Since Laos is pretty high on my wish list (I’m hoping to go this year) and was not affected by tsunamis, I was thrilled to see another fine article on this SE Asian country in The New York Times:

January 2, 2005 The New York Times
FRUGAL TRAVELER
Down the Mekong to a City of Buddhas
By JANE PERLEZ

THERE are two ways to approach Luang Prabang, the former royal capital of Laos, a town of simple monasteries and gorgeous temples, tucked away on a peninsula above the Mekong River. For those who have tired of the neon lights of Bangkok, a fast escape can be made to Luang Prabang by air, a mere 90-minute daily flight. Or if you are in northern Thailand, around Chiang Mai, you can take the langorous two-day route downriver by boat from the rickety Lao port of Houayxay, a modern-day variation of the trek by French explorers almost 150 years ago. (Landlocked Laos was unaffected by the deadly tsunamis that devastated coastal areas across southern Asia last week.)

It was by river that I recently encountered Luang Prabang, along with my two traveling companions – the three of us hiring a flat-topped wooden barge crewed by a plump Lao farmer, Lha Munpunya, who seemed to know the Mekong’s every current, his wife, Gian, and their cheery 1-year-old son, Beckham, named after the British soccer star.

Every few years, a new place emerges along the travelers’ grapevine, the place to rush to before it is totally spoiled by swarms of outsiders. Luang Prabang is definitely on that upward curve, particularly for travelers to Southeast Asia who are looking for something a little more authentic than such destinations as the crowded sands of Bali. No surprise, then, that the public ferry that leaves daily from Houayxay is usually jammed with European, and – to a lesser extent – American backpackers.

The scene at the jetty at Houayxay – jetty is too grand a word, let’s say the ragged steps on the riverbank – gets quite hectic around 9 a.m. just before departure time. Small groups of backpackers debate how to get the best few feet of the wooden benches on the public ferry, keeping a watchful eye on the supplies of beer and food that will keep everyone happy over the next two days. Our vessel, much the same spartan design, would make the same trip, but with extra touches: vermilion window curtains, a carved wood table for eating the lunch Gian cooked and served, and less of the boisterous singing that we could hear from the ferry as we passed it later in the day.

We liked the somewhat solitary splendor of sharing the river, with its swirling waters and forested banks, with Lha and his family. Moreover, the public ferry master won’t make impromptu stops. One of the benefits of being in Lha’s hands was dropping in on a Hmong village and picking up an assortment of passengers and their pets. By the time we arrived at Luang Prabang on the afternoon of our second day on the river, we had the company of nearly a dozen Laotians, a monkey on a leash, a cage of chickens and a basket of green pigeons. (Lha said he bought the rare pigeons to take home for dinner.)

Luang Prabang has hit the itineraries of backpackers for the same reason that French colonial officers liked being posted to the town: the people are relatively untouched by the outside world (especially compared with commercialized Thailand), yet they maintain a certain sophistication. They seem proud of their stunningly intact heritage of Buddhist culture. About 30 temples dot the town of some 16,000 people. Many were rebuilt after fires at the end of the 19th century, but a handful retain their original decoration and almost all are in excellent condition with swooping golden roofs, inlaid doors, and Buddha statues of enormous size. In the mid-1990’s, Unesco declared Luang Prabang a World Heritage Site.

A team of French, Japanese and Lao architects in charge of Unesco’s plans have set up shop in the old customs house at the tip of the town’s peninsula. They keep a watchful eye against new concrete dwellings (a complete no-no), encourage restoration of temples along traditional lines and try to tamp down too many egregious signs of tourist development. In short, they have ensured that Luang Prabang is a spiffed-up tropical town that with more than 30 guesthouses and a dozen small hotels, now derives much of its income from travelers.

After saying goodbye to the Munpunya family, we scrambled up the haphazard concrete stairs that lead up the riverbank to the town, and headed for the Hotel Apsara in a tuk-tuk – the large motorized pedicabs that serve as local taxis. Nothing is very far in Luang Prabang, and the Apsara, perched on the banks of the Nam Khan River, which runs off the Mekong, was a five-minute ride from the dock. We reserved ahead at the Apsara because while it charged considerably more than many of the guesthouses that boasted cheap prices (as little as $5 a night), it promised rooms with bathrooms in a renovated warehouse, and great views.

The Apsara’s 15 rooms are huge, with wide-planked wooden floors, comfortable furniture, reliable hot water, air-conditioning and ceiling fans (welcome in the intense humidity). From the upstairs rooms there are serene vistas of the Nam Khan River. It is also a safe distance from the most unattractive part of Luang Prabang: the inevitable strip of cafes, travel agencies, souvenir shops and the night market that has erupted on the main street not far from the royal palace.

The temples are the thing in Luang Prabang, and Wat Xieng Thong, a collection of buildings set in a compound at the end of the town’s peninsula, is the most outstanding example in size and decoration. The main temple was built by King Setthathirat in 1560, and the outer walls are set with a mosaic of colored stones illustrating the tree of life. A reclining Buddha in the temple that dates from the 16th century was considered so special that the French took it to the Paris Exhibition in 1931.

We found the royal funerary house intriguing: a funeral carriage built like a golden float carries the funeral urns of various members of the royal family, and golden Buddhas decorate the walls. Monks dressed in saffron robes tied with yellow sashes sauntered around the grounds: some were eager to try their English, others seemed disdainful of foreigners poking around in their backyard. Just after dawn every morning, the monks file through town collecting alms, making a procession that tourists love to photograph, but also attracting loyal residents who come out with baskets of the staple food, fragrant sticky rice, for the supplicants.

