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Adventures in Luang Prabang, Laos Village in the Mist Luang Prabang, the cultural capital of Laos, is famed for its immaculate temples, French colonial architecture, and distinctive cuisine. Now, as the country emerges from decades of isolation, the town is transforming into a base camp for adventuring wanderers. By Christopher Cox
EVEN IN THAI, I can make out the pilot's request to turn off computers for the remainder of the flight. I shut mine down and look out the window: The smog and skyscrapers of Thailand's capital have given way to the sawtooth mountains of northern Laos, stacked to the horizon. The Bangkok Airways turboprop drops steeply into a narrow valley, skirting a temple-topped hill and buzzing low over stupas poking through a fringe of palm trees. As we angle toward a short runway, I pack away my laptop—most likely for the duration of my trip:
In this slumbering Mekong River valley, life flows at its own languid pace. Once, it was a matter of terrain—the jungle, rivers, and especially the ranks of mountains dissuaded European explorers until the 1860s. A century later, after Laos was swept up in the Vietnam War, the prevailing communist leadership banned tourism until the late 1980s. That cultural quarantine made Luang Prabang what it is today:
It was a no-brainer for UNESCO, which considers Luang Prabang one of the best-preserved traditional cities in Southeast Asia, to give it World Heritage status in 1995. The buzz has taken a while to build, but this placid backwater is drawing an increasing number of travelers seeking that ineffable quality: atmosphere. In 2003, the province counted 78,129 foreign visitors, up more than 200 percent since 1997.
Backpackers still come overland, but equally independent, far more upscale "flashpackers" now arrive on nonstop flights from Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand. Boutique hotels like Les 3 Nagas and the Pansea's La Résidence Phou Vao, which recently hosted Mick Jagger, bloom like fresh bromeliads. Earlier this year, Banyan Tree's Colours of Angsana brand opened the town's first spa, the sparkling Maison Souvannaphoum, in a former royal residence. Quite a capitalist makeover for a communist state with the official handle of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. While Old Asia ambience is Luang Prabang's signature allure, outfitters have begun venturing beyond the city limits to survey the rugged mountains and rock-strewn rivers. It's now possible to balance a yin for soulful solitude with the yang of ripping adventure in places where falang (the Lao word for "foreigners") are still a novelty. Over the next week, I intend to offset indolence with activity in a spree of cycling, hiking, and kayaking that will make those Thai-Swedish massages hurt so good. But first I need to decompress, and my huge room at La Résidence Phou Vao—a harmonic convergence of rosewood and hand-loomed textiles set on a hillside with a panoramic view of the sacred, dome-shaped Phu Si mount—looks like it will do the trick. I settle on the balcony with a cold Beer Lao, already quite fond of Luang Prabang.
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