Luang Prabang: Temples, Monks and Waterfalls

Our last trip for 2019 was to Luang Prabang, Laos PDR.  We had been looking forward to this trip for quite some time.  Firstly because it had been nine months since our last holiday, but also because we had heard so many great things about Luang Prabang; mountains, nature, waterfalls, Buddhist temples, and a generally relaxed pace were just some of the highlights we were looking forward to.  And we were not disappointed.   

Luang Prabang has over 30 Buddhist temples.  While some are quite popular and have a number of tourists visiting, we also managed to find quite a few to visit where there were no other visitors.  

Luang Prabang is located on the Mekong River and there are a number of boat trips available and which can be booked easily enough in town.  Anything from a short sunset cruise, to a multi-day cruise to the Thai border.  

And some street scenes. 

The street outside our hotel converted into a daily market every morning.  The sellers start setting up at 5am, and by 6am are already tending to the first customers of the day.  We were really impressed by how clean the market is compared to some of the markets we have seen in Vietnam.  The fresh produce all looks great, but not so sure about the buckets of frogs and eels, and crabs strung together like a wreath.

A daily ritual in Luang Prabang, and throughout Laos, is the giving and receiving of alms.  Every morning the monks come out of the temples to receive sticky rice and other food offerings from loyal followers.  In Luang Prabang the procession takes place between 5:30 and 6:00, so well before sunrise in the winter time.  We had read a lot of articles and blogs about the morning alms procession.  Some people complained about how some tourists get right in the monks faces with exploding camera flashes.  And indeed there were plenty of those types of tourists.  But there are also those tourists that show respect by keeping out of the way and don't use flash photography.  So here are a few street lamp lit photos taken from the other side of the road.   

No trip to Luang Prabang can be considered as complete if it doesn't include a trip to Kuang Si waterfalls.  Or at least that is what I had read.  To be honest, I was sceptical.  I hadn't seen any photos of the waterfalls, and I was expecting muddy brown waters.  But it was nothing like I expected.  It was amazing.  Crystal clear water and one of the most scenic waterfalls I have seen (and to be honest we have seen some good ones).  These are not especially large waterfalls, but they just have something special about them.  But, before we get to the waterfalls, we have some bears to visit. 

This was another great surprise.  On the walk up to the Kuang Si falls you will pass a moon bear sanctuary.  Free the Bears is a non-profit organisation that has built bear sanctuaries in Camodia, Laos and Vietnam as rescue centers for bears that had been caged, and in most cases 'farmed' for their bile.  According to their website, Free the Bears has rescued around 950 bears to date.  From what we could see, this sanctuary was doing a great job and all of the bears that we saw looked happy.  

And then it was time for the waterfalls. 

After leaving the falls we had two more stops that we wanted to make.  A butterfly farm and a buffalo dairy for some buffalo ice-cream.  Unfortunately the buffalo ice-cream had all sold out, but the butterfly farm was a good stop.  

And before we knew it our short break was over.  2019 had been a busy year and this was a great way to end it.  We are already both back at work, but already looking forward to our next trip.  This year we have an African safari to look forward to, and also a trip to see family in South Africa.  So expect some family and wildlife blogs later in the year.  

Hue: Tombs! Pagodas! Museums!

Hue is considered as one of the most significant cultural and historic centers in Vietnam, and this is part 2 of our blog covering a long weekend spent in this beautiful city.

The first day had been spent exploring the Imperial City.  This blog covers days two and three, and the various tombs, pagodas, temples and museums that we visited. 

The tombs of the Nguyen Emperors are considered to be some of the areas most fascinating attractions.  We visited the tombs of Tu Duc, Khai Dinh and Minh Mang.   But before arriving at the tombs, we started with a visit to the Huyen Tran Princess Temple.  

The Huyen Tran Princess Temple is a large complex consisting of sprawling gardens, temples, a statue of Maitreya, a bell tower, and various carvings.   We thoroughly enjoyed the quiet surroundings and the overall sense of peace at this complex.  

Maitreya, regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhism 

The bell tower, where the resident monk gave us a lesson on how to ring the bell

The long path leading up to the bell tower

After the Huyen Tran Princess Temple, the first tomb that we visited was Khai Dinh Tomb.  It was built between 1920 and 1931, and is considered the least traditional tomb because of the use of concrete and the combination of European and Vietnamese styles.  What we liked most about it:  the warrior statues! 

After Khai Dinh Tomb we then headed on to Tu Duc Tomb.  This complex has adopted a far more traditional building style and is surrounded by trees and lotus ponds.  

And the final tomb that we visited was Minh Mang Tomb.  This is another large complex with a traditional architectural style.  What we really enjoyed about visiting all of these tombs was how well looked after they are and how quiet they all were, even on a long weekend.  

The Perfume River runs through the center of Hue and features in local songs, poems and literature.  One way of seeing the river up close is to take a cruise on a dragon boat.  Although we decided to skip the cruise, we did enjoy watching the boats with their brightly painted dragon heads come past.  

And of course there is also the occasional fisherman.

One of the popular pagodas to visit in Hue is Thien Mu Pagoda.  Founded in 1601, the main feature is the seven-story octagonal tower.  

An old Austin is housed in a garage at the back of the temple.  This is the car that the monk Thich Quang Duc used to get to Saigon in June 1963, where he then set himself alight in protest against the oppressive regime at the time. 

From Thien Mu Pagoda we then continued on to the Temple of Literature.  The entrance to this temple is away from the main road and we would not have found it if it wasn't for a friendly guard that saw us standing at the locked main gate and then showed us the way in - for those visiting the temple and wondering where the entrance is, head about 50m back towards Thien Mu Pagoda until you reach a driveway, head up the driveway, and then look for a gap in the fence.  

We also managed to find some time to visit the  Royal Antiquities Museum.  This museum is definitely worth visiting if you have time.  Its not a big museum, but its a beautiful building with some lovely pieces.  

And some photos from walks along the river

And more of that delicious food that Hue is famous for.

Yip, we think there is a lot to love about Hue and that it is definitely worth visiting.