About the city: Luang Prabang is the historical capital of what is now Laos, and sits where the Nam Khan empties into the Mekong River. This is the city from which the kings ruled, and the old Royal Palace, now the National Museum, is just one of the many sites to see in and around the city. It contains the oldest Buddhist temples in Laos. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Luang Prabang is 425 kilometers (265 miles) north of Vientiane. The road to Luang Prabang is very mountainous, so the trip usually takes 7-8 hours. However, our trip took about 10 hours.
Along the road: We started our journey early Friday morning, planning to spend Friday evening, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning in the city of Luang Prabang before returning to Vientiane. Peep and I were accompanied by mom and one of mom's longtime friends, whom I just called uncle and did all the driving. This is the same gentleman that escorted us to Vang Vieng the previous weekend. I was told the trip would take about 6 hours, but well into the ride realized that it was going to be a bit longer.
There are mileage stones along the side of the road that indicate the distance remaining to a selected city. I kept a close watch on these signs, and seeing the ones for Luang Prabang, realized the trip was actually going to take about 8 hours. This is probably a more realistic estimate of travel time, but it can change based on things such as how comfortable the driver is on the mountainous roads, how many stops you make and for how long, and what the weather is like. Unfortunately for us, it had been raining all day, making the roads slick and slowing our journey some.
The scenery along the way is incredible, even with gloomy, overcast skies. The mountains rise tall above the valley floors. There are many small, Hmong villages and farmer's stands used to sell their crops squeezed up between the road and the steep mountain face. The farmers somehow find a way to navigate the slopes and cultivate the mountain side. Most of the houses are made of wood and thatch, but some use brick and concrete. I attempted to take some pictures of the villages as we drove by on our way back to Vientiane, but none turned out good enough to keep. Perhaps next time.
The wreck: Peep and her mom were dozing on and off throughout the entire trip and we were approaching our destination, within 30 kilometers (18 miles) of Luang Prabang, when uncle hit a slick patch in the road and the car started sliding. Peep had just awakened and kept repeating "Watch out, watch out" as mom and I held on tight and uncle futilely tried to bring the car under control.
The car kept sliding off the road and into the ditch, where it flipped up on its side before coming to rest. Thankfully, we went off on the mountain side of the road, instead of the valley side, which, in some places can be a couple hundred feet or more high with no guardrails. We were well on our way down the mountain, so we weren't too high up, and the road was between two parts of the mountain, so there was no drop off on either side of the road at that spot. As you can see from the one picture, the road continues to the left, and there is a guardrail at that point. It must be a common accident area, as I noticed part of that guardrail had recently been replaced and was already damaged again.
Mom was in the front seat and I was sitting behind the driver, with Peep next to me. I had been on Peep's case since arriving in Laos about wearing her seatbelt, even in the back seat where she didn't think it was necessary. She had made mom put hers on earlier in the ride, so all of us escaped with virtually no injury. I was the first to get up and helped Peep get out of her seatbelt and stand up. I climbed out of the car and went to the front door to help mom. Uncle got out of the car at that time and mom was able to work her way to the back and exit from the trunk door, where Peep had already gone.
There was extensive front end damage, the diver's side front wheel taking the brunt of the collision. The car itself came to rest with the bottom part of the doors in the ditch and the door frame above the windows on the rock face. None of the windows cracked and the driver's side mirror, although flipped back, remained fully intact.
Being so close to Luang Prabang, mom contacted the governor's wife, who sent a driver to come get us. The driver arrived before the wrecker came. They were able to lift the car mostly out of the ditch, but were unable to load it onto the bed of the truck due to the front end damage, so we left the car there until a tow truck could be located to take it on to Luang Prabang.
Right after the wreck, the rain stopped and the road dried up quickly. A few minutes delay earlier on in the trip and we would have been driving through this section on dry roads. But it was not to be. Finally, two hours after the wreck, we climbed in the car sent for us and finished our journey to Luang Prabang. Of course, as soon as we got moving again the rain returned.
After learning of our ordeal, the governor's wife was kind enough to offer use of the governor's guest house. We canceled our reservations at the hotel and were taken by the driver to the guest house. In addition, we were invited to a Baci ceremony and offered a ride back to Vientiane on Monday with the governor's wife.
Hor Sanam: After our misadventure on the road to Luang Prabang, we finally arrived at the guest house. The house sits atop a hill with a partial view of the city, although much of it is blocked by several large trees. After settling in, Peep and I walked into the city for dinner and to browse the night market before turning in for the night.