Luang Prabang whenever I have the chance.

As fate would have it, I chose to return to Luang Prabang this spring, hoping that this peaceful land would usher in a peaceful new year. So I booked a car, booked a room, asked for a few more days off after Tet and hit the road. I wanted to spend all my time in this beautiful land, which certainly wouldn’t disappoint anyone.

The day of returning to the old friend

The car swayed as it climbed the hill. The slope was not too steep but it was quite winding, enough to make the people who were dozing in the car sway. Nearly 24 hours on the car was not a journey for the weak, so most tourists would choose to fly, even though the cost was higher but it was much less difficult. I chose the road, not only because I was young and healthy, but because after going through a difficult journey, the feeling of reaching the destination I had always remembered and dreamed of would be many times more wonderful.

At dawn, the driver announced that we had finally arrived.

A light mist surrounded me as I left the cramped and dusty car. Stretching my arms to the sky, the damp, cool air of the early morning made me shiver slightly, shaking off all the fatigue of the long journey. Jumping into a nearby tuk tuk, I headed back to the hotel. The sun peeked out from behind the clouds as if lifting a curtain, dancing with the car, bobbing up and down under the low roofs. The car quickly passed through the street, turned into an alley decorated with a fence of pink and purple bougainvillea, and stopped in front of a wooden gate. Leaving the car, shouldering my heavy backpack, I stood hesitantly in front of the flower-filled fence for a moment before gently pushing the wooden door open and entering.

My room was on the second floor with a balcony overlooking a quiet, green garden. There was also a rustic wooden table and a few books in the room, perfect for afternoon tea. The landlord was a Lao couple in their 40s, who only knew basic English but not much, and they had a 15-year-old daughter who spoke better foreign languages ​​so she often helped her parents welcome guests. They welcomed me with the kind faces of the gentle Buddhist people, smiling lovingly and peacefully as a sign of my upcoming peaceful days of travel.

The ancient capital of barefoot beggars

In Luang Prabang, every alley, big or small, leads to the main street and the other end leads to two beautiful rivers, the Mekong and Nam Khan. The roads here run parallel to each other, connected by small, pretty alleys filled with flowers, leading to peaceful cafes that gently stir and awaken in the early morning sun. Because I couldn't remember the names written in Lao, I named the cafes I passed by myself: Champa Flower Cafe, Paper Flower Cafe, Orchid Flower Cafe, Starling Cafe, Wind Cafe... Reluctantly passing by the pretty little cafes, I was lost in the space of wooden fences covered with flowers, of the fragrance wafting in the air, of houses surrounded by green gardens. The space was so quiet! I could clearly hear my footsteps and the chirping of birds on the branches.

The busiest street on the main street still had many shops not yet opened. It was still too early to start a working day but it was already late for the monks who were on their morning alms round along the street. I sat down next to a few locals, opened my bag, took out some things, and respectfully offered them to the monks. Kind faces passed by me on their bare feet. The simple items of sticky rice, fruits, and cakes that I had just received were then passed by the monks to other poor people on their way back to the temple. The familiar scene of alms round every morning has become a beautiful, sacred feature of this place. And just like that, a new day in Luang Prabang began again!

Jade Waterfall and Sacred Temple

During my stay in Luang Prabang, I rented a bicycle to get around town. There is no rush when living here. On the first day, I cycled all the way to Kuang Si waterfall, about 30 km from the city. Although the distance is a bit far if traveling by bicycle, it is worth the effort because the journey to Kuang Si is extremely interesting. As the most beautiful waterfall in Luang Prabang, Kuang Si attracts tourists with its emerald green water that creates natural swimming pools, especially with its cascades and rich vegetation. The rich landscape here is very suitable for swimming or adventurous games such as hanging on to the roots of ancient trees and plunging into the cool water. After hours of playing in the water, visitors can have a light breakfast with some snacks before cycling back to the city, enjoying a delicious meal of grilled river fish and cold Lao beer by the Mekong River, in the sunset that dyes the horizon red.

