I don’t think that the average person on the street would be able to point out Luang Prabang on a map. I mean, according to late night talk shows it appears like most people on the street can hardly name our Vice President. At least I know I wouldn’t have been able to locate our next destination before I went there.

Ofer’s San Francisco friend Andy mentioned to us once that Luang Prabang in Laos was a place not to miss. So after about 3 seconds of considering it, it was included in our itinerary. Clearly Ofer and I are very impressionable, please don’t use this against us.

Our plane touched down in the smallest airport we had ever seen. In fact the airport was about the size of the house I grew up in as a child. We hired a taxi and began the ride to our new home for the next 7 days. The area we were in in Laos appeared to be a calmed down version of Nepal. People on the streets, dirt roads and open air markets and temples lined our drive. The closer we got to the town center the more restaurants and lodges we saw. They were all very quaint and casual which we were thrilled about considering the chaos we had encountered every time we left our hotels in India.

We rounded the corner along the river and saw our bed and breakfast. It was gorgeous. It was a conservative 2 story building with bikes parked out front and sitting areas outside with a view of the Mekong river. We were greeted by the owner who sat down with us to talk and help us learn about Luang Prabang as they put our bags in our room. Our room was beautiful, so beautiful. We were convinced we were in paradise.


Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage protected town in north-central Laos on the peninsula where the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers meet. It is surrounded on all sides by thick forests and up until 13 or so years ago it had been very isolated from the major towns and cities in Laos. In the 90s roads reached Luang Prabang to allow more trade and tourism. Since then it’s travel appeal has grown significantly. The main area of the city has 4 main roads. Luang Prabang is known for its traditional wooden 2 story houses, and gold roofed temples.


It was late afternoon and we still had some good daylight hours left so we took two bikes provided by the lodge and began biking our way down the side of the Mekong. The river was lined with coffee shops, restaurants over looking the river bank and little clothing shops. The river, the breeze on the bike, the smells of wood burning outdoor stoves...everything promoted complete and total relaxation. Ofer and I soaked it up.


We biked through the center of town where they were setting up the night market in the center of the street surrounded by restaurants, bars and shops. The night market was about 4 blocks long with different kinds of goods being sold on each side of the street. There was jewelry, paintings, skirts, baby books, woven wallets, paper umbrellas and incredibly elaborate quilts. We went back to that market almost every night we were in Laos as we dipped in and out of traditional Lao restaurants to try the local fare and of course the local beer (BeerLao) both of which were delicious.

Lao food is similar to Thai food, mostly fish and chicken in curry mixed with vegetables. The rice is, however, different. It comes in a small dried leaf containers and is very very dense and called sticky rice. I was so happy that I wasn’t yet concerned about fitting into my wedding dress so both Ofer and I feasted daily on their delicacies.

We were so lucky to meet an amazing woman named Natalie who was staying in the same lodge as us. She was our age and traveling alone for 6 months. In fact, she was seeing a lot of the places that were on our itinerary. The three of us became fast friends and spent many meals together and even took a boat down the Mekong as a trio. Natalie is an incredibly strong, happy, intelligent woman. We both had so much fun listening to her stories about Kenya, Rwanda and her last destination Vietnam which we were traveling to next.

One night after a meal downtown we decided to try out a local bar. There we met Israeli’s, Irishmen, Australians, Americans, Englishmen and Swedes. No locals. We were all on similar trips and it was once again an opportunity to meet other people who were eager to explore the world like us. That bar closed promptly at midnight as is in line with Laos law. We heard a rumor going around that there was another bar not too far away that stayed open later.

The next thing I knew we piled in the back of a jeep, in the pitch black of night with 10 foreigners who just happened to jump into the same jeep. We bounced on the seats without a seatbelt and made friends in the jeep as we sipped the remains of our Beer Lao. We walked into the bar and were nearly knocked down by the noise. This was not a bar it was a club. And we were the only foreigners!! They were playing American hip hop and the huge dance floor was flooded with Lao twenty-somethings.


I don’t completely remember how it happened but I think Natalie and I had something like 3 vodka shots. It was the cheapest vodka they had and it tasted like lighter fluid. We grabbed Ofer and headed out to the dance floor. We had a great night of dancing and managedw to make it out and back to the lodge to give Natalie at least 4 hours to sleep before her morning excursion.

Ofer and I took one paddle boat tour on our own to go see an amazing waterfall called Kuang Si Falls. It was a huge park with trained elephants whom we got to watch get submerged and washed in the massive falls. We also did another boat trip with Natalie that took us to the Buddha Caves. It was a motorized boat and we got a great view of the terrain along the Mekong. The cave was filled to the brim with statues. Tiny gold statues to large wooden or stone statues.

One of the most fascinating things we have seen on this trip was the Alms Ceremony. Every morning at dawn every monk who lives in the local monasteries walk down the main street dressed in their bright saffron robes. We had been told that it is a remarkable scene and we were very eager to see it.


Ofer and I woke up around 5:00 am and chose a place to stand on the street. We watched as villagers and tourists lined up and kneeled on the ground with large containers of rice. We were told that every morning the monks are given an offering of rice and that is their food for the day. According to tradition if you want to give rice to the monks you need to have enough to give some to each monk that passes by.

Far in the distance we began to see bright orange robes. The next hour or so we watched as over 400 monks ranging from 6 years old to old men lined the street as far as our our eyes could see. Each monk was bare footed, with a shaved head and carrying a metal pot to receive the offerings. Most were very solemn. They did not look at us, just kept their eyes on their line moving ahead of them. A few though, were talking to each other and some were curiously sneaking peeks at the tourists.


It was a fascinating experience. We had heard stories and read articles that the monks have gotten quite ill from locals and tourists offering old food. But that the government has insisted that the ceremony continue with business as usual to keep tourist money rolling in.

From the moment we stepped off the plane to the moment we boarded our next flight Ofer and I were so thankful that Andy had suggested this destination. We felt as if we had been living in paradise. Every local that we met seemed so content with their life in Luang Prabang.

There was a sense of calm, joy, and peace throughout the entire town. Ofer and I very highly recommend to anyone traveling in this area of the world to stop for a visit in Luang Prabang. We know that it was an experience that we will carry with us forever and that in the decades to come it could be a place we can return with our family and share with them such a remarkable place.