The Kingdom of a Million Elephants. Luang Prabang, Laos

In the old quarter, the most evocative part of Luang Prabang, dawn is just breaking as you wait patiently by the side of Sisavang Vong road that runs from end to end of the main town. On the other side, women kneel on hand-woven bamboo mats. Silently, through the half light, a line of saffron clad, barefoot monks and novices, as young as six, approach in single file. Each holds a covered alms bowl. Without a word, the women give each monk a little rice. Without a word, the monks accept. The line continues as far as the eye can see. All over Luang Prabang, as silently as they appeared, they return to their temples.

Our day has just begun.

Next we climb the 328 steeps steps, high above the temple roofs to the symbolic centre of Luang Prabang, Mount Phousi. Crowned by the 200 year old gilded Wat Chom Phousi, the 360 degree view is stunning. From here you can see the confluence of the two rivers clearly. The long tailed boats that ply the rivers look colourful and diminutive as they go about their daily business. Find tiny green offering cones, crowned with yellow marigolds, tucked into crevices in the rocks.

Directly opposite the steps to Mount Phousi, along a short tree-lined approach, is the Royal Palace built in 1909 to cement the relationship between the French and King Sisavang Vong. It is now a museum. As you climb the steps, glance up at the three headed elephant, above the door, a symbol of the three kingdoms of Laos. Inside, the last king, Sisavang Vatthana, gazes down upon you from his portrait on the wall.

Adjoining the palace gardens you will find Wat Mai (The new Monastery) famous for its art work, much of it coated in gold leaf. The gilded relief panels tell the story of the Buddah's reincarnation.

The palace grounds also host the Royal Ballet Theatre with performances held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 6.30 p.m.


The main street houses numerous eateries to suit every purse. Breakfast can be found for just over a dollar. Ubiquitous street vendors sell tasty baguettes or fresh fruit. Bakeries sell pastries and savoury rolls. We lunch on tiny spring rolls and a papaya salad washed down with freshly squeezed juice.

All around us small shops offer tours to waterfalls and turquoise pools, boat trips to Pak Ou and caves filled with a thousand Buddahs. Travel is ridiculously easy here and if you don't mind sharing a mini van, it is cheap.

Fortified by food, we window shop admiring exotic silks, pictures of the tree of life painted in gold on terracotta backgrounds and lampshades made from hand made paper hanging from shop doorways.

Outside the Nok Khao Leum Khon Arts House we sign up for the cookery class taking place tomorrow.

Tonight's dinner will be at The Three Naga's restaurant, an old heritage listed building on Sakkarine Road. Two restaurants face each other. Choose between authentic Lao food on the one hand, or Fusion cuisine on the other. Perhaps we will eat spicy, traditional "Lao Laap" and freshly prepared fish soup with lemon grass and tomato.

Rise early for a light breakfast but leave room in your stomach-- for today is all about markets and food. You have to be prompt because the minivan full of eager students will leave at about nine o'clock, accompanied by a member of staff who will introduce you to shopping Lao style.

A short drive along the main road and out of the city centre takes us to the main market with stalls and stalls of ultra fresh vegetables and herbs laid out in colourful displays. The covered section sells spices, cakes, wet fish and meat. This is no tourist trap. Foreigners are few and far between. Learn about exotic fruits and vegetables and a myriad varieties of aubergine before returning to the cookery school to meet Chef Chandra Vongsalavanh.

Learn to chop galangal and ginger the professional way. Crush one of five different types of basil between your fingers and smell the freshness.

Choose the dishes you will prepare. Perhaps Coconut milk soup, lemongrass chicken or steamed fish in banana leaves followed by sticky rice with mango?

Enjoy your veritable banquet.

You will probably need a siesta after such feasting.

In the evening we walk down to the Royal Ballet Theatre for a performance of the Ramayana. After the performance, old tradition hits the modern world. It is fascinating to watch the dancers jump on their motorbikes or scooters and whizz home talking all the while on their tiny mobile phones.


We walk back along the night market and look for colourful craftwork, bed covers and cushions, table runners and mats, jewellery and wall hangings. Gentle bargaining is the order of the day.

Our walk today takes us a round the perimeter of the peninsular. We take the Nam Khan river side and walk along admiring the woven racks neatly covered in rice cake circles drying in the hot sun. It is quieter here. The land sloping down to down to the river is divided into small cultivated plots of vegetables. Not a square centimetre is wasted. At the tip of the peninsular road the Khan merges with the Mekong.

On the Mekong side you will find the graceful sloping roofs of Wat Xieng Thong. The walls are decorated with stencilled pictures of traditional tales in gold while at the back of the temple the tree of life is illustrated in glass mosaic.

In the grounds of this temple is housed the gilded Royal funerary carriage incorporating three large Naga ( dragon) heads. At the back of the building you can see rare Buddha images.

Eat lunch in one of the many open restaurants overlooking the river. Freshly barbequed fish stuffed with lemon grass is succulently mouth watering.

As you walk along the river side negotiate the price of an evening boat ride to watch the sunset over the Mekong. You will be grateful for your sensible walking shoes as you slip down the muddy banks of the Mekong to the wooden boat.

It seems as though the whole of village life has come to bathe in the river and the last of the evening light. Women, decorously draped in sarongs, wash their hair, while children splash,play and wave to you.

The boat turns and suddenly you see the sunset over the mountains in all its glory. By the time you moor, a myriad of fairy lights have appeared over Luang Prabang.

Alas, your three days have ended all too soon and you have barely scratched the surface of this beautiful city.

Walk up the hill back to the main road, past the street vendors selling all manner of snacks. Find a trestle table and join your fellow tourists in a serve yourself buffet of local dishes. As you sit down to enjoy your meal, work out how you can possibly extend your stay in this wonderfully laid back, tiniest of cities.

Offerings at Wat Chom Phousi.

Reclining Buddah ( Mount Phousi).

Transport Laos style.

Craft Market.

The freshest herbs.

The fruits of our labours (Tum Tum Cheng Cookery School).

Stunningly beautiful flora.

Selling religious offerings.

Beautiful turquoise bathing pools and spectacular waterfalls.
Take a picnic. Mini buses go each day from Luang Prabang.

This involves a boat trip along the Mekong and a climb up some steep steps. The end result is the cave of a thousand Buddahs.