Friends and Fun in Luang Prabang

The ride into Luang Prabang was a great chance to watch more of the stunning Northern Lao countryside rushing past. Once the train finally came to a stop at my destination, I joined a throng of people pushing out onto the station platform and realizing that we were much too far from the city center to easily walk, with no tuk-tuks in sight. I got to talking with another tourist, a Dutch guy named Lars, and we decided to try to book transport into the city together. Shortly after, we crossed the street and went down some stairs to a parking lot, where we found an entire van system selling tickets and moving people into the city. We both bought tickets here and before long we were in a van moving towards the city center. When we arrived, we saw a night market just beginning to be set up, but decided to go to a hostel Lars had heard good things about and check in/drop our bags. When we arrived and checked in, it was a beautiful location with nice beds and a wonderful riverside pool alongside more space to hang out. I enjoyed the new hostel for a little bit before Lars and I set out again to visit the night market we had seen. This was very pleasant, with delicious food as I had come to expect from these sorts of markets, and my first real local beer, the appropriately named Luang Prabang Beer. After this we explored the other half of the night market, filled with art, clothes, and all sorts of wares for purchase as souvenirs. After seeing a remarkable amount of stalls, and still more stretching into the distance, we decided to return to the hostel. I decided I would get a fairly early night and attempt to wake up very early for sunrise on the nearby hill temple, which ended up working quite well. I hiked all by myself to the top of the temple, treated along the way to beautiful views of many buddha statues and light coming to the surrounding valley. I made it to the top just in time for the sunrise, and got to drink in the beautiful views of the city waking up. On my way down the mountain (after a quick nap at the top) I heard the sounds of the monks’ morning procession, drum beats heralding the sunrise and beginning of a new day.

Later that day I reunited with Lars, and alongside a large group of others, we planned to go to a famous local waterfall. This group included two more Dutch guys, Frank and Jurriaan, a Dutch girl named Kate, Two British guys named James and Neeraj, a British girl named India, and a French girl named Manon. Together we rented some motorbikes, and with me riding on the back of Lars’ set off on the almost hour-long journey to the falls. Thoroughly tired from fitting onto a small bike with another big guy for so long, I was a little discouraged by the time we arrived. Luckily, the waterfall park was so impressive that any negative feelings quickly evaporated. We started with a small bear park, containing several moon bears in need of rehabilitation or protection. Alongside the sun bears (model, but no sightings below), they are one of the two bear species native to the area. These were wonderful to see, but excited to get into the water and make it back before sunset, we moved on fairly quickly to the main attraction. The falls themselves may have been the most beautiful and distinct I have ever seen. In some sort of geological wonder that I can’t find a clear explanation for, the waters have formed a number of breathtaking pools and formations, as though the water deposits rock faster than it errodes it away. Visitors can swim in most of the pools, and the main waterfall splits out over a number of rocky formations giving it a truly ethereal appearance. We hiked up and around the main falls, up a staircase with water flowing down it, and to the pools and river where the entire formation begins. After lots of swimming and sightseeing, we all turned around and went back to the bikes just in time for a beautiful sunset ride back into Luang Prabang. This time on the back of India’s bike, making things significantly more comfortable. That evening, we acted on a recommendation I had recieved from another traveler, and the whole group went to a restaurant specializing in Lao cuisine called Tamarind. Neeraj and I decided to split a wonderful tasting menu, absolutely filled to the brim with delicious flavors and textures, of course served along the traditional Lao staple of sticky rice. We all left the restaurant late into the evening, thoroughly satisfied with our day, before heading to our hostels and eventually our beds.

