A good percentage of travellers coming to Laos can be divided into two categories; those who head for Vang Vieng, and those who prefer Luang Prabang. Whilst Vang Vieng is a mellower version of Khao San Road, where drugs and booze and shirtless 'fun' are the norm (but more on VV later), Luang Prabang is the quintessential Laotian town. Set on a peninsula surrounded by the mighty Mekong and the smaller Khan river, Luang Prabang ticks all Lao boxes; temples, monks, mellow atmosphere, street market. It is undoubtedly the moust heavily touristed place in Laos, yet, it mantains a chiiled-out atmosphere. There are no touts or hawkers in sight, and a wide choice of accommodation and eateries, from street food to falang (Westerner) friendly, overpriced restaurant. I needn't say what was our pick.
Amongst the attractions in Luang Prabang, one which stands out is the Tak Bat, the alms giving ceremony. We firstly became familiar with it during our retreat in Chiang Mai. The theory underlying the ceremony is that monks are not supposed to cook for themselves; as such, they have to beg for their food. So monks exit the monastery at dawn, holding their alms bowl, and walk around town where devotees congregate to offer them food. In most towns where I have witnessed this ceremony, the atmosphere was solemn and holy. In Luang Prabang it seemed a blockbuster tourist attractions rather than a sacred ritual. On account of the high number of monasteries around town, a sizeable number of monks takes on the streets at dawn. Rows of devotees (or tourists) gather on mats offering food, whilst others watch and take photos. Once again, is taking pictures wrong? If it's done with discretion, I don't think so. Most monks I met and spoke to said they are not at all bothered by pictures.
Moreover, it's easy to point a finger on the falang when, I have to say, most inappropriate behaviours are performed by Asian tourists. I have witnessed busloads of Korean tourists interrupting the monks' queue to hand each other things and holding cameras at about an inch from the monks' faces. Most Westerners behaved with respect, taking photos from a distance with no flash and generally following the ceremony in silence. I did not offer food for two reasons; firstly, I did not want to fall into the trap of the hotels and guesthouses who argue monks can only consume certain types of rice and sell guests an 'alms set' for around 50.000 kip when a portion of sticky rice costs about 3000. Secondly, I did not want to buy rice from the morning vendors who get their rice from the children begging from the monks. Maybe I should make this point clearer; in theory, devotees offer food to monks who in turn give their surplus to children and beggars. However, those sell the rice back to street vendors, who in turn sell it to tourists to give to monks. So the poor monks end up eating the same old rice. Plus, the food is supposed to be cooked by the giver. As I was unable to cook, I just witnessed this ancient ceremony, sadly spoilt by the behaviour of many.
My day continued with a cooking class. For those who are not familiar with Laotian food, these are the basis; staple food is sticky rice, accompanied by a variety of dishes (mostly soups and stir-fries), and one or more kinds of chilli chutney-sauce. There are some specialties who have a distinctive French influence, such as baguettes and salads with creamy dressings. We prepared Luang Prabang salad, a concoction of lettuce, watercress, tomatoes, cucumbers, boiled egg, minced pork and a French-Laotian mayonnaise with the tang of vinegar mellowed by sugar. We started the class by shopping at the local market, where the teacher introduced us to Lao specialties such as buffalo skin (for chewy!), congealed blood (good for soups, reminded me of good old curry mee) and paedak, a fermented fish sauce.
When we went back to headquarters, to my disappointment we discovered the recipes we were going to learn were not the orignal Lao dishes but rather a watered down falang versions. No buffalo skin or paedak for us, bother. However, I was not to be disappointed; we prepared two noodle stirfries, one with
sticky rice noodles and chicken and one with choko, woodear fungus and minced pork, a 'Lao Casserole', sticky rice and jeowbong, the Luang Prabang chilli paste. Plus the flagship Laotian dish; Laap, a salad made with minced chicken, a variety of herbs and toasted rice. A great symphony of Southeast Asian flavours, fish sauce and lemongrass, coriander and kaffir lime leaves, with the crunchiness of banana flowers. My favourite was khua maak kheua gap moo, fried aubergine with minced pork fried in oyster sauce and garlic. Excellent in its simplicity.What's my verdict for Luang Prabang? It was a great place to visit. I was saddened by the sight of how sheer B-grade tourism can influence the soul of a place. It's hard to wage judgement on this matter though, locals need the tourist dollar desperately in a place like Laos. In my opinion the answer is sustainable tourism, staying in locally-owned places, talking to the locals and trying to read and understand the destination visited as much as possible. And please, avoid package tours. The world isn't a big scary place. Not everybody is there just trying to rob and rip tourists off, especially not in Laos. And if your choice is to have transport and accommodation arranged, try to get out and breathe the soul of a place, rather than just 'ticking boxes'. The rewards will be immense.
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