I chose to come to this city due to the waterfalls in Luang Prabang, Laos because I have been to all of the SE Asian countries except Singapore, Myanmar and Laos. One of the qualities that attracted me here were a tour that did include a trip to see bears and the affordability.
My trip here in Luang Prabang would only be a few days since from my research the infrastructure was less than other neighboring countries such as Thailand and Cambodia so I kept my expectations low. After paying the $40 VISA fee in the airport and took a taxi to my hotel. The heat was around 100 degrees Fahrenheit or at least felt like it due to the humidity. I walked around the city along both the Nam Khan River and Mekong River and decided to book a tour from a retailer.
The next day I went to the tour pickup spot by that retailer but was unable to locate the tour bus to go to the Caves in Luang Prabang. As a Plan B I found a tour guide on the street and negotiated a tour to the Pak Ou cave and to Kuang Si Waterfalls. This cave was beautiful because I took a small 5 minute boat ride to it and the people managing the cave were a kid and a couple of parents trying to sell me things such as candles and live fish. Once I completed this it was off to the waterfall park which included an area with bears.
Kuang Si Waterfalls Park was beautiful as on my initial walk I saw the bear cage before walking to the waterfall. I highly recommend to avoid going past the waterfalls as several other people I met along a trail and I got lost looking for other waterfalls in the park. This park was very touristy in comparison to Pak Ou Cave.
The drive between each landmark took about 30-45 minutes but was pleasant. My tour guide was very helpful and spoke good English as he gave me a lot of background about himself and the history of Laos.
The next day I decided to take a Candle Making Workshop. I found this from GetYourGuide.com which was helpful as it was very new per my teacher named Lee. Lee told me this workshop was his sister’s idea because she actually went to university in the United States and returned to Laos with a new mindset on expanding tourism in Luang Prabang. The workshop lasted about 2 hours in which I created my own candle scent from a combination of 4 scents.
To sum up my 3 day stay in Luang Prabang, it would be to say it exceeded my expectations. I say this mainly because the people here are very friendly, laidback, and like to help locals. This city has a night market but beware that most restaurants close at 10pm so this is not the best place if you are looking to party all night but to experience the culture.
