Living the Life in Laos! (Part 3): Accidentally in Love with Luang Prabang!

- November 24, Monday.

- Royalty in Laos is best experienced in Luang Prabang. It was a capital during some eras of Lao history, such as the height of the Kingdom of Lan Xang, and remains to be the seat of royal administration until the communist government took over in the 1970s. 

- I flew to Luang Prabang with Lao Airlines, and it was one of the shortest flights I've been on (less than an hour!). But upon arriving in Luang Prabang, my inDrive driver accidentally hit a speeding counterflowing motorist on the way to my hotel (motorist was alive, thank goodness). I felt sorry for the injured motorist, but also for my driver who was actually a very careful driver if not for the timing of things (he was in the right in the situation). This is actually an ultra summarized version of what happened, but yes I am fine although shocked and perhaps traumatized. HOWEVER, this was not how my whole stay in Luang Prabang looked like. I'm happy that things just got exponentially better after this accident.

The police drew this on the road as part of the police report. It was there even after several days. Talk about leaving your mark in Luang Prabang!

- After checking in at Golden Lotus Hotel, which is one of the many houses-turned-hotels in the main street of Luang Prabang, I just walked all around the place. The main street (Sisavangvong Road) is where most tourist spots in Luang Prabang are! Can't get any more convenient than that, right?! 

My hotel room. I swear I slept so comfortably for all three nights I stayed here.

As you can see, it looks like a house because it used to be one before being converted to a hotel.

- Right beside my hotel was Wat Mai Souvannaphumaram (also spelled as "Suwannaphumaham"). It was built in the late 1700s, and is one of the biggest temples in Luang Prabang. Located beside the Royal Palace, it was the royal family's temple.

See the four-tier roof.

So much gold.

Inside the main hall or "sim".

From outside.

- The Royal Palace in Luang Prabang has been converted to a National Museum since the communist government took over. The palace was built in 1904 right beside the Mekong River, and has French and Lao architectural styles. Photography is not allowed inside, but it does show the palace rooms and things used by the royalty in the past. The palace is also home to the Royal Ballet Theatre where people can buy tickets to watch the almost nightly show of the Lao version of the Ramayana (Phra Lak Phra Lam); I bought a ticket for the evening apart from visiting the actual palace; more about the performance later. 

Royal Ballet Theatre located at the side portion of the palace. 

Luang Prabang Royal Palace.

Haw Phra Bang, the temple that houses the Sinhlaese (so they say) Buddha statue that gave the city its name ("Prabang").

Haw Phra Bang from an elevated part across the street.

- Across the palace, one can find the stairway going up Mount Phousi (or Phousi Hill). Mount Phousi is home to several temples, but the most important of them all is That Chom Si, located at the hill's peak. It was built in the 1800s, and is reachable after climbing around 300 steps. To fully maximize my visit to the hill, I went up one way, and went down another way to see the other temples and shrines along the way.

Wat Pa Huak, built in the 1800s. Although it badly needs restoration, its shiny mosaic design can still be seen today. It stands at the mezzanine (??) level of the steps on the way up to the peak of Phousi Hill.

The building below is the Royal Palace, with the Mekong River and Laos' picturesque mountains at the back.

On top of the world!

This isn't the peak yet, just a photo stop!

The Avatar will save the world. (It's just a young monk haha.)

At That Chom Si, with three young monks (they appear shy here but they were SO TALKATIVE. We tried to speak to each other in a mix of Thai and Lao, since I don't speak Lao, and both languages are mutually intelligible. They wanted to take a photo with me.) 

Buddha's foot imprint, or so they say. (Try to see the foot-shaped mark.) 

Wat Siphoutthabat Thipparam ("Temple of Buddha's Footprint"), located at the foot of Phousi Hill's other entrance/exit. Built in 1851, it is an important temple that also serves as an educational center for young monks.

- After a late late late late lunch in the first cafe I saw after going down the hill, I visited yet another temple. Wat Pa Phai is hidden in a back alley, but it is also another long-standing temple, built probably in the 1600s. It lacks columns inside the hall, which is unusual for temples. The Buddha is also unusually placed in front of a wall, as most temples have a gallery behind the Buddha.

A young monk opening the temple for me - but also because they were about to set up for evening prayers at the same time.

See, no space behind the Buddha.

Wat Pa Phai.

- I had a stroll through the main street, seeing vendors starting to set up for the night market. I realized how the main street is used for many different purposes throughout the day. As a regular road, a night market, and also a pathway for Buddhist monks during morning offerings or "sai bat" (we'll get to this in the next blog!) 

Sisavangvong Road, pre-night market hours haha.

Love the almost-sunset rays.

Golden hourrrr.

- I got to rest and refresh for a bit at the hotel before attending the night show of Phra Lak Phra Lam at the Royal Palace. The show was around an hour long, and starts at the part where Sita gets kidnapped from the Forest of Dandaka until Rama rescuing Sita from the evil King Ravana with the help of Hanuman and the Kiskindan monkey-humans. 