The next day, the group reunited for another trip out of the city, starting with a trip out to a buffalo dairy. When we first pulled into the dusty parking lot, there was only a single woman selling (buffalo) ice cream from a stand. We tried to talk to her about the tour options, but she quickly revealed that she didn’t speak much English, shaking her head and running off to find someone who would be better suited to answering our questions. She returned with a woman with a notable american accent, who answered our questions and convinced us to take a simple tour of the premises. As the tour began she mentioned that she was originally from New York, but had been in Laos for several years at this point, having founded the buffalo dairy with a partner and of course, government approval. She told us about the initial difficulty of starting their business- the locals had no concept of the buffalo as a source of milk, and recipes involving buffalo milk (higher in both fat and protein than traditional cow’s milk) were almost nonexistent, even internationally. Luckily, with time, international support, and leasing numerous nursing buffalo mothers (and calves) from the local farmers, they managed to put together a sustainable business, even giving a portion of the profits from the buffalo to the farmers that own them. After giving us the intro and business history, we proceeded to walk around seeing some other animals. They were farming rabbits, hoping to push them as a sustainable source of protein in local communities, especially for the poorer farmers who couldn’t afford buffalo. They were also farming pigs, common in Laos but often left to wallow in mud and food scraps; the dairy was developing a more sanitary mix of rice husks and other material to minimize disease and improve the lives of the pigs. We then got to meet the main event- a beautiful nursing buffalo that we were all given the opportunity to feed and even milk. We had more time with the buffalo to brush and continue feeding a small group of particularly friendly ones. Our guide then showed us, from afar, the rest of the farm, a sterile area with the majority of the buffalo, kept sterile to avoid any disease we might have been bringing in. After answering any final questions we had (they plan to hand the business ownership to locals within the next few years after starting some new locations!), the founder showed us to a nice gazebo where we could purchase products from the dairy, and set off to continue her work. I tried a delicious lemongrass ice cream, and a little bit of a cheese platter that some of our group had purchased (mozzarella, ricotta, and feta). Feeling quite impressed, we acted on a recommendation from our wonderful guide and rode to a smaller waterfall right near the previous day’s falls, but without the admission price.

When we arrived at the falls once again, instead of buying the ticket to the main complex, we looked around in the nearby area and found a small dirt road. After a short walk, we found ourselves at another beautiful waterfall, with a nice restaurant alongside it. With lots of locals in the area and far fewer tourists or people in general, I was happy we had been told about the gorgeous area just off of the beaten path. We swam for a while underneath the falls, enjoying the beautifully blue water and terraced pools as the sun dipped behind the abundant greenery. After we all had our fill of the wonderfully cool water, we walked just a few feet away to the restaurant. Not having seen it offered before, I ordered the “Traditional Lao Spicy Salad” and waited excitedly to see what would come. When it finally did arrive, it was a beautiful mix of fried garlic, peanuts, rice noodles, vegetables, some kind of meatball, and what I now know were small snails, removed from their shells. The whole mix was doused in a dressing of fish sauce, vinegar, and of course an incredible amount of chili. This dish was absolutely delicious, but easily rivaled my Thai spicy salad for the position of the spiciest dish on my trip. I once again felt the wonderful endorphin rush of absurd spice, and didn’t even manage to finish it, though I was well satisfied by the time our group stepped away. With the sun starting to move towards the horizon, we began our ride back into Luang Prabang, complete with numerous beautiful sunset views as we wove between the mountains and rivers of the beautiful landscape. That evening, we all went to a delicious dinner in the night market, and led by Frank, Juriaan, Manon, James, Kate, and I made plans to travel north the next day to trek outside of the smaller village of Nong Kiaw. Excited for our new plans, but sad to be leaving such a beautiful place, I enjoyed my last night in Luang Prabang before finally returning to the hostel. In the morning, before our bus’ departure, we had a little bit of time to visit the traditional arts and ethnology museum, I small colonial era house that had been repurposed into a showcase of the numerous indigenous cultures of Laos. The museum showed different textile patterns, jewelry, musical instruments, and much more from a variety of indigenous cultures and sub-cultures. Extremely happy with my time in Luang Prabang, as well as excited to be travelling with a group of people who’s company I enjoyed, we waved goodbye to Lars and Neeraj (India had already left) as we set off on our journey to the nearby bus depot. We arrived at the depot, then grabbed some snacks and all piled into a minivan alongside our driver and two locals. Finally the bus set off and we began our journey towards Nong Kiaw.