On the second day, I spent the whole morning visiting countless beautiful temples located on both banks of the Nam Khan and Mekong rivers. Laos is a Buddhist country, with the highest ratio of temples to population in the world, with beautiful, well-preserved ancient temples. Among them, Luang Prabang is the place with the most temples in the country. In Luang Prabang, there are currently 40 ancient temples, most of which were built in the 14th century, along with many magnificent palaces dating back to the feudal period more than a thousand years ago. The temples and palaces here are almost completely preserved, or have been restored but still retain their original unique features. The most famous is Wat Xieng Thong. Leaning my bike against the wall, I slowly walked into each temple. Every time I came to the temple, I went into the main hall and asked for a thread to tie my wrist for peace. Amidst the scent of incense mixed with the scent of flowers, I took some time to sit on the porch, watching the young monks chanting sutras in the temple with clear, bright eyes, listening to the monks' prayers echoing evenly in the ancient and quiet space.

The brilliant sunset on top of Phousi

On the last day of the trip, I spent time climbing to the top of Phousi, which is considered the most beautiful and panoramic sunset viewing spot in Luang Prabang. In Lao, “Phou” means “mountain” and “si” means “color”. The small mountain is only about 80 m high, with more than 300 red brick steps, and is called the Colored Mountain. Perhaps because each season, the mountain wears a different colorful color. In spring, it is pure white with clusters of Champa flowers, the brilliant yellow of the muong flowers; in summer, it is bright red with clusters of royal poinciana flowers mixed with the cool green of grass, flowers and leaves, the ancient moss color of the temple roof, the sparkling yellow of Chomsi tower on the top of the mountain or the deep red of the sunset. That beautiful sunset color is also the reason why tourists come here, making the small mountain, which is usually quiet, suddenly become bustling every afternoon. And remember to be quick, otherwise you will not have a place to watch the sunset.

When the sunset had completely disappeared, the night gradually fell, the weather became colder, I lost myself in the colorful night market right at the foot of the mountain. Luang Prabang night market opens quite early. Around 6 pm, people set up tents and lit up the main street stretching several hundred meters from the Royal Palace Museum to near Wat Xieng Thong. On that long street, you can find all kinds of souvenirs bearing the mark of the Buddha land. Silver bracelets or Buddha arms, lamps with Bodhi leaves or paintings and all kinds of scarves... Walking in the market, even if you don't buy anything, you still feel happy and excited when you hear the charming voice of a girl in her twenties selling beautiful scarves, a toothless old woman showing you interesting items, and the chirping of children following their mothers to the market to sell goods in your ears.

During your days in Luang, take it slow and let your soul drift away to the quiet, peaceful moments.

MORE INFORMATION

• Visa: Vietnamese tourists are exempt from visa, just need to bring passport with validity of more than 6 months. Exit fee at Vietnam customs: 10,000 VND. Entry fee to Laos: about 5$.

• Trip:Airline: From Hanoi, there are now direct flights to Luang Prabang by Vietnam Airlines and Lao Airlines, flight time is about one hour, ticket price is about 7 million VND/round trip. By road: Car trips from Hanoi to Luang Prabang depart in the late afternoon at Nuoc Ngam bus station, the journey is quite long and arduous, about 20 hours, passing through Cau Treo or Nam Can border gates (Nghe An).

• Money: The currency used in Laos is Kip but you can also pay in USD and Thai baht

• Cuisine:Grilled fish, grilled chicken and laap (rare beef) at the eateries along the Mekong River are extremely attractive.

• Skin:Wear polite clothes when visiting spiritual places such as shirts with sleeves and knee-length pants.

• Weather:Luang Prabang is cool and hot during the day, chilly in the evenings and early mornings. Bring a light jacket to keep warm.

• Time:From February to June is the spring season in Laos, including the traditional Water Festival taking place on April 13/14 to 15/16 every year, which is the best time to visit Luang.

• Other notes:The monks' morning alms round takes place around 6am, so be polite and avoid making noise when taking photos; when shopping at the night market, remember to bargain at 1/3 of the selling price.

• Estimated costs:About 10 million VND for a 5-7 day trip (not including airfare).

Lam Linh