Stories of Places, People and Photography in the Philippines and Beyond
The street was full of open red and blue tents when I got down from climbing Phu Si Hills. It would seem that come dusk, the whole stretch of Th Sisavangvong is closed from vehicle traffic and as it becomes a ground for a market. I stayed on the upper ground beside a foreigner painting the National Museum. I observed the locals preparing their wares as the darkness deepens and the Luang Prabang Night Market illuminates with a tranquil glow.
I remember Laura, the petite English girl I met down south of Laos in Wat Phu Champasak, telling me that the sunset at Phu Si Hills is really beautiful and I shouldn’t miss it. So I made sure before 4pm, I made my way to Phu Si Hills, a 100-meter high hill found at the center of town along the main roads. There are several temples on and at the slopes of the hill. It’s also a popular place for the tourist to catch that famous Luang Prabang setting sun.
Staying in a lodging in Th Sisavangvong Vatthana street, which is an inner street from the Main Street of Th Sisavangvong, I am close to a lot of temples within town. Take note that there are numerous temples in Luang Prabang, some of them have entrance fees and others are free so it’s wise to choose the important ones first. I first visited a couple of temples just a short walk from the lodging. The first one is a charming little temple and the other one is a school for artist monks.
Situated 700 meters above sea level, I felt relieved that Luang Prabang has cool mornings and nights compared to the other places I’ve visited in Laos. Surrounded by mountains and intersected by the mighty Mekong River and Nam Kahn River, it has one of the most varied landscapes in Laos. Add in a charming town dotted with numerous temples, crumbling French colonial houses and gentle people, Luang Prabang is like a place time almost forgot. Definitely a favorite of all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites I’ve visited.
I was swatting mosquitoes while sitting on the Northern Bus Station in Vientiane. It was 7:30pm, 30 minutes before my boarding time and I started applying a mosquito cream lotion on my exposed skin. There were several buses online and I wondered which one would be the VIP bus I would be taking. I saw other foreigners starting to move on to the last bus on the right. Yep it was our bus, “Luang Prabang” as the sign says. I placed my large pack at the lower storage and hopped in.