One of the captivating aspects of Luang Prabang is the ease of getting around: on foot, on bicycle (rentals for $1 a day), or a tuk-tuk (about $1 a ride). This means that you stumble into things unannounced. Or given the erratic nature of openings and closings of some attractions – the royal palace tends to close much earlier for lunch than advertised – you can wander off to another temple, or take a break at a tea shop.

The palace was turned into a museum after the royal family was unceremoniously removed in 1975 by the Communist authorities who still remain in power. The colonial-era palace is interesting for its collection of Buddhas and its modesty: in keeping with the poverty of the country, the Lao kings did not live in great splendor.

On our first night, as we wandered around to find our bearings, we fell upon a traditional dance concert in the Heritage House, an original wooden structure that was not destroyed by fire. The dancers were young, and not very experienced, but made up for their missteps with oodles of charm. The gabled house set in a grove of palms, and occasionally used as a performance hall, is raised on stilts, with dark wooden doors and shutters to keep out the heat. It is probably the outstanding example of 19th-century Luang Prabang architecture, and even if there is no performance, it is worth seeking out for a sense of the recent past.

Our best find on our wanderings was Madame Somchan – we dubbed her the "soup lady" – at the Somchan noodle house at 9 Sakkalin Street. Two steaming vats over wood fires sat outdoors at the side of her shop, and next to them a table with the ingredients for her two-item menu: pork or beef soup. We could tell right away that this must be the most superior soup in town: her clientele included a couple of soldiers, a couple of businessmen, a few women workers on their lunch hour and, the first time we dropped by, no tourists. We took a seat at one of the sidewalk tables, and watched as Madame conjured up our bowl of beef soup. First, a handful of glass noodles from a shopping bag on the table were lowered into one of the vats. Greens – mint, watercress, green beans, sweet basil, chives – were arranged in our bowls, with pieces of beef, then the cooked noodles and broth were ladled on top. We added our own condiments from the array of bottles on our table: chili paste, soy sauce, Thai fish sauce, chili sauce and tiny green and red chilies. We ate with chopsticks in our left hand and a soup spoon in our right, and drank Lao beer for a final authentic touch. One dollar a bowl.

Most travelers visit the Pak Ou Caves, a startling collection of Buddhas of all shapes and sizes nestled in caverns deep inside a vast limestone cliff that looms high on the riverbank, about 90 minutes by boat from Luang Prabang. When northern Laos converted to Buddhism in the 14th century, pilgrims brought thousands of Buddha statues to this dark, damp place. Until the end of the monarchy, Lao royalty patronized the caves on pilgrimages, giving them a special status. The caverns are set high above the river, and one must walk up 250 stairs to reach the mouth of the main cave. An Australian-Lao friendship society completed restoration a few years ago, but they have left the Buddhas – some in wood, some in metal – in their frail, often broken and cobwebbed state, giving an appropriately eerie feel to the place.

The soup lady was definitely our favorite place for sustenance, but she doesn’t do dinner. So we tried the Boungnasouk restaurant at 01/3 Ban Xieng Mouane Khem Kong Road on the riverbank – just one of several restaurants along the concourse that all appeared very similar in style and fare, and crowded with visitors. Simple, spicy Lao-style chicken and fish, and of course sticky rice, for $2 a person was the main fare.

On our last night, we asked our hotel manager to suggest a restaurant patronized by locals. When we got to Marly’s – about a 15-minute tuk-tuk ride from the Apsara – we understood his choice. There were families with children enjoying dinner in the enclosed part of the restaurant. On the terrace, several tables were occupied by some of the new high-fliers of Luang Prabang, men with cellphones attached to their belts, and bottles of Johnnie Walker Black Label prominently displayed. Barbecue cooked on individual braziers was the signature dish, though traditional and simple steamed fish in banana leaf was also available, and deliciously cooked.

The activity on the street by the restaurant told us plenty about increasingly affluent Luang Prabang: teenagers on motorcycles, mostly boys with girlfriends, cruised by, more interested in the wealth and new culture brought by the visitors than the old culture the outsiders had come to see.

VISITOR INFORMATION

GETTING THERE

Bangkok Airways flies daily from Bangkok to Luang Prabang at 11:30 a.m, with an additional 9:30 a.m. flight on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; $252 round trip; $138 one way. Reservations: (66-2) 265 5555, fax (66-2) 265 5556; www.bangkokair.com.

THE BOAT TRIP

Boat rental by a group (same price for one or five) for the two-day trip from Houayxay to Luang Prabang is $280, which does not include one night in a guesthouse (about $10 to $15) at Pak Beng, about midway between the towns on the Mekong River. The boat tour operator, which can also arrange for lodging, is Vieng Champa Tour: Luang Prabang Office, (856-71) 252 400, cellphone (856-20) 557 0224, and fax (856-71) 252 725; vcplpq@laotel.com; www.viengchampatour…..

The public ferry is $11 a person, not including the guesthouse.

Another alternative is a speedboat that costs $22. The trip takes seven hours. It is very noisy (passengers are given helmets to reduce the noise of the roaring engines), and it can be dangerous. Speedboats have hit rocks in the river.

WHERE TO STAY

Hotel Apsara, Baan Wat Sene, Thanon Kingkitsarath, Luang Prabang, (856-71) 212 420, fax is (856-71) 254 252, www.theapsara.com, has 15 rooms; $65 for an upstairs room (best views); $55 downstairs, including Continental breakfast, with croissants and fresh fruit.