9:01 PM | Posted by samakomlao

Tourism, a double-edged sword for the tiny city of Luang Prabang !

Modern times creep up on Lao town

Like everything else in the Lao river town of Luang Prabang, the turbid Mekong appears at ease as it meanders by.

Buddhist monks in orange robes and thongs walk through the streets collecting alms. Girls on scooters, just out of school, cruise past flowering frangipanis and riverbank cafes. A chicken pecks at the roadside dirt by racks of drying rice cakes.

But modernity has crept up on what was once the ancient capital of Lan Xang, Kingdom of a Million Elephants, nestled in a jungle valley at the confluence of the Mekong and the Nam Khan rivers, about 150km south of the Chinese border...more

Tourism has rescued the town, thanks in large part to UNESCO's decision to name it a World Heritage Site in 1995 as the "Best Preserved City in Southeast Asia.".

"Here, there was nothing. Houses were empty, there were no restaurants," said Khamvanh, 35, a travel agent in Luang Prabang since 1998, looking out from his open store front at the main street, Phonthisalat.

Today, a stretch of restaurants lines the road, offering Lao specialities such as ground meat with lemongrass, and mint and

sticky rice, and dishes that cater to the growing flow of Western backpackers: pancakes, pizzas and fruit smoothies.

"Six years ago tourists came to Laos, but there was no internet or email and telephone fees were about $US6 ($NZ8.65) for aminute," Khamvanh said. "It was a pass-through point."

In recent years, however, Luang Prabang has started to draw an estimated 60,000-70,000 tourists annually, about four times the town's native population.

They come to wander around 1,000-year-old temples, sip coffee on French-colonial verandas and get lost in Luang Prabang's narrow, brick lanes lit by ankle-high ceramic lanterns.

Their presence, of course, mostly means business.

Along with the restaurants on Phonthisalat, there are convenience stores, scores of new guest houses, shops selling ethnic bric-a-brac, adventure tour guides, mobile phone dealers and a rash of internet cafes.

Bars, karaoke halls and massage parlours have popped up too.

Koung, 25, from the capital Vientiane, comes up to Luang Prabang to help her brother who runs the hip Khob Chai bar.

"It's filled every night here," she said. "Lots of people, lots of money."Luang Prabang has come a long way in a short time.

The city's pulse faded after the 1975 Communist takeover, as many Lao were hauled off to re-education camps. Homes were abandoned, monks left temples, stores closed.

In the 1990s, the outside world started to re-discover Luang Prabang, drawn by its architectural jewels, products of the mix of traditional Lao and French styles.

The town is home to dozens of slanted-roof, gold-trimmed pagodas and mansions that remain little changed from when they were built in the French colonial era, which ended in 1954. Most are now under strict preservation regulations.

"The rich architectural heritage of Luang Prabang is today proving something of a double-edged sword for the tiny city, transformed since it was added to the list of World Heritage Sites," said Nicolas Pillet, general manager of La Residence Phou Vao, one of Luang Prabang's fanciest hotels.

Signs of change are as easy to spot as coconut palms.Scores of Chinese-made scooters buzz through the streets. Several rooftops are now adorned with satellite dishes.

"Mobile phones are everywhere," said trekking guide Chanthee Phonpseuth, 22, who works at an internet cafe when he isn't leading visitors through the jungle."In the fields, farmers will be harvesting, and then - ring, ring - Hello?"

The internet is slowly catching on, too. There are now about a dozen web cafes in Luang Prabang whereas two years ago, Phonpseuth says, there were two. Most cater to outsiders, but some locals go in, including monks.

Rik Ponne, a consultant with UNESCO in Bangkok, said the growing contact with the outside world has had mixed results.

"Things change because people don't have time any more for traditions but they are into making money," he said.

"But on the other hand, it has given them pride in their culture."

Trekker Phonpseuth is an example of what the sleepy city's contact with the outside world means.His mother, father, two sisters and brother-in-law grow corn, rice and beans for a living in a village near the Kuang Si falls about 30km out of town."My father and mother told me my sisters couldn't go to school because there was not enough money. So, my father said, don't become a farmer. Life is too difficult," he said."I like my job now. The money is not too much," he said."But it's more than farming."

Source: http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488120/933540
Photo: flickr