Falling in Love with Laos

December 1, 2016

I could tell I would love Laos from the moment my plane dipped down into the verdant green mountains mirrored by muddy rivers snaking their way through the landscape. After over two weeks in Vietnam, I was ready to explore a new country and I had heard that Laos was a low key and lovely place. That sounded like just the right antidote to the intensity of Vietnam, and my expectations were met just as soon as I disembarked. I had been lucky with an extremely easy day of flights from Da Nang to Hanoi and then on again to Luang Prabang, with friendly airport staff and a very comfortable flight with Vietnam Airlines, a vast difference from janky Jetstar. And leaving the tiny airport in Luang Prabang was a breeze. I hopped on a minivan and was at my hotel within minutes.

After my customary postflight shower, I was ready to hit the streets. Imagine my joy when I discovered real sidewalks that were not choked with motorbikes! Luang Prabang is an incredibly walkable city and my pedestrian self is in heaven. I strolled down to the riverside, then hit the night market, browsing textiles and teas with a mango and passionfruit juice in hand. For dinner I cracked open a cold BeerLao and discovered a vegetarian buffet at the market for just 15,000 kip, or $1.50. I stuffed myself with greens, tofu, noodles, and curried potatoes, only to read in my research later that night that this buffet is notorious for taking travelers down with stomach bugs. Fingers (or intestines) crossed!

The next day I began with a comfortable coffee at Saffron, a cafe that supports local people in growing sustainable coffee beans. With an iced latte at my laptop I whiled away some hours working. Then it was time to go temple hopping.

One of the many, many temples around Luang Prabang

I started with Wat Xieng Thong, the most important temple in Luang Prabang. This is a town of temples and you can tell by the throngs of novice Buddhist monks in their marigold robes. It is common for people to get up at 5 am to watch the monks receive their daily offerings, but you can see them at anytime throughout the town. It costs 20,000 kip to visit Wat Xieng Thong, but many other wats are completely free and it is pleasant to visit them on an unstructured walking tour, popping in and out to view the jewel toned mosaics, golden images, and towering temples.

For lunch I was longing to try some local Lao food, and although not much of it is vegetarian friendly, I settled on a refreshing rosella and lemongrass drink with sticky rice, dried riverweed, and smoked eggplant jeow, a dip that tasted like a spicy babaghanoush.