Pak Ou caves - an excursion from Luang Prabang, Laos

Arrive into Luang Prabang and you realise that a trip on the River Mekong is a must. Well, you can do either a sunset cruise or a trip to the Pak Ou caves. Or both if you have time on your hands. The Pak Ou caves are part of any tourist’s itinerary. Pak Ou means Mouth of the River. People have lived in these caves since the 14^th C.  So well packaged is the concept of the tour that you feel that one must not miss it. In fact, what is really more enjoyable and interesting is the river trip rather than the cave, especially if you have seen Buddha statues elsewhere which are far superior in number and quality – i had seen Pindaya caves in Myanmar a few years ago and it’s embedded in my memory. 

“The southernmost Pindaya cave extends for about 490 feet. It is known for its interior which contains over 8,000 images of Buddha. Some of the older statues and images in the cave have inscriptions dating to the late 18th century and the earliest one dates from 1773. The collection as a whole forms an impressive display of Buddhist iconography and art from early Konbaung era to the modern period. No other place in Burma displays such a range of style, not only in the images, but also in the ornamental thrones and reredos which surround the images.” I quote Wikipedia as it a statement expressing factually and beautifully what is at Pindaya – it is just mind blowing! 

Anyway, back to Pak Ou. The caves are NNE of Luang Prabang - 30 kms and 53 minutes away on Route 13. The actual boat trip is 40 kms but going out takes two hours because we stop at Ban Sang Hai, euphemously called Whisky Village, and then move to the cave. 

On the way back, we take just one hour back and it’s during this trip that we are served a wonderful multi course lunch cooked on board our boat. Read the menu.

They gave my nephew a wonderful vegetarian meal as we had requested it before we began the trip. The our costs US$ 25 per pax including the lunch and guide who comes along with you for the whole tour. 

a panoramic view of the river trip 

climbing to the whisky Village 

The village is a total rip off – we stopped for 45 minutes on a hot afternoon. First like any river cruise, you have to climb rickety steps to land. 

There, as you see from the photos, we saw one small shop selling bottles of spirit made from either white rice or red rice. Yeast is added and the fermentation process takes two weeks. Then the liquid is boiled for two hours, cooled and filtered. For touristic value, rather than for local consumption I believe, they add scorpions, snake and other venomous creatures. 

The red or white rice along with clear or coloured whisky - no extras! 

An extra element !

This is the still in which they make the illicit stuff along with the cooling vats. 

I remember that I had crossed from Chiang Mai across to the point where Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet at one particular point - many years ago in a fast longboat where they showed us many such shops. 

A Dutch couple and I had challenged each other to try the snake whisky. Eventually we both did – it was refined rotgut – harsh and fiery. I had even brought back some bottles with the cobra in them and gifted to colleagues. 

So, this time, it was just a look session and no trying, though we did try the plain white whisky. Pleasant, tasteless; but at my age, I think I prefer my malts instead!! 

Cobra or scorpion or both? Your choice. 

Weaving local textiles

if you are familiar with Indian deities, this is a perfect example

There are a few textile stalls right by the whisky shop and then as you walk further in, you come across a Wat. 

On entering, you see that from each of the four exits of the wat, they lead to lanes having shops where textiles are woven right in front of you. 

This large handloom industry produces shawls, drapes, cushion material etc. Obviously being handloom, the fabric width is not more than three feet or so.

We went to the wat which has ornate carving, gold paint everywhere and a couple of typical Indian deities including the monkey god!! Strange to find it here in the midst of nowhere!! It was far too hot so within 15 minutes we were back in the coolness of the boat. 

We then proceeded to the caves. Very pretty scenic route – this was more enjoyable than the caves themselves!  

The first recorded use of the Pak Ou caves for religious purposes was when the local populace worshipped Phi or the Spirit of Nature. Local belief has that the cave is associated with a River Spirit – understandable as it sits atop the River Mekong.

The Lower Caves visible from the river. See the Buddha statue inside??

