“Nothing convinces me to go on a diet like a economy-class airplane in Southeast Asia. I don’t quite fit in any of the seats.” – Old Sean
Struggle Seats
Following a long work-vacation in Vietnam, I’m now off traveling through Southeast Asia by myself. My first choice was to fly to Laos, a country I’m only familiar with because of some old National Geographic Magazines.
I flew out of Hanoi, Vietnam and took a plane in the hopes of visiting Luang Prabang. My trip turned out to be a bit of a struggle.
I didn’t quite fit in my airplane seat. Nor could I sit comfortably in the tuk-tuk on the way to airport. Nor could I easily squeeze into the bus seat on the way to my hostel.
On that note, I’m finally going to stop deluding myself.
I’m too big for Asia.
That might sound like an odd thing to say about the largest continental landmass in the world, but consider this:
I’m about 5’9” on my optimistic days or 5’10” on my most delusional. I have yet to find a plane, bus, train, sleeper bus, or tuk-tuk in Asia where I’m comfty.
Every time I take public transportation, I do an odd shoulder wiggle designed to secure some of my neighbor’s personal space. I’m not all that chubby, but transportation in this hemisphere was designed for someone with a narrower frame.
Flying into Laos
Regardless of transport comfort, I flew into Luang Prabang, which was an extremely pleasant surprise. My hostel was accommodating with a private room, nice bathroom, open window to the jungle and a hospitable neighbor.
Once I was settled, I decided to walk around visiting Luang Prabang’s cultural district. The whole city is very peaceful and safe, making this an easy choice.
I’ll also say this for Luang Prabang; it has a wealth of ambiance and mopeds. So many mopeds.
The city is accented by temples every few minutes, alongside outdoor shops, quaint cafes and restaurants. The central corridor of town is perched on a buffer cliff overlooking a wide (currently calm) river. Groves of plants shade narrow cobblestone roads and tourists wander through the bustling night market for snacks and trinkets. Unlike major cities in Vietnam, Laos only has a low thrum of scooters rattling by.
Sights of Laos
There are a lot of unique sights going into Laos. For one thing, Southeast Asia always has countries with a lot of stylistic pride. This means that while all of Asia has a proclivity for temples, Buddhas, specialized spiraling designs and dragons, every place does it differently.
In Laos, the striking aspects of temples are the wide and elegant sweeps of the roofs, along with the distinct scales found upon the carved dragons. The dragons themselves often have strange long water-spout noses extending almost straight upwards.
There’s no better example than the temple Wat Manorom, an ancient structure with star decorations dangling from the sloped roof. It’s a little difficult to get here, since a lot of the surrounding streets of Luang Prabang weave, but worth the walk.
For other temples, I thought Wat Xieng Thong and Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham were worthy of visits as well.
Around Luang Prabang
After my first half-day walking around Luang Prabang, I tried to travel out a little father. I rented a bike from my hostel and pedaled into the countryside.
Further out from the city are the Kuang Si Waterfalls, which are low pools of bright emerald water surrounded by flowering trees.
The base of the pools are quite deep and are open for swimming. I had my phone and no swimsuit, so I just enjoyed hiking around the area.
Apparently, families are found here in hoards on weekends, so a weekday is better for visits. There are cars and tours that can take a person to the falls, but it’s close enough to reach by bike and the scenery is worth enjoying.
There’s also a bear sanctuary on the way called the Tat Kuang Si Bear Centre. This facility rescues local bears from poaching enterprises. (Bear bile is apparently a major component in Chinese medicine). The guy at the desk spoke excellent English and mentioned they hope to expand the habitat for additional bears, so donations are helpful.
In the opposite direction, also outside the city, I took a taxi and visited Pak Ou’s Caves. These are large limestone caverns with hundreds of Buddhist statues, including tablets and effigies. When I visited, there were hoards of Chinese tourism groups visiting Luang Prabang and the caves. I recommend making a special effort to avoid times when groups arrive in force.
Night in Luang Prabang
That evening, I had dinner in town before heading out to explore Luang Prabang in the evening.
The easiest thing to notice are the streets that come alive with Night Markets. These stalls are made by erecting red canvas awnings over lots of trinkets, snacks and crafts. The Night Market is mostly for tourists, but there are some live performances that are fun to watch for everyone.
There were a few stalls that sold a local novelty food: grilled bee larvae in honeycomb. It looks a bit like flat corn-on-the-cob wrapped in a banana leaf and tastes sweet and nutty with a slightly waxy texture.
It tasted objectively good, but it was a mental hurdle to actually consume.
Overall, Luang Prabang is extremely laid back. The only thing I didn’t get to do which was on my list was to boat down the Mekong. Tourists can take slow boat rides down the river in paddle boats, which pass many of the famous fields and mountains.
Short Lounge
Unfortunately, I didn’t schedule very much time visiting Luang Prabang. In a week or so, I’m meeting my roommates from China in Bangkok.
Since I’m on a tight schedule, I plan on rushing toward the strangest sight in the country: Phonsavan’s Plain of Jars.
Tomorrow, I’ll be taking a long distance shuttle to Phonsavan, and from there, renting a motorcycle to explore the countryside.
Until then,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written February 9th, 2018
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