by Jim Goodman
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| Luang Phabang |
To the people of Laos, Luang
Phabang is the capital of the first Lao kingdom in the mid-14th
century and the home of its royal family down to 1975. To practically everybody else, it’s a
World Heritage Site, full of classic Lao temples, colonial-era buildings,
traditional lifestyles, a place reeking with culture with one of the most
beautiful locations in Southeast Asia.
As a consequence, it has become a favorite tourist destination in the
region. At high season in the
winter, it seems more foreigners are walking the streets than local residents.
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| air view of the peninsula between the rivers |
There’s no denying its scenic
setting, though. Luang Phabang
lies on the left bank of the Mekong River at its junction with the Nam Khan
River, which flows down from the hills behind the town. On its way to the Mekong it is blocked
by Phousi Hill and has to make a right turn around a long peninsula to reach
the Mekong. Thus, the city has two
parts. On the other side of Phousi
Hill lies most of the city: the
markets, boat landings, administrative buildings, residential neighborhoods, chedis and temples. The peninsula between the rivers, which
by the way run in opposite directions, contains the former royal palace, old
shop-houses, colonial-era homes and several wonderful temples. At the end of this peninsula the Nam
Kham passes between two boulders, believed to be the resting places of mythical
serpents called nagas, before it
empties into the Mekong.
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| the Nam Khan River behind Phousi Hill |
Certainly there is much to
appreciate within the confines of the city. But excursions beyond Luang Phabang can be equally
rewarding, exploring the rural beauty of the rivers and streams of the
vicinity. The easiest is to follow
the Nam Khan from the peninsula northeast of the city as it winds in the
general direction of the airport towards the hills bounding the valley. It can be done on foot or bicycle, over
a path along the modestly sized river, with views of the hills always ahead.
After a few kilometers the
river passes by Wat Pa Phon Phao, standing on a large mound near the
river. Unique to the Luang Phabang
area, this golden temple stands on an octagonal base, with a chedi on top, instead of the usual
angled roofs. The temple is also
noted for its interior murals, with some graphic depictions of the fates of
sinners in Hell.
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| fishing on the Mekong |
Just beyond this temple is the
famous weaving village of Ban Phanom.
The inhabitants here are Tai Lu, originally from Muong Singh in the far
north. In pre-colonial times the
Court in Luang Phabang relocated them to this location to produce textiles for
the royal family. Eventually the
village expanded its production to the commoner class and today, while not the
only weaving village in the vicinity, it is the most famous and most productive. Virtually all of the wonderful silk sarongs
with the brocaded borders worn by Luang Phabang women come from Ban Phanom.
The road continues along the
river, but out of view of it for the most part. A few km later, about 10 km from the city, a sign marks a
trail to the grave of Henri Mouhot, the 19th century French
explorer, the first to record in detail the ruins of Angkor Wat, who unfortunately
died from malaria in Luang Phabang in 1861. He was just 35, but had stayed in Luang Phabang long enough
to write the earliest description of the royal capital before it became a
French colony.
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| Wat Pa Phon Phao |
When the French Mekong Expedition
passed by here in 1756, its leader Doudart de Legrée had a simple tomb built
over the grave and left a dedication inscribed in stone. The jungle consumed
the tomb area, which was just above the flood line of the Nam Khan, and only in
1990 was it accidentally rediscovered.
A little further upriver a
tributary stream passes over a series of rock terraces to form the Tad Sae
Waterfalls. The stream tumbles
through a heavily forested slope, so even on the hottest, most humid summer
days this is still a refreshingly cool spot. The water rushes down from a few different branches,
sometimes cascading into round pools.
Trails ascend a little ways upstream, but are soon blocked by the
jungle. But there are plenty of
big, smooth boulders to sit upon and listen to the sounds of rushing, splashing
water.
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| Ban Phanom weaver |
None of the cataracts here are
more than a few meters high, though.
For a more ‘proper’ waterfall, one that gushes over a perpendicular
precipice of one kind of another, the destination is Kuang Si, about 25 km
southeast of Luang Phabang. Visitors
can take a boat downriver most of the way, then switch to a jumbo for the last
few kilometers. But a road also
leads there from Luang Phabang, so most people hire a motorbike or vehicle for
the journey.
The water tumbles over a
precipice about 200 meters above a pool, splitting into several separate
streams, spilling over huge boulders interspersed with dark caverns. This arrangement gives the falls an
unusual, surreal, even anthropomorphic look near the bottom. Just above the pool the water, boulder
and cavern combination resembles a person standing in a downpour and wearing a
raincoat with a peaked hood.
Easy to reach from Luang
Phabang, endowed with several restaurants and ample picnic grounds, Kuang Si is
more popular than Tad Sae and not only with foreign tourists. Lao families come here to spend the day
and children from the nearby villages go swimming and bathing in the creek that
leads out from the waterfall to eventually reach the Mekong. In the rushing waters of the creek and its
forks in the vicinity stand several small hydraulic mills--water-wheels that
operate grain pounders. The
village houses are the traditional stilted, wooden structures, the fields and
gardens well maintained, and the whole area is a representative example of
rural life in Laos.