Traditional history has the belief that the Lao first entered the valley in the mid 8^th C; after moving southwards from south China. It was not until considerably later that Buddhism spread into this area from India. It is established fact that the Lao Royal Family had adopted Buddhism by the 16^th C. 

The caves received royal patronage until 1975. Every year, the king and the people of Luang Prabang made a pilgrimage during New Year celebrations. They commissioned artisans to make beautiful sculptures. Hence many of the carvings date from between the 18^th to 20^th C.

The more than 4,000 Buddha sculptures found in the Tam Ting caves are actually placed there by worshippers over time. They are mostly carved of wood or moulded from a tree resin coated with red or black lacquer and sometimes with gold leaf on top of the lacquer. Very few are made from animal horn, ceramic or bronze. 

a beautifully made walkway of bamboo woven together

There are three common poses depicting important stages in Buddha’s life:

-      Calling for Rain – standing pose with arms pointing downwards

-      Calling the Earth to Witness – a seated figure and one hand extended downwards

-      Meditation – a figure seated with crossed hands

There are two other figures:

-      Stop Arguing – a standing figure and palms extended outwards

-      Reclining – where the Buddha is reclining. But these are not common.

The Lower Cave which visitors arrive at first is a prominent landmark visible from far in the Mekong River. Paved pathways lead up to this cave as well as the upper cave some 60 metres above the river. 

my favourite photo  - an ancient religion, student monks and modern technology 

In the lower cave, they claim that 2,500 sculptures are located. A central point for tourists and believers is the alter closest to the entry where flowers, incense and candles are offered. Lion statues guard the entry whilst a Ramayana sculpture of a hermit linked to local forest medicines sits immediately above the lower entry platform. A large stupa like structure surmounts the highest platform. A smaller stupa structure is on the cliff face to the south.

en route to Upper Cave 

There is a small spring which supplies holy water used during the annual New Year ceremonies. 

The Upper Cave - You climb and climb these horrendously huge wide steps. I hate climbing steps. I can walk for miles on flat land but climbing is anathema. Luckily I had a gecko keeping me company, step for step, for many steps and that lightened my stress. There are 215 steps to the top from the Lower Cave. Yes, I counted them! 

my companion for many a high rising step 

The entrance to the Upper Cave has a lady selling exquisitely designed floral prayer offerings. 

The entrance is enclosed by a carved wooden frieze which at one time supported massive wooden doors, at present, so far as I could see, there was a metal gate which one passed through and which was locked presumably at night. There is a sculpture of Buddha’s disciple sitting by the gate on a pedestal. 

prayer floral offerings 

                              

Inside, the cave becomes darker as you progress inwards. It extends some 55 metres – in fact by the time I had walked some 50 feet I was in total darkness and luckily I carry a torch always so I could flash it on the walls.

Even then, the darkness was so powerful that the light just did not function clearly. I stayed where I was and just aimed my camera and took the photos in various exposures so I eventually got what I needed. 

the Upper Cave - taken with great difficulty due to total darkness 

stairway to heaven 

According to my friends, to the left of the entry is a carved wooden water channel and miniature house for ceremonially washing the images of Buddha. 

Sunflowers and Lao art motifs decorate the trough.

Further into the cave are groups of sculptures. – Some of them more than 1½ metres in height. Some are really small. Rumour has that there was at one time a large seated Buddha here but frankly, nobody knows. 

Our time was up at the caves and we had to return back to the boat. Climbing up, we came across a large party of Argentinians, Spaniards and Paraguayans!! So far from their continent. 

But that’s the beauty of Laos – small, beautiful, laid back and welcoming to all foreigners. One would never know that it is still a true communist regime as politics is never discussed by a single local. You don’t know that there is 11 pm curfew for all and that restaurants close by 10.30 pm until you find yourself without food at that hour – as we did on our first night. But even then, we loved Luang Prabang with its wonderful ambience and architecture. A true World Heritage City. 



















