LUANG PRABANG, LAOS
November 2018

I was involved in a Habitat for Humanity Global Village build in Battambang Cambodia and prior to the Build I spent several days in Laos visiting Luang Prabang and Vientiane.

Laos is a fairly small landlocked country in Southeast Asia. Thailand and Vietnam border it on the west and east, Cambodia to the south and Myanmar and China to the north.  A third of its 7 million population live below the international poverty line (living on less than US$1.25 per day). Most of the population live in rural areas and are involved in agriculture. Rice is the main crop.

The region has had human habitation for thousands of years and Laos traces its history to the kingdom of Lan Xang (Million Elephants), which was founded in the 14th century. In the late 1800’s Laos became part of French Indochina and was a French colony until 1953, after which it suffered through an ongoing power struggle between royalists and the communist Pathet Lao. In 1975 the Communists overthrew the monarchy and it is still a communist state. It was isolated from the western world until the mid-1990’s and is one of East Asia’s poorest countries making it very dependent on foreign aid.

Luang Prabang in northern Laos has a long history. It is on a peninsula were the Nam Khan River joins the Mekong River. The area has been inhabited for thousands of years and was the royal capital of Laos until 1975. It has many Buddhist temples, some dating back hundreds of years as well many building dating from the French colonial occupation. Because of its rich and well preserved architectural and artistic heritage Luang Prabang was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

Every morning at sunrise, monks walk in a procession through the streets accepting alms offered by local residents and tourists (mostly tourists). There is a morning market primarily for locals and a night market with stalls selling shirts, bracelets, and other souvenirs to the tourists.

While in Luang Prabang we took a boat trip up the Mekong to the Pak Ou Buddha Caves which is a Lao Holy site dating back thousands of years. These caves are only accessible by boat and contain hundreds of Buddhas of all sizes. On the boat trip we made a short stop at Ban Xang Hai which is a small village with a tourist market that sells a locally made  whiskey called lao-Lao, silk cloth and other local crafts. On another excursion out  of Luang Prabang we visited Kuang Si falls which consist of a 60 meter cascade down a steeply tiered hillside and a river below the falls that passes through a number of naturally formed turquoise pools that step down through the jungle.

Luang Prabang has a lot of Buddhist temples, some dating back hundreds of years. We visited a number of them and the best was Wat Xieng Thong, originally established in 1559 – 1560. It is one of the most important monasteries in Laos. Over the years multiple structures and shrines have been added to the temple enclosure. We also visited Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham and Haw Pha Bang Royal Chapel.