The
Mekong River is the lifeblood of this interior city, and much of
the commercial traffic in and out of Luang Prabang uses the
river as its main thoroughfare. It is also a tourist venue, and
we took an overnight trip on the river, from Luang Prabang to
Pak Beng. We visited the Pak Ou Caves and Ban Baw village
enroute to our overnight stay at Luangsay Lounge. This tour
covers the sights of this voyage up the Mekong River.
There is also a version of
this tour designed specifically for VR headsets such
as Google Cardboard, and it works with both iPhone
and Android devices. It may be access by scanning on
the QR code to the left. If you are viewing this on
a mobile phone, you may access the VR tour by
following this
link.
For iOS devices: scan QR code with your device's camera app, tap on the prompt to open Safari. Select "Allow Device Motion" and the next prompt, "Allow Access to Motion Orientation." Turn the device to landscape mode and a split screen will appear. When the screen turns white, swipe up for fullscreen mode, and place in headset. Here is a video of how to do this--it is simpler than it sounds! [The video opens in a new window--close when done to return to this page]
The old city of Luang
Prabang is located on a peninsula at the northern end of the
city, and is about 4 city blocks wide and no more than 10
blocks deep. Yet crowded within this area is enough to keep
visitors occupied for days. The tour below takes one through
a typical day of sightseeing in the old city. It begins with
the alms-giving ceremony and morning market, then continues
to Wat Xieng Thong before heading south down Sakkaline
street to visit the Ock Tok Pop Crafts Center and Ban Jek,
Luang Prabang's China town. Continuing south, the tour
visits the most sacred site in the city, Wat Ho Pra Bang and
the nearby Royal Palace Museum. Finally the tour ascends
Mount Phousi before ending at the night market. 
There is also a
version of this tour designed specifically for
VR headsets such as Google Cardboard, and it
works with both iPhone and Android devices. It
may be access by scanning on the QR code to the
left. If you are viewing this on a mobile phone,
you may access the VR tour by following this
link.
For iOS devices: scan QR code with your device's camera app, tap on the prompt to open Safari. Select "Allow Device Motion" and the next prompt, "Allow Access to Motion Orientation." Turn the device to landscape mode and a split screen will appear. When the screen turns white, swipe up for fullscreen mode, and place in headset. Here is a video of how to do this--it is simpler than it sounds! [The video opens in a new window--close when done to return to this page]
For Android devices: Open the camera app and use the built-in scanner to scan the QR code above. Confirm that you want to open the website, and wait for it to load--it should load in stereo view. Select the fullscreen ("X" option) from the menu at the bottom. Turn the device to landscape mode and you are ready to go. Here is a video of how to do this--it is simpler than it sounds! [The video opens in a new window--close when done to return to this page]
Luang Prabang is home to scores of
temples as a major Buddhist center. This tour covers the
most significant wats in the old city area, and these wats
span the timeline of the city's history. The tour begins at
the north end of the old city's peninsula, at Wat Xieng
Thong, and heads south through the old city, visiting Wat
Sen, Wat Siphoutthabath,and Wat Mai before ascending Mount
Phousi to view Wat Chomsi. Descending the mountain, the tour
visits Wat Pa Houk before swinging to the east to visit Wat
Aham and Wat Visoun. 
There is also a
version of this tour designed specifically for
VR headsets such as Google Cardboard, and it
works with both iPhone and Android devices. It
may be access by scanning on the QR code to the
left. If you are viewing this on a mobile phone,
you may access the VR tour by following this
link.
For iOS devices: scan QR code with your device's camera app, tap on the prompt to open Safari. Select "Allow Device Motion" and the next prompt, "Allow Access to Motion Orientation." Turn the device to landscape mode and a split screen will appear. When the screen turns white, swipe up for fullscreen mode, and place in headset. Here is a video of how to do this--it is simpler than it sounds! [The video opens in a new window--close when done to return to this page]
For Android devices: Open the camera app and use the built-in scanner to scan the QR code above. Confirm that you want to open the website, and wait for it to load--it should load in stereo view. Select the fullscreen ("X" option) from the menu at the bottom. Turn the device to landscape mode and you are ready to go. Here is a video of how to do this--it is simpler than it sounds! [The video opens in a new window--close when done to return to this page]