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Laying Back in Luang Prabang - Laos
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A sample of Life in a Northern Town...Luang Prabang, Laos.
Temples and monks occupy a significant slice of Luang Prabang's visual space.
Read more about laid back Luang Prabang.
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Wat Xieng Thong - Luang Prabang
Built in the 16th century, this is one of the oldest temples in Luang Prabang. Its tree of life mosaic reflects the afternoon sun. Read more about laid back Luang Prabang.
Main Street (Th Sisavangvong) in Luang Prabant
Restaurants, cafes, tour agencies, souvenir shops and craft shops now have their home in these French colonial buildings. Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This has helped preserve some of the old buildings by providing funds for renovation and has also required strict zoning laws so the Luang Prabang doesn't end up with ugly cement guest house high rises seen elsewhere throughout Southeast Asia.Read more about laid back Luang Prabang.
Clever Land Use on the Nam Khan
As the dry season advances and the river levels drop, the banks of Luang Prabang's rivers are exposed for growing vegetables and herbs. Read more about laid back Luang Prabang.
Monk Looks Out Over the Nam Khan River - Luang Prabang
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Night Market in Luang Prabang
When dusk falls in Luang Prabang, vendors roll out their colorful wares to sell at the night market.Read more about laid back Luang Prabang.
Paper Parasols - Luang Prabang
No shortage of color at the Luang Prabang night market, including these paper parasols.Read more about laid back Luang Prabang.
Nap Time at the Market - Luang Prabang
The son of one of the vendors at Luang Prabang's Hmong day market takes an afternoon nap. Authentic Cartier watches and pens are lined up around him. Read more about laid back Luang Prabang.
Day's End
A typical sunset scene in Luang Prabang.Read more about laid back Luang Prabang.
Sunset on the Mekong
A sunset view of the Mekong River from the top of Phu Si hill in Luang Prabang.Read more about laid back Luang Prabang.
Big Brother Mouse: Take Books to the Villages - Luang Prabang
Big Brother Mouse, a book publishing and literacy program in Luang Prabang, produces children's books in the Lao language to help promote the love of reading and learning in children. One of its challenges is book distribution to rural villages and schools. Travelers planning treks to remote areas can purchase books to take with them and distribute. We picked up a group of 10.In addition to book publishing, BBM also runs a center where travelers can help monks or children practice speaking English or reading in English. When we stopped by, we helped edit some Lao proverbs translated into English. Not an easy task!Read more about the organization Big Brother Mouse.
Novice Monks - Luang Prabang
We read somewhere that almost all males in Laos have been a monk at some point in their life, whether for a week or for many years. These young novice monks live at the temple, but still attend school in town.Read more about laid back Luang Prabang.
Girl with a Duck - Luang Prabang
From Luang Prabang, we took a river taxi across the Mekong to the area of Ban Xieng Maen, a peaceful area with a few low-key temples. Its simplicity belied the fact that we were only minutes from Luang Prabang.This girl was waiting with her mother...and her duck. And she was quite serious about it.People were extraordinarily friendly, even happy to see us, with kids running up to us and waving and adults smiling as we passed by. We only saw a couple of other tourists the whole day, meaning that not many people make the trip. We'd really recommend it, an easy way to see a different side of Laos so close to Luang Prabang.Read more about Ban Xieng Maen.
Annie Get Your Gun - Luang Prabang
Unfortunately, plastic guns are popular toys in Southeast Asia, too. We saw similar scenes of kids playing with plastic guns in all the countries we visited (Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia). Read more about Ban Xieng Maen.
Butterfly - Luang Prabang
A butterfly dances between red flowers in the Ban Xieng Maen area across the river from Luang Prabang.Read more about Ban Xieng Maen.
Take a Seat
This girl stops for a snack along one of the village roads in the Ban Xieng Maen area, across the river from Luang Prabang. Read more about Ban Xieng Maen.
On the Way to the Wat - Luang Prabang
We took a water taxi across the river from Luang Prabang and found a laid back, pleasant village scene. This village woman takes her offerings to the temple.Read more about Ban Xieng Maen.
Lao Boy - Luang Prabang
Read more about Ban Xieng Maen.
Laundry Day - Luang Prabang
Behind these leaves, orange robes hang out to dry on laundry day at the temple.Read more about Ban Xieng Maen.
TV on Board - Luang Prabang
On our return to Luang Prabang, we figured that the safest boat taxi around would be the one with the TV, so we jumped in.Read more about Ban Xieng Maen.
Internet Buddhist
A monk checking his email at one of Luang Prabang's many internet cafes. Luang Prabang is full of Buddhist temples, most of them active with novice monks practicing their religion and studying at school. Many are eager to practice English and hand out email addresses to stay in touch. We read that most men in Laos have been monks at some time or another during their lives.Read more about laid back Luang Prabang.
Stop Sign, Lao Style
A tourist takes her bike down by the Nam Khan River, making a brief pause at the stop sign. Bikes are a wonderful way to see Luang Prabang, and can be rented from guest houses for $1-$2 per day. Read more about laid back Luang Prabang.
Bougainvillea at the Wat - Luang Prabang
A close up shot of the bougainvillea at Wat Pa Phai. Read more about laid back Luang Prabang.
Afternoon Break at Wat Pa Phai
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Female Statue (Torani) at Wat Aphai - Luang Prabang
Torani, wringing water out of her long black tresses, makes appearances throughout Southeast Asia.Torani is the Earth Goddess who helped Buddha defeat the evil Mara when she and her demons tried to block his meditation and path to enlightenment. As the story goes, Torani wrung her hair out with water that contained all the blessings from Buddha's many lives. The resulting flood washed Mara and her demons cleanly away.Read more about laid back Luang Prabang.
