Post by WebmasterH on Mar 9, 2005 21:41:40 GMT -5
The old royal capital of Luang Prabang wants visitors but also wants to stay the same
Jarunee Taemsamran
I recently had the chance to go back to Luang Prabang, several years after my first visit at a time when the Tourism Authority of Thailand was trying to establish tourism connections between Thailand and Laos.
In the intervening years, the charm of Luang Prabang has been attracting tourists from all over the world. Its popularity made me worried. I wouldn't like to see Luang Prabang overly developed the same way so many spots in Thailand have been. Secretly I hoped that Luang Prabang will have been able to retain its traditional old-world charm.
My recent trip to the historic city had me sighing with relief.
Luang Prabang has changed, of course, as a result of its tourism boom. But luckily, the changes seem to be well under control.
I was happy to see that the town remains tranquil. Not many vehicles are on the street, and people have retained their slow pace of life. The old-world atmosphere largely remains, even though some tourist activities and services have sprouted up around the city.
At the tourist centre where a good number of historical sites, temples and museums are located, there is a slight touch of Bangkok's Khao San Road, including illuminated restaurant signs, bars and souvenir shops along the street.
But the similarity is slight. Luang Prabang's centre is less vibrant, quieter and less chaotic than Khao San. What I liked most was that though there are plenty of bars and restaurants, the city remains almost silent at night, even though these establishments are doing a brisk business. They are not crazily noisy with loud music in Thailand.
My friends and I went to the Hive bar, said to be the trendiest tourist hot spot. And it indeed looks so hip, playing modern western music. It looks like a meeting point for tourists who love to chill out, meet and chat in a hip venue.
But as the clock struck midnight, everything completely halted. The music and lights were immediately turned off, the staff refused to serve more beverages. Customers could linger, so long as they didn't mind silent darkness.
Luang Prabang even warns visitors not to destroy the tranquillity of the town. Tourists are ordered to be quiet as they walk back to their hotel, in order to respect local culture and people.
An architect working on the renovation of the newly opened Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel said the city is managed under strict guidelines by Unesco. He claimed all tourist activities are under the control of this United Nations agency, which aims to curb any possible rapid growth in tourism. Unesco's guidelines include rules to maintain examples of old architecture, preserve the traditional atmosphere of the old royal capital, and to generally control tourist activities.
This is probably why changes are happening so slowly.
Visitors should be aware that nightlife in Luang Prabang is pretty quiet _ so quiet that some may wonder if it's worth advertising it.
But remember, tranquillity is the key to Luang Prabang. The old capital may want to attract tourists, but it is also fighting to retain its own tradition and identity.
You may envy the town's people, as they only work for six months a year and spend the other six months relaxing.
"Lao people don't understand why we should be in a hurry. For them, life is more laid-back and relaxing. So sometimes they just stop working when they feel like resting," the architect said.
"But they are more developed these days. When I arrived last year, there was nothing. Now you can see many Internet cafes around here."
Today, the shores of the Mekong River are thronged with riverside restaurants serving both Lao and international food. At night, this strip is illuminated by fluorescent lights, providing one new sight that old-time visitors will not recall.
The weekend market is another new feature.
It appeared just a year or so ago, started originally by Hmong who migrated into Luang Prabang and founded the market. Later on, local city dwellers followed, and the market has been expanding ever since.
The same weekend market is also a nighttime walking street for visitors and locals. Most of the vendors here sell similar items _ Lao silk and cotton, clothes and various types of handicrafts.
The morning market, where locals shop for fresh food and vegetables, used to be the No. 1 "must-see" on the list of things to do in Luang Prabang. It's still busy, and visitors still come to see how the locals live.
Another activity for first-time visitors is to get up early in the morning and join the alms offering. It's a daily ritual, where visitors can watch Lao Buddhist monks walking in long lines to receive offerings from local people.
Impressed with such daily rituals, some tourists just do as the Lao do, and offer alms as well. The irony is that the traditional offerings of alms to monks has remained part of the local culture, while also permeating the culture of the tourists as well.
Some tours even include offerings in their packages, and the operators makeup packs with sticky rice and other food for their clients to give to the monks.
These packages seem to include everything, down to a mat where tourists can sit and kneel as they wait for the monks. The scene looks impressive, especially for tourists who are new to such exotic customs.
Then there are the times western tourists rush in with their cameras, thinking they are photographing a centuries-old Lao tradition _ when in fact they are taking photos of fellow tourists who at the same time think they are taking part in a centuries-old Lao tradition.
I'm not sure if such a thing can be considered a threat to local culture in Luang Prabang.
But it's an example of where tourism naively _ but insidiously _ takes away the charm of local culture and turns it into an alien, tourist "event". Hopefully, with strict guidelines for tourism development, Luang Prabang can maintain its charm for many years to come.
Source: www.bangkokpost.com/
Photo: namaste.thanaka.org/images/laos519.JPG
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