Nestling in a slim valley shaped by
lofty, green mountains and cut by
the swift Mekong and Khan rivers,
LOUANG
PHABANG exudes remote
tranquillity and casual grandeur. A
tiny mountain kingdom for more than
a thousand years and designated a
World Heritage site in 1995, Louang
Phabang is endowed with a legacy of
ancient red-roofed temples and
French-Indochinese architecture, not
to mention some of the country's
most refined cuisine, its richest
culture and its most sacred Buddha
image. The very name Louang Phabang
conjures up the classic image of
Laos - streets of ochre colonial
houses and swaying palms, lines of
saffron-robed monks gliding through
the morning mist, and, of course,
longtail boats racing down the
Mekong. This is where the first
proto-Lao nation took root. It is
the most Lao city in Laos, the only
one where ethnic Lao are in the
majority and where the back streets
and cobblestoned lanes have a
distinctly village-like feel. It's
the birthplace of countless Lao
rituals and the origin of a line of
rulers. Conveniently, Louang Phabang
is also the
transport hub of
northern Laos, with road, river and
air links - both domestic and
international - all leading to the
city.
The earliest Lao settlers made
their way down the Nam Ou Valley,
sometime after the tenth century,
absorbing the territory on which the
city lies and naming it Xiang
Dong Xiang Thong . But it wasn't
until legendary Lao warrior Fa Ngum
captured the town in 1353 that it
emerged as the heart of a thriving,
independent kingdom in its own
right. He founded the kingdom of Lane
Xang Hom Khao - the Land of a
Million Elephants and the White
Parasol - and established the line
of kings that was to rule Laos for
six centuries. With Fa Ngum came
monks, artisans and learned men from
the Khmer court, a legal code, and
Theravada Buddhism. Striking temples
were built, epic poems composed and
sacred texts copied, and in 1512,
King Visoun brought the very sacred
Pha Bang Buddha image to the city, a
hugely significant event. Lane Xang
was, for the moment, a major power
on the Indochinese peninsula, but by
1563 the fear of encroaching Burmese
led to the capital being moved to
Vientiane. The Pha Bang was left
behind and the city renamed after
the revered image. From then on,
Louang Phabang had a roller-coaster
ride, invaded first by the Burmese
and then by the Siamese, until King
Oun Kham finally agreed to
co-operate with France, and the
city's French period began. During
the two Indochina wars, Louang
Phabang fared better than most towns
in Laos. However, the Second
Indochina War ultimately took its
toll on Louang Phabang's ceremonial
life, which lost its regal heart
when the Pathet Lao ended the royal
line by forcing King Sisavang
Vatthana to abdicate in 1975.