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American bombs redesigned by enterprising Lao tribals !!

Laos – American Bombing – most bombed country – Spoon Village – these are four words / phrases which hit you when you arrive into Luang Prabang and then into Phonsovan, the primary town in eastern Laos where the bombing occurred. These are headlined everywhere – in each tourist leaflet, in the hotel brochure etc. So, if you are travelling , as I did , to Phonsovan, the area with the most mines in the world, it is but axiomatic that one must visit the Spoon Village where enterprising  villagers have created a new business concept.  

According to the Cooperative Orthotic & Prosthetic Enterprise (COPE), Lao PDR is the most heavily bombed country per capita in the world. From 1963-1973, Laos became an unwitting pawn during the Second Indochinese War. During this time, the US Air Force dropped a planeload of cluster bombs every eight minutes for nine consecutive years. 

The Spoon Village’s actual name is Ban Naphia. It is quite far from Phonsovan and the village itself is L shaped. It is a distant spot on the horizon as you try to get to it – the final approach can be across one of two stretches: our chap took the longer route as he felt the road was a better mud track!  

As I was at the end of the tourist season, there were only three houses where they were still working their kilns. During the aftermath of the war, villagers began to collect, sell, or use scrap metal from the bombs as a means to generate income. Ban Naphia is a traditional Lao Pouan village of some 50 - 60 households. Right after the war, villagers began gathering aluminium from exploded bombs and made it into spoons 

The villagers were taught this skill by a family that relocated to Ban Naphia from Houaphan Province, further north. In the early days, five families produced the recycled bomb spoons. Today, there are approximately 12 - 15 families producing more that 150,000 spoons per year from war and non-war scrap aluminium. Production has expanded to include bracelets, earrings, pendants and souvenir items, such as key chains.

It is important to note that of all the bombs dropped in Laos, 30% did not explode. Unexploded ordnance (UXO) continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of villagers in rural Lao. In their search for scrap metal, many villagers encounter UXO and suffer catastrophic injuries.

It is totally unsafe to go and collect these unexploded objects which can be as small as a finger and as large as a 6ft+ bomb. In the fields, its where the most accidents take place. Large areas which have been cleared are demarcated as such by the de-Mining Commission. Most of these are what locals call “bombies” - anything the size of one’s palm or slightly larger mortars. Frankly, the metal is worth a few cents only but Laos is such a poor country that even that minimal amount is of value to the individual. 

The mortality rate, and especially the injuries caused rate, is well documented. Every villager knows the risk. But they have lived through this danger for two generations now. You will find these bombs, large and small, displayed outside restaurants, hotels, in homes, everywhere as a reminder as well as a decoration. I found a huge stack of bombs right behind the Tourist Office building in Phonsovan. At the Jars site, there is large 8 – 10 ft receptacle full of cluster bombs. 

At each home we visited, they showed us spoons, bracelets, bottle openers and key chains in different shapes. The local builds a kiln. The metal block is put inside to melt. Then using a long ladle to dip into the pool of liquid metal, it is poured into a mould of whatever is to be made.  If you are wondering who buys, it’s simple – most of the items are bulk purchases by Lao traders who resell these across the country or if lucky, to contacts abroad as unique souvenirs. 

As the USA had just inaugurated Donald Trump as President for the next four years, I suggested to two of the locals that they should make key chains with Trump’s face on one side and an image of a turtle (considered lucky amongst locals + Chinese) or any other visual. One of them seemed excited as he has an American buyer.

Our visit to the village lasted all of 30 – 45 minutes as it does not take time to see the collection of items and the process of manufacture. The houses are set apart from the work area and they are typical of the local architectural style. 

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Monks at work and play - in Laos

Laos, like any other far eastern country, has many Buddhist monks as Buddhism is the official religion even though here, it’s a communist country – remember the Pathet Lao and the war a few decades ago??  The communism is not blatantly visible and basically, it’s like Vietnam, a very pleasant country which still retains its French influence – street names are in French and Lao.

