Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang
We began the day with an official site inspection of the Dhara Dhevi resort along with my buddy Savas, the inimitable resident manager. It is just impossible to detail the scope of this place. We saw the new Colonial Wing scheduled to open on October 1 with much fanfare. The resort will be complete (for now) at that time. I decided the Dhara Dhevi is the destination. The owner designed it in concert with rising star architects whom he sent all over the region to study the styles and techniques of those who came many many generations before. The entire complex is laced with antiquities and art - surely priceless. His whole idea was to create an homage to the rich history of the region - a living museum.
The finished product is astonishing. As cliche as it sounds, they a have achieved a resort which comprises of something for everyone. Swell kids' club including activities such as rice farming (!) weaving, etc. The aforementioned spa speaks for itself - etherial! There is a stellar cooking school on premises as well. This would be the perfect destination resort for a small family or, even better a couple wishing to truly get away from everything while having all manner of culture at immediate disposal. The library alone could keep me busy for weeks! Years!
We took our flight to Luang Prabang on this partly cloudy (remarkably unbumpy) afternoon. It was poignant flying over rugged, jungle-coated mountains, speckled with tiny, isolated villages. Tragically, patches of obvilously slash-and-burn agricultural clearings dot the landscape.
Landing in Luang Prabang was striking, as the red-roofs of the town emerged from the greenery along with the odd gold-gilt stupas scattered about. After a comical (endearing really) visa-issuance and customs experience we were greeted by our perpetually broadly smiling guide, Som Phone (Sum Pun). We checked in to La Residence Phou Vao around 3:00pm but still crammed in the Royal Palace and something like four temples (mostly on foot) in the next few hours. In spite of Som Phone's easy, charming, and low-key demeanor, the afternoon was precisely planned choc-a-bloc and executed minute-by-minute! Luang Prabang truly has a "Shangri La" air to it, and even though we rushed about (including a sweaty 300+ step climb to the top of Phousi Hill for sunset) it all seemed so so relaxed!
The highlight of the day - and possibly the whole trip was our visit at dusk - to a temple on the main drag to watch the novice monks chanting for some 45 minutes. Words cannot describe how magical it was. I felt self-conscious intruding on the space of these young men in at their most spiritual time. Still, the senior monk conducting the proceedings came out afterwards to engage us in 20 minutes of conversation - thrilled to know about us and to tell us all about what we had just witnessed!
We then sauntered through the night market perusing various tourist swag and (extremely well-made and inexpensive) handicrafts before heading to the hotel for a much-needed shower and dinner before crashing hard!
The finished product is astonishing. As cliche as it sounds, they a have achieved a resort which comprises of something for everyone. Swell kids' club including activities such as rice farming (!) weaving, etc. The aforementioned spa speaks for itself - etherial! There is a stellar cooking school on premises as well. This would be the perfect destination resort for a small family or, even better a couple wishing to truly get away from everything while having all manner of culture at immediate disposal. The library alone could keep me busy for weeks! Years!
We took our flight to Luang Prabang on this partly cloudy (remarkably unbumpy) afternoon. It was poignant flying over rugged, jungle-coated mountains, speckled with tiny, isolated villages. Tragically, patches of obvilously slash-and-burn agricultural clearings dot the landscape.
Landing in Luang Prabang was striking, as the red-roofs of the town emerged from the greenery along with the odd gold-gilt stupas scattered about. After a comical (endearing really) visa-issuance and customs experience we were greeted by our perpetually broadly smiling guide, Som Phone (Sum Pun). We checked in to La Residence Phou Vao around 3:00pm but still crammed in the Royal Palace and something like four temples (mostly on foot) in the next few hours. In spite of Som Phone's easy, charming, and low-key demeanor, the afternoon was precisely planned choc-a-bloc and executed minute-by-minute! Luang Prabang truly has a "Shangri La" air to it, and even though we rushed about (including a sweaty 300+ step climb to the top of Phousi Hill for sunset) it all seemed so so relaxed!
The highlight of the day - and possibly the whole trip was our visit at dusk - to a temple on the main drag to watch the novice monks chanting for some 45 minutes. Words cannot describe how magical it was. I felt self-conscious intruding on the space of these young men in at their most spiritual time. Still, the senior monk conducting the proceedings came out afterwards to engage us in 20 minutes of conversation - thrilled to know about us and to tell us all about what we had just witnessed!
We then sauntered through the night market perusing various tourist swag and (extremely well-made and inexpensive) handicrafts before heading to the hotel for a much-needed shower and dinner before crashing hard!
posted by ultimatetraveler at 5:57 PM
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