Hanuman (one in white), or Hanoumane in Lao, about to embark on his journey to look for Sita and act as a spy.

King Ravana (Thotsakane in the local language) trying to tempt Sita (Nang Sida) as is has been trying to get her attention. Sira, being loyal to her husband Rama (Phra Lam), ignores Ravana.

Thotsakane and the rest of his men preparing for the final battle.

Royal Ballet Theatre Troupe.

- To fully recover from my morning accident, and to sort of celebrate an otherwise nice first day at Luang Prabang, I had dinner at Phan Boun Restaurant, a mezzanine-level restaurant that serves authentic Lao food. The food is slightly upscale but still casual, and I loved it so much I had dinner there every night until I left Luang Prabang!!

At Phan Boun Restaurant's outdoor seating. I don't usually like sitting outdoors, but the breeze was just calling out to me. The stars are not to celebrate Christmas, but traditional Lao lanterns. But yes, many people have pointed out their similarities to Philippine Christmas parols. (Made me miss the Philippines a teeny weeny bit.)

Feast for a king. This was a Luang Prabang sausage meal, accompanied by pink pork curry, sticky rice, seaweed sheets (kind of like a thicker nori, but flavored in a sweet-salty way), Lao salad, and banana slices in coconut milk. I also ordered a lemon soda with butterfly pea tea (which is a very Lao kind of tea/flower, known for its distinct blue-violet color.) 

I love you forever Phan Boun.

- The night market stretches a couple of blocks and occupies a part of the main road. I honestly enjoyed shopping here than in Bangkok because there was more variety in the things I could buy, whereas souvenir stores in Bangkok tend to sell the same elephant pants and shirt or inhalers. In the night market, I found things that were "touristy" (keychains, magnets, snow globes), traditional Lao woven or embroidered products, wood carvings, Hmong products like silver jewelry and hill-tribe embroidered products, accessories, and so on. Shopping in Bangkok markets used to be like this but doesn't seem like it anymore; I still like shopping in Bangkok but based on experience, it has become harder to look for more variety beyond elephant-printed things.

Night market!! (Also see the bright moon above!!)

Another side of the main street, not occupied by the night market.

- Luang Prabang is honestly a magical place (not including the accident) and the cool air especially at night made me feel too at home. I have no idea how it manages to balance the tourist bustle and its inherently quiet, spiritual, and royal feel; this makes Luang Prabang less overwhelming than how one may expect it to be as a tourist magnet. I saw, did, bought, and ate so many things on my first day in Luang Prabang, and it was just the start of many things to experience in this heritage city!   

** Check out my other adventures in Thailand and Laos here!

THAILAND:

Part 1: Wat Saket and Dog Cafe - here

Part 2: Kanchanaburi - here

Part 3: Maeklong Railway Market, Damnoen Saduak Floating Market - here

Part 4: Phetchaburi and Hua Hin - here

Part 5: Wat Paknam, Capybara Cafe, B Story Cafe, Madame Tussauds - here

Part 6: Chulalongkorn University - here

LAOS:   

Part 1 (Vientiane): Patuxai, Buddha Park, and Vientiane's Temples - here

Part 2 (Vientiane): Pha That Luang, Lao Art Museum - here

Part 4 (Luang Prabang): Kuang Si Waterfalls, Pak Ou caves - here 

Part 5 (Luang Prabang): Sai Bat, Wat Xieng Thong, and Other Temples - here

Part 6 (Luang Prabang / Bangkok): Sai Bat Again, Some Temples, Bangkok Jodd Fairs - here

(Part 5) Belgium the Premium: The Bustle in Brussels!!

- July 21, 2019, Sunday.

- On our last day in Belgium, my mom and I explored the center of Brussels - and what better way to spend our last day than joining the crowd in celebrating the Belgian National Day!! It is held on July 21 and celebrates the day when Belgium became its own kingdom in 1831. Normally, celebrations across the city involve heavy military presence. Not only is this because of the high-ranking dignitaries and royal people attending various functions across Brussels in relation to the celebration, but also because it is also a time for people to get up close and personal with the people in the military.

- That morning, my mom and I rode the train to Parc metro station (lines 1 and 5) to visit the Royal Palace, built some time between the late 1800s and the early 1900s, and is one of the official residences of the Belgian royal family. I wanted to take a chance and see if it was going to be open to visitors, but unfortunately, it will start opening its doors to visitors the day after the holiday. The palace is open to the public every summer when the royal family is away, just like in Luxembourg (click here), and it always opens its doors to everyone after the Belgian National Day.

Royal Palace of Brussels.

