Massages, markets and a cruise on the Mekong were all highlights of a holiday in Laos for Carolynne Dear and her daughter, Scarlet
Enjoying the Kuang Si Waterfalls despite the rain
The long school summer holidays stretch into oblivion for our kids. They break-up in late June and don’t return until early September, leaving a gaping ten weeks to fill and hopefully some of it not plugged into Snapchat.
So when an opportunity to travel to Laos crossed my desk, I decided to add my teen daughter, Scarlet, as my plus one. A mother-daughter trip would make a memorable stay out of trip to review the the Avani+ property in Luang Prabang.
Luang Prabang is a fascinating destination and arguably one of the areas least touched by tourism in southeast Asia. Perhaps the main reason for this is its relative inaccessibility. From Hong Kong, there are no direct flights. However, there are various transit options and we opted to fly to Bangkok, spend the night at the airport Novotel and catch the early, and only, Bangkok Airways flight of the day the following morning. It’s a route I had taken several years previously when I took part in the annual Luang Prabang Half Marathon.
Bangkok Airways operates a daily service from Bangkok to the ancient city of Luang Prabang in a small prop plane. Incredibly, the staff manage to conjure up a full hot meal and bar service from the tiny galley on the two hour flight.
Bear in mind the route can be a little bumpy as the tiny plane tracks over Thailand’s mountainous northern region, especially during the unpredictable wet season when we were travelling. But the views were incredible and it felt even more of an adventure.
Luang Prabang, the jewel of Indochina, is a UNESCO world heritage site and ancient royal city. It’s located where the mighty Mekong river meets its tributary, the Khan river, and sits surrounded by emerald green mountains. Because of its heritage status, new building has been limited and developments must be designed to be sympathetic to the local architecture. Overall, the town is something of a hidden gem with its relaxed pace of life and pocket-sized population.
Another advantage to Luang Prabang is its compact size; it’s easy to reach most things by foot or by bike, or by hailing one of the tuk tuks that ply the streets.
The storeyed Avani+ property is located centrally, opposite the popular night market and steps away from local cafes, restaurants and temples. The bungalow building was originally constructed in 1914 as French officer quarters during the French occupation of the area. It became a hotel in 1961 and in 2014 was reconstructed as a low rise, contemporary hotel.
The hotel is one of the only in Luang Prabang to have a pool
The sleek boutique property has been built around an ancient banyan tree that shades the inviting 25m outdoor pool, the hotel is in face one of the only properties in town to boast a swimming pool. The 53-room boutique hotel is set around the pool and tree, with sleek bedrooms are decked out in woods with cream furnishings, all mod cons and deep verandahs. Bathrooms feature double sinks and showers (but no tubs) and are partitioned from the rest of the room with a curtain. Our cosy corner room had a sofa, desk and a wrap-around verandah with lounging chairs and an outdoor table setting.
Further facilities at the hotel include an Avani+ Spa where Scarlet enjoyed a very good massage one afternoon while I lazed by the pool.
We tucked into a welcome Laotian lunch at the hotel’s Main Street Bar and Grill on our first day, which overlooks a pretty laneway on one side and the hotel pool on the other. It is also the venue for the hotel's buffet breakfast. Laos cuisine, not as well-known perhaps as other Southeast Asian destinations such as Thailand and Vietnam, is packed with flavour with plenty of herbs and chillies. For our inaugural meal we were served kham kong khao pad, a fried rice dish with Lao sausage (a particular delicacy of the country) and topped with a fried egg, lhon som moo, which turned out to be a traditional pork and coconut curry, and pandan pudding with fruit and coconut milk.
Our room and balcony at Avani+ Luang Prabang
Having worked off lunch with a few lengths of the pool and a spot of unpacking, we were treated to a hotel-arranged sunset cruise on the Mekong to end our first day. The rain had stopped and the storm clouds parted as we meandered our way along the enormous river, the wooden restaurants and houses that line the banks in town soon making way for tangled jungle and soaring mountains.
We slept well every night and the hotel breakfast, a yummy mix of tropical fruit, French pastries and hot and cold options, set us up perfectly each day. On our first morning we navigated the dusty streets of Luang Prabang and discovered golden temples, tempting coffee houses and bougie boutiques.
On the second day we rose early to meet our hotel driver who took us out to view the famous Kuang Si Waterfalls. Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse and the winding, pot-holed road to the falls filled with water as the rain poured down. The famously turquoise-hued waterfalls were more of a muddy brown, but despite the deluge we took the plunge and enjoyed a cooling dip and a brief reprieve from the humidity. The journey to Kuang Si Waterfalls is about an hour-and-a-half but we loved the picturesque route and the stunning falls and thought it was well worth the effort.
On our way back to town, we called in at Laos Buffalo Dairy, a farm founded by a group of Singapore expat bankers looking for a new challenge. Setting up what is the only buffalo dairy in Laos met the brief and after many ups and downs the social enterprise now supports the local community by renting buffalo from nearby farmers and providing vaccinations and better care for the animals which are traditionally left to roam wild. The farm also provides employment for around 50 people.
Tending the water buffalo at Laos Buffalo Dairy
We took a guided tour during which Scarlet attempted to milk a buffalo, give a bottle to the calves and feed the pigs and rabbits, while I attempted to capture it all on iphone. Apparently it made for great TikTok content.
The tour was enormous fun and finished with a slice of delicious buffalo-cheese cake, a scoop of buffalo-milk ice cream and a coffee.
On our final evening we splurged with a meal at Manda de Laos, a restaurant specialising in Laotian family cuisine with tables set prettily around a UNESCO-classified lily pond. Make sure you book in advance, we were lucky to secure our table and many in the line before us were turned away without a reservation. We devoured a delicious meal of Laotian curries and fruit under twinkling candlelight right by the lily-festooned water.
Before turning in for the night we took one final tour of the convivial night market for last minute gifts. And the following morning we were back at the tiny airport and waiting for our return flight to Bangkok and reality.
The best time to visit Luang Prabang is from late October until March when the weather is dry and the temperatures relatively cool.
A visa is required for all nationalities entering Laos. When we travelled, a visa-on-arrival cost US$40, or US$25 for Vietnamese and Chinese nationals. A passport photo was also required to complete the paperwork. At the time of arrival, the immigration queue for visa-on-arrival was faster than the queue for visitors with a visa already issued.
Asia Family Traveller was a guest of Avani+ Luang Prabang, flying with Hong Kong Airlines to Bangkok and then Bangkok Airways to Luang Prabang.
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