Luang Prabang is THE place to visit in SE Asia.  This small town is SE Asia as you envision it back in the old romantic colonial days.  The whole town is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it shows -- there are numerous Buddhist temples on every block, monks in orange robes all over the place, and just a pleasant atmosphere that makes it fun to simply sit at an outdoor cafe and relax or walk along the Mekong and watch the fishermen haul in their catch.

Download my FREE Luang Prabang Guide and Map here -- perfectly sized for your pocket notebook.  You can add in your own tips / activities and places to go.  Print it out, and you're on your way.

WEATHER
The weather here is a lot more mild than in other areas of Southeast Asia.  Even in the dog days of the dry season, it's not too humid out during the day, and the evening temperatures are fantastic for walking around and enjoying the town's various night markets and food stalls.
 
BUDDHIST MONKS AND TEMPLES
Numerous Buddhist temples -- all of which are still in use and occupied by local monks -- dot the town.  The old city peninsula has the highest concentration of monasteries and temples, but there are plenty more around town and across the river.  You just need to hire a boat to take you across the river see the temples on the other side of the Mekong.

At dawn, Buddhist monks file through town on the way to their respective temples.  Locals kneel down and present offerings of food (usually sticky rice) to the monks as they walk down the sidewalk.  Tourists may participate in giving alms to Buddhist monks, but must remain respectful of the monks and the ceremony.

NIGHT MARKET
At night, the town closes off the main strip and locals set up a night market where they sell their local wares.  Here you can haggle for $1 T-shirts, colorfully embroidered bags, Lao coffee beans, artwork and various woodworked handicrafts.  This is a great place to pick up a present or a nice reminder of your trip to Luang Prabang.

The locals generally start putting out their wares at around 5-6pm and the market lasts until a little after 9pm.  The vendors are quite genial, and don't try to harass you into buying something as they do in other countries (especially other SE Asian countries).  In fact, they are remarkably courteous and respectful.  You notice this courtesy in every interaction with the locals, but it's especially apparent in the night market which is a sharp contrast to the hectic and chaotic markets most often found in SE Asia.

Regarding the market, I definitely recommend picking up some of the cheap BeerLao t-shirts that are available.  These were probably the best things I bought in Laos, and are a definite conversation starter.  It seems wherever I go...the local bakery, a bar, the elevator, people are commenting on or asking about the shirt, with its bold logo on the front and Lao script on the back.

LAO FOOD
There are numerous restaurants both on and off the main strip to choose from, and everything is extremely cheap.  Plan on getting a good meal in a decent restaurant for under $5.

GET OUT OF TOWN
hire boats, hire guides, outdoor activities to enjoy the local area to include diving and swimming in a Lao waterfall and visiting caves which served as Buddhist Temples.

MONEY
While you can use the Lao Kip, you may be better off using US Dollars and Thai Baht, or at least keeping some bills of either (or both) in your wallet.  For more information on currencies, ATMs, and the exchange rate, see my Lao money page. 

INTERNET ACCESS
Many people who go to Laos try to get lost and forget about the outside world.  Luang Prabang is definitely a place that lends itself to that attitude.  For the less adventurous among us, though, local internet cafes are a great way to stay in touch. 

There are numerous internet cafes along the main strip in Luang Prabang, and a few hotels, such as the "New Luang Prabang", have internet cafes in their lobbies.  Prices for internet access are quite low ($0.10 for 10 minutes of access), but the speeds will not be that fast and will vary from cafe to cafe.

As an aside, a friend of mine needed print / scan capabilities while on our trip (he needed to print, sign, and send back some business documents) and he was able to do all this, albeit very slowly, at the New Luang Prabang Hotel.  Even though we weren't staying there, the staff was incredibly helpful, and let him use the scanner which was in the hotel manager's office.  This incredible service just played itself out time and again in Laos, from the moment I got off the plane to the moment I flew out of the country.

PASSPORT PHOTOS
One of the requirements to enter Laos (you get your visa at the airport when you arrive) is that you have two passport sized photos with you.  Some of my friends had visited the country a couple years ago, and stressed to me the necessity of bringing pictures along because the airport definitely does not have a photo booth.

Well, as luck (or my absentmindedness) would have it, I packed these pictures away in my check in luggage when we left Thailand, and I didn't realize it until it was time to board our plane.  So I spent the hour and a half flight over fretting about the passport photos, and I sat brainstorming how to get them out of my luggage.  So I stepped up to the visa counter at the airport and faced the stodgy uniformed communist guard and told him that my photos were in my luggage.  I was about to ask him if he could let my friend through to go open up my bag to get them when he reprimanded me with a stiff fine of....one American dollar.  That was less than the cost of the actual photos!

LOST LUGGAGE
Just when we thought the drama was over, we went to claim our luggage and realized that somebody had taken my friend's bag and that guy had left his bag on the airport conveyor belt.  Mind you the guy's bag looks nothing like my friend's bag.  So we had to have the kind folks at Bangkok Air go back to pull the customs form, find out what hotel the guy was staying at, and call up the hotel to get him back to the airport.

I wouldn't even be mentioning this except the guy takes an hour to get back to the airport (5-10 minute drive from town) and when he shows up, just blames the mistake on his Thai wife, doesn't apologize, and just dismisses the whole thing with a "hey, stuff happens sometimes." 

But not only did the guy (or his wife) grab the bag that looked nothing like their own (wrong color, one was a duffel, one was a rolley suitcase, etc) the guy went so far as to OPEN the bag and start riffling through my friend's clothes before he realized he had the wrong piece of luggage.  THEN he didn't even zip up the bag totally when going back to the airport so that one of my friend's shirts was hanging out, was dragged all over the ground, and had mud all over it.  So if you want to sign up mjlubell@yahoo.com for viagra or Nigerian lottery spam, please do so. 

Lost luggage aside, Luang Prabang is a fantastic destination and I definitely recommend it to everyone who wants a true taste of Southeast Asia.