All Alone in Luang Prabang

February 9, 2014

Wat Aphay's ceiling.

First was Thailand, which we'll get back to later. Next up was Burma, but that also won't make an appearance today. Laos is where we finished our journey, and Luang Prabang is what I'll be showing off presently.

Motorbike driver in front of Wat Sene.

I spent two days in Luang Prabang with Kaley, and another 5 days alone after she left. The photos here are from day two of Kaleylessness. At this point, I was already a little burnt out on temples and tourist trappy things. I wound up lazing about hostel for a good long while after breakfast, reading (Snowcrash) and working on crossword puzzles on my phone. Because I'm becoming an old man.

Wat Siphoutthabath's Buddha.

Anyway, around noon I made myself get out and about. I stopped by what was by then my regular lunch place. Our first day in town, Kaley and I were forced to choose which sandwich lady we liked best among the millions (okay, around 10 or 15) lined up along one side of the main street through the touristy part of town, all crying "sandwich hello sir sandwich shakes, etc." as each tourist passed by. They all offered more or less the same things - sub sandwiches, shakes, and crepes - so we just picked the closest one. And that became my regular lunch place. "Chicken avocado sandwich with a banana oreo shake, please."

After lunch, I headed here:

The market tents lined up outside the Royal Palace Museum.

I walked by the Royal Palace Museum at least once a day, and stopped in on three separate occasions. It cost 30,000 kip (almost $4), so I wanted to wait for a day when the light was better and the crowds were lighter. This was my second walk-by and I didn't really want to pay that day, but when I walked in, the ticket booth was closed and there were only a handful of people strolling about, so I roamed for a bit.

The temple above houses the Luang Prabang, which is the Buddha image that the city is named after. I didn't see the inside until a few days later, but inside and out the temple is gorgeous. The Buddha inside wasn't the largest in town, but its housing and surroundings were decked out in gold and red.

Past the temple is a palm tree-lined path leading to the Royal Palace Museum itself, a long, squat building with a steeple that hides until you walk around either side of the building.

As I didn't go into the building, I'll save the description for a later post, but except for that lovely steeple, the outside wasn't terribly impressive for a formal royal palace.

I spent the next hour or so walking around town, taking time to stop in some of the local craft shops, which had a wider variety of goods than the night market vendors (more on that later). The main road through town is all silk, silver, wood, handmade paper, and more, next to the tour companies and guest houses, with temples dotted here and there. At a certain point on that road, you can take a left and see the Mekong River, or take a right and see the Nam Khan River. I settled on going right and wandered around a few temples settled around the base of "Mount" Phousi that I hadn't been to yet.

A Shell gas pump at the Royal Palace Museum (left), and the winged Nagas of Wat Siphoutthabath (right).

At every temple I visited in Laos, I kept seeing these dragon dudes all over the place. As it turns out, they aren't dragons at all, but snakes representing the Naga, river serpents that live in the Mekong River, protecting Laos. They decorate the sides, entrances, and roofs of every temple, and they usually look really cool. But Wat Siphoutthabath was the first temple I saw whose Naga had wings! So cool.

And cats.

These flowers (left) were all over town, and banners like this (right) were at every temple, although usually white.

There was a smaller temple and a school nearby, with steps at both leading up Mount Phousi, past monks' living quarters and beautiful views of the Nam Khan River and Luang Prabang. I sat around and read, and then moved on.

"Moving on" at that point meant finding an internet cafe to free up some memory card space, but after that I was templing again, and I found Wat Aphay.

Wat Aphay's veranda (left), and the interior of Wat Siphoutthabath (right).

Paintings on Wat Aphay.

I found this temple off of a short alley in what I think of as the bar section of town. It's newer-looking, not too big and not as fancy as most others, but the ceiling over the entrance sure is something. 

While the daylight lasted, I decided to squeeze in a little more mindless wandering and I happened across yet another temple.

The ornate Nagas and facade of Wat Nong Sikhounmuang.

I found Wat Nong Sikhounmuang tucked back on a smaller road between the main street and the street that runs alongside the Mekong, and it turned out to be my favorite of the day. It was quiet and everything had that near-sunset glow, which made me and my camera quite happy, especially combined with some of the interesting little tidbits the temple had to offer:

After this, it was off to the tiny beach for sunset, where my book kept me company, and then back to a book cafe called l'Etranger for the fourth time. They show movies there every night at 7, so I settled down with my water and chicken tacos and enjoyed Searching for Sugarman.