Luang Prabang Night Market

I explore the night market in Luang Prabang, Laos. Photos & stories.

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July 2015

We were anxious to get out and start exporing, and luckily our hostel was right around the corner from the Luang Prabang night market. The first food we all shared were egg rolls.

Laotian egg rolls

They were absolutely delicious, and came with a little baggie of peanut sauce on the side. After a couple months of Thai food, the mint and coriander based herbs were a refreshing change, and we gobbled up the rice-paper covered noodles and fresh crunchy veggies.

From there, we went down a tight alley way. While smoothie and snack carts were distributed throughout the main night market, full meals were more commonly sold in the surrounding side streets. Buffet after buffet were layed out, with all sorts of unfamiliar dishes. Fried vegetables, stir fries, and noodles made up the majority of the cuisine, and I tried to get a tiny bit of everything squished onto my bowl. (The weirdest thing I tried: a regular slice of bread that had been deep fried.)

Luang Prabang Night market, food alley

 

Luang Prabang Night Market buffet

It felt a little scary to eat food that was sitting at room temperature exposed to such a crowded room, but this was all part of the experience, and we all made it out without food poisoning.

From there, we explored the seemingly endless Luang Prabang night market, one of the city’s main attractions.

The night market, excluding the periphery stalls, consisted of one very large stretch of red-tented stalls

Luang Prabang’s central night market

This market is not for the claustrophobic, as there are quite a few wares and vendors packed tightly together underneath the low-hanging tents.

Walking through the Night Market

Throughout all of Southeast Asia, we had gotten used to the nights being extremely hot, despite the sun’s dissapearance. In Laos, however, this was felt at a much more extreme level. The nights felt equally hot compared to the heat of the day. It was a bizarre sensation. Especially in the bizaar.

The night market was definitely a tourist attraction, but it was a tourist attraction for a reason, and I enjoyed looking at everything that the vendors had to offer.

Laotian puppets, watercolor portaits of the famous alms ceremony, tapestries, backpacks, jewelry, umbrellas were all colorfully laid out on tarps or were hung up around the makeshift mall.

Laotian puppet for sale at Luang Prabang’s night market

Paper ubrellas for sale at Luang Prabang’s night market

A beautiful temple stood regally above the stalls, casting a breathtaking ambiance.

Luang Prabang night market

Luang Prabang Night Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

Golden temple above the night market in Luang Prabang, Laos