Buddhism is part of the culture and most males will undergo a few months or years as a monk – part religion, part self discipline and partly, especially for the poor, a way for the child to be educated and to be well looked after by the monastery.

We were very fortunate as we saw two unique events – a building coming up from scratch in Wat Xien Thuang and a Buddha Washing ceremony at Wat Mai.

We went in to the courtyard which had a large tent; and were enchanted seeing a religious ceremony in full flow. The crowds were pouring in, each family or couple, in their best clothes, with a silver coloured bowl containing water and a few frangipani or champa flowers in it. They queued up on two sides on a platform up a few steps. From that height, they poured their bowl of water into a golden coloured “pipe” which was carved with dragon shapes. This water rolled down onto a glass encased statue of the Buddha – thus washing him. Priests chanted payers on the side. 

I don’t know the meaning of this ceremony but they came out feeling fulfilled and happy. time – what a different feeling. It was totally empty. The whole place had been totally cleaned up. It seems this ceremony is held on three days only per year.   

We saw the inside of the Wat with its beautiful Buddha statue and yet again a large golden mural depicting scenes from life.

This was the first temple we visited on our morning sightseeing tour. The main building has an impressive gold frontage. Inside there is a large carriage type structure used so I am told to carry funeral urns of Lao royalty. At the back there are Buddha images. 






We were very lucky as we saw the monks constructing a building right in the central courtyard. They had already got a skeletal metal frame fitted. When we reached they were in the process of raising the triangular roof which was worth seeing in itself. They took nearly an hour as it had to be carefully lifted and placed in its slot. Of course Health and Safety as defined in Europe plays no part here. 

The monks clambered up and down without helmets or rigging. There were monks painting parts of the golden framework. Others helping elsewhere. Teamwork at its best. 

At the back of the second building is the Tree of Life which I felt was okay. Nothing great. I rather liked the collage or mural made of various inlaid stones – showing aspects of life. A similar scene on a much grander scale is in the national museum ceiling. 
It’s an interesting Wat and well worth seeing

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Kuang Si Waterfalls - the 14 stage falls are unbelieveably beautiful

The Kuang Si waterfalls are the largest waterfall in Luang Prabang area. Most articles talk about 3 or 4 tiers but frankly I saw at least 14 levels in the falls, from top down. The drop is said to be between 50 – 60 metres into a spectacular azure or turquoise blue pool. It flows downstream into five pools with cascades.  

The route to the Falls is rather long and on a long winding road thru pretty countryside. When one arrives, after paying the entrance ticket, you walk on the tarred road straight up an incline and not on the small path on the right side.
After 10 minute stroll, you come up to the area where people are picnicking. Suddenly you see the Falls. As you go nearer, you find that actually there is not one waterfall but around 14 separate waterfalls dropping from a great height creating new falls as they progress downwards. Awesome does not describe it fully! 

It's an amazing sight. One walks on the bridge and just meditates on what nature has created. There are many people taking photographs of the falls. On the far side there is a path but we did not go up as we were not sure where it was leading. On the right side, there are a series of pools where you can swim. The water is icy cold but still many people especially Europeans were swimming.

The watercolour is an amazing light cerulean blue in colour. This is due to the water flowing over many limestone rocks. ...from the spring to the falls to the travertine cascades. Limestone particles have high levels of calcium carbonate which reflect light making the water appear a stunning turquoise blue colour.  Alongside path there are small boards explaining the beauty of this whole area. You can go on a trail right to the very top where you see the stream feeding into the falls.

The weather at Kuang Si is noticeably cooler than in town. You can picnic here for a few hours or the whole day as there are changing rooms, tables and benches and other facilities. 

The bear sanctuary is not really worth seeing but you cannot avoid it as the path to the exit goes to the bear sanctuary and then out. We saw just 3-4 bears. 
These Falls are definitely worth a visit if you are in the city. Do not miss the falls if you are in Luang Prabang. 

Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com