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| Tad Sae waterfalls |
North of Luang Phabang, the
most popular excursion is up the Mekong River 25 km to the Pak Ou caves. It is possible to go by road up to the
village across the river from the caves and then take a ferry across. But on the boat, one has a view of some
of the finest scenery on the Mekong, especially opposite the caves, where
limestone cliffs rise beside the confluence of the Nam Ou River with the
Mekong. The boat also passes by a
small, wooded island with an abandoned temple near its southern shore, all but
obscured by the jungle.
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| anthropomorphic portion of Kuang Si Falls |
The Pak Ou caves have been a
Buddhist place of worship for a thousand years. They are in a sheer limestone cliff right next to the river,
the lower one fifteen meters above the waterline. In pre-modern days the journey here was both arduous and
hazardous, a true merit-making exercise.
Pilgrims brought with them a Buddha image to leave at one of the
caves. Thus, over the centuries,
the Pak Ou caves have amassed a huge collection of images.
They are of all different
sizes and quality, in stone, bronze, clay and wood, doubtless reflecting the
wealth of the donors. The majority
are small, but even some of these can be gilded, exquisitely sculpted,
obviously the work of a master. Many
of the larger statues, in their fine molds and intricate detail, are equal to
the best temple sculptures back in the city.
Most of the images, especially
the larger ones, are in the lower cave, which is adjacent to the cave mouth and
so much better lit. Devotees in
the past carved tables and altars from the rock and filled them with
images. Other small statues they
placed in various niches and on the tops of boulders. Larger ones stand beside the stone staircase that makes a
steep ascent to the upper cave, darker, with no opening to the outside. A gilt chedi stands atop a multi-tiered altar at the back of the cave,
each level loaded with small Buddha images.
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| view from Pak Ou |
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| the lower cave |
The Nam Ou River, which makes
such a spectacular merger with the Mekong across from the Pak Ou caves, begins
in northern Phong Saly province near the China border and runs for 450
kilometers. It is one of the major
rivers of Laos and the only one besides the Mekong navigable by large cargo
boats. With the building of good
roads in recent decades, commerce on the river has been much reduced. While it is still possible to hire a
boat to go upriver, most travelers take a bus to Nong Khiaw, on the river northeast
of Luang Phabang, and the starting point for the best scenery on the Nam Ou.
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| Buddha images left by pilgrims at Pak Ou caves |
From here upriver the pleasant
rolling hills that characterized the river valley give way to dramatic karst
landscapes, with oddly shaped limestone mountains with steep vertical cliffs jutting
up from the land all around.
Ferries from Nong Khiaw transport passengers on an hour’s ride upriver through
the jungle to Muong Ngoi. A row of
bamboo and thatch houses lines the bank next to the boat landing. An administrative office, exchange
bureau and a small Buddhist temple, home to several monks who make their
regular morning begging bowl rounds in the village, stand near the boat
landing. A road running behind the riverside houses is full of shops,
restaurants and villagers’ homes.
With its admirable scenery,
laid-back atmosphere and pervasive peace and quiet, it is hard to imagine this
ever being a war zone. But it
was. The evidence is the empty
artillery shells that decorate gardens and the signs warning children not to
pick up or play with any strange object wedged into the soil. However, it’s been over forty years
since any bombs shattered the silence around Muong Ngoi and today it is a spot
where the most popular activity of its guests is sitting by the river, watching
passing boats and enjoying the tranquility.
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| morning near Muong Ngoi |
About 75 families live in the
village and just about all of them are involved in the tourist business to one
degree or another. Many of them
run guest houses, restaurants and drink shops, while nearly all the
village homes have signs posted beside them offering services as guides to Hmong and Khamu
villages, boat rides further upriver and kayaking to nearby riverside caves.
The easiest adventure, which
requires no assistance, is a hike out the trail past the village’s sole road
junction into the fields and jungles beyond. After about a 45-minute walk the trail reaches a small cave
full of stalactites on the left and a shallow stream on the right. Near the shore men wade in the water
and use electric stunners and spear guns to catch fish. Others use nets cast from pirogues
gliding in the stream.
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| monks on their morning rounds in Muong Ngoi |
Even as its popularity as a
tourist attraction grew, Muong Ngoi still seemed like a village suspended in
time. Electricity only came here a
couple of years ago. But its
recent prosperity faces an uncertain and probably negative future. The government, with the assistance of
a Chinese company, plans to construct seven dams on the upper reaches of the Nam
Ou River. This will disturb some
of the most unspoiled, pristine natural environments in the country and
severely deplete the fish population in the river.
Reports on the environmental
impact of these dams (assuming they’ve been made at all) have not been
released. Altogether 89 villages
will have to relocate. Muong Ngoi
is not one of them, but it is likely to be affected ecologically, threatening
its reputation as a place to get away from development sprawl and revel in
nature. But that’s the trouble
with modern times. In any contest
between the preservation of nature and its conquest/transformation in the name
of development, the latter always wins.
In the meantime, Muong Ngoi is
still thriving, still beautiful, and still on the list of worthwhile excursions
out of Luang Phabang. The city is
a World Heritage Site for its historic and cultural monuments. But it is also blessed with superb
natural and rural attractions in the vicinity. Even if Luang Phabang had no temples, palaces or colonial
architecture, these sights themselves make the time and effort spent quite
satisfying.
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| the Nam Ou River at Muong Ngoi |
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