Our second recommended book is Ancient Luang Prabang, and luckily this one is readily available on Amazon as a discounted price! It is published by River Books in Bangkok and is written by Denise Heywood. She doesn’t work with one photographer like Martin Stuart Fox does with Steve Northup in Naga Cities of the Mekong, but the book has equally outstanding color photographs and illustrations on every page. The quality of the cloth binding reflects how well the book is put together and our copy looks brand new even after two years of heavy use!
Why Ancient Luang Prabang? Most people going to Laos will be carrying with them one of the popular guide books such as The Lonely Planet Guide to Laos, and whatever little pocket guide they choose becomes their one and often only resource about what they are seeing in all their travels. If one is backpacking and weight/space is an issue, I can understand, a little. But even if backpacker types brought a book like Ancient Luang Prabang I think it would a huge catalyst in allowing them to break out of their social preoccupations to step outside of themselves into an entirely new cultural space. Just a thought…
Ancient Luang Prabang is very well written and provides detailed information on all the Buddhist temples in Luang Prabang, the Royal Palace and “Secular Architecture: Lao Vernacular and French Colonial Buildings.” In the book Heywood writes “Luang Prabang was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list on 2 December 1995, at the Lao government’s request, because it shows evidence of a unique combination of cultural influences on developments in architecture, arts, monuments and town planning. UNESCO describes it thus: ‘Luang Prabang represents, to an exceptional extent, the successful fusion of the traditional architectural and urban structures and those of the French colonial rulers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Its unique townscape is remarkably well preserved, illustrating a key stage in the blending of two distinct cultural traditions.”
I think the key is in that last sentence “…blending of two distinct cultural traditions.” At Laos Essential Artistry, through our online business and through our tours, one of our main goals is to work at providing insight into this rich blending and syncretism that forms Laos. If you want to better understand and appreciate Laos, and especially Luang Prabang, this book should be required reading. Highly recommended! And of course joining our Northern Laos Textile Arts & Culture Tour in June 2010 would be the best way to understand and appreciate Laos!!!
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