- Though sad that we didn't get to have a chance to see the interior of the palace, we walked down the street and joined the party! Well it wasn't actually much of a party, but rather, a fabulous display of Belgian military culture! Tourists and citizens were allowed to interact and play some games with the military people, and were even allowed to go up/inside military tanks and helicopters just to get a feel for the daily life of being in the Belgian forces. We also saw the 19th-century Palais de Justice (Law Courts of Brussels), the largest building built during its down. I was a bit sad, however, as the scaffolding was blocking its golden sheen. The court has been renovated frequently in the recent years to strengthen its structure.

Military helicopter.

I actually wanted to try going up a tank but my legs were still too tired from too much walking the previous days, and I was afraid I wouldn't fit inside because I'm fat.

"Making my way downtown, walking fast, faces pass, and I'm homebound tenenenenenene, tenene, tenenenenene~~."

More tanks.

Palais de Justice.

- From the Royal Palace, I made a bad decision of walking several blocks to the Cinquntenaire when I could have just taken the metro to Schuman (lines 1 or 5), since the distance looked close in the map. Before entering the Cinquantenaire, I had a brief photo stop in front of Le Berlaymont. Le Berlaymont is an X-shaped building built in the 1960s that serves as the headquarters of the European Commission. A visit inside the building is possible after reserving a tour slot through its website (click here.)

Le Berlaymont.

Hello me.

- We later entered the Cinquantenaire (also called "Jubel Park"). It has a massive U-shaped structure in the middle that was build in the 1880s during the 50th year of the country's independence (so you see, even our itinerary for the day coincidentally matched the holiday the country is celebrating!) The crown glory of the U-shaped structure is its "triumphal arch" that was built a few decades later than the rest of the original buildings in the area which were built as exhibition spaces. Today, these exhibition spaces have become various museums (i.e. Art & History Museum, Autoworld, and the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History,) so it's easy to spend a whole day in the Cinquantenaire Park.

Majestic!

Brussels' "Arc de Triomphe."

From another angle.

- The southern side of the U-shaped structure is the Art & History Museum, formerly known as the Cinquantenaire Museum. It was renamed in 2016 in order to distinguish it from the other museums in the Cinquantenaire Park, and in order to let people know what the museum is all about through its new name. The Art & History Museum looks like a regular-sized museum from the outside, but its maze-like layout (at least it seemed to me) hides rooms and halls full of treasures from around the world! It is comparable to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in terms of content, but surely the Met is a lot larger. I loved its extensive collection on Egyptian and Roman art, though I also appreciated its humble yet comprehensive galleries on Asian and American art.

Art & History Museum.

Hall to the various galleries on European art.

Tapestries.

Cloisters.

My best friend from Rapa Nui (Easter Island.)

American art.

Olmec from ancient Latin America!!

See the floor? That's one massive Roman mosaic floor!!

Egyptian mummy.

Of course, can't miss the Indian gallery!! Hello from me and Shiva as the Lord of Dance (Nataraja.)

Tibetan thangka art.

- We later rode the train to Brussels Centraal Station to have a final walk-through of Brussels' streets. Plenty of people were wearing their best Belgium-themed clothes and accessories to celebrate Belgian National Day, while they were also showing their warmest smiles and biggest laughs. It was perhaps the nicest day in Belgium, but the saddest for me. My mom and I had to leave Belgium that evening, and took an Uber to the airport after resting in the hotel in the afternoon. However, Brussels decided to be kind to us, as our car passed by the Castle of Laeken, or Laeken Palace, and the nearby Museums of the Far East. Laeken Palace is the official residence of the royal family. The Museums of the Far East, located in a park beside Laeken Palace has distinct ornate Japanese and Chinese pagodas; the museums are currently closed for renovation, and some of the items from these museums can be found in the Art & History Museum in Cinquantenaire Park. Despite this, the vicinity of the museums makes a nice backdrop for photos. These were the last "gifts" of Brussels to my mom and me just before leaving for Manila (unfortunately I wasn't able to take photos of them even from the car as I didn't expect that we'd pass by them.)

Oh cool, a ceiling full of Smurfs outside Centraal Station! ("The Smurfs" was made in Belgium, and remains to be one of Belgium's biggest contribution to global popular culture!)

Thank you, Belgium!! (Military planes on on their way to the palace for an air-stunt presentation.)

- After a week in Belgium I can say that it definitely is a highly underrated country with so much royal history to back up the country's splendor. I do hope that more people can visit Belgium and see what the country has to offer - beyond fries, waffles, and chocolate!!

- Please don't forget to read all about my other adventures in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg here!!

THE NETHERLANDS

Part 1, Amsterdam: here, and here

Part 2, Zaanse Schans: here

Part 3, The Hague/Den Haag: here

Part 4, Haarlem: here

Part 5, Hoorn: here


BELGIUM

Part 1, Brussels: here

Part 2, Ghent/Gent: here

Part 3, Bruges/Brugge: here

Part 4, Antwerp: here


LUXEMBOURG: here