Luang Prabang Laos

Luang Prabang would have to be one of my favourite places in the world. An old French colonial town LPB has retained its old French colonial charm with a bit of Laos added in…the reason it has remained so authentic is due to its remote location and how difficult it has always been to get here. Lets hope that better roads and flights in and out doesn’t change it too much…

The pace is just a little slower here and the people just so friendly, just before writing this blog we went to a tiny hole in the wall restaurant for lunch which we have eaten at before and the nanna bought us out some tiny steamed corn still in its husks…delicious.

We arrived here on Saturday evening and ate at the lovely Tamarind restaurant which serves interesting and well cooked Laos food, has great service and is a bit of a LPB treasure.

It was during this dinner my theory that some people should not be allowed to travel was once again confirmed. As the entire restaurant had to listen to an Australian woman who believed to be understood by the Laos waiters she just need to talk REALLY LOUD and in some kind of weird pidgin English. What is that about?

On Sunday the annual boat races were held and I think most of the population of Northern Laos were here. The boats are a little like the Chinese dragon boats and all the villages in the area compete. Luckily our hotel is right on the river and we were able to sit under an umbrella sipping cold beer and watch the races while around us the food stalls cooked up all sorts of tasty street food.

Today we climbed the 328 hot and sweaty steps to the temple at the top of Mt Chomsy which is a mound right in the middle of LPB and has spectacular views across the town to the mountains. We also popped into the museum which was once the Kings palace and checked out the Prabang Buddha, dating back to 1 AD, in his his gilded temple.

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Tamarind Cooking School Luang Pra Bang Laos

Tamarind is a popular (and deservedly so) restaurant in LBP owned and run by a Laos – American couple. The restaurant also runs a very successful cooking school a few kilometres out of town which is in a peaceful tropical setting surrounded by lily ponds and herb gardens.

Before heading out to the school we visited the local market which is a very large market servicing the area around LPB, I adore these markets and love all the fresh vegetables and herbs one can get there but a word to the wise a visit to the meat section is perhaps not a good idea if you want to eat meat again….  HOWEVER ever since I turned a corner in a Vietnamese market a few years ago and came face to face with a boiled dogs head swinging from the roof I reckon I can deal with anything..

After our trip around the market we headed off to the school where our teacher for the day, Luan, taught us how to make Jeow (Laos dips), sticky rice, lemongrass stuffed with chicken, fish in banana leaves, buffalo laap and purple sticky rice with coconut for dessert. These dishes make up the Tamarind restaurants tasting menu and are really delicious, so who knows we may even whip up a Laos feast when we get to Australia.

For Information on Travelling In Laos Read Our Laos Travel Guide

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