This is Part III of my Complete Guide to Luang Prabang. You can find my recommendations for what to do and where to stay in Part I here, and my restaurant recommendations in Part II here.
SHOP.
Laos is known for it’s incredible silk and cotton textile tradition and is heaven for those in search of home decor. I picked up a bunch of textiles to turn into pillows and upholstery for our future home. I found their indigo textiles especially pretty but be careful that you treat the fabric before using many pieces so the dye doesn’t rub off on your clothes. Here are my favorite shopping destinations in Luang Prabang!
Ock Tok Pop - A beautiful, socially-conscious weaving studio with several stores in town, you can also visit the production facilities on the western outskirts and walk through their facilities to learn about the dying and weaving process, and learn how the company seeks to improve the lives of their workers.
Ma Té Sai - The phrase means “where is it from?” in the Lao language, and the shop sources and designs beautiful textiles and home goods from villages across Laos. We found an incredible, thick blue and white bed covering that I can’t wait to use to reupholster an oversized ottoman!
Night Market - A lively nightly event as vendors start putting up their tents and laying out their wares around 5pm. While the atmosphere is really fun and there are tons of textiles, stuffed animals, antique banknotes (David’s favorite!) and doodads, the quality and authenticity can be hit or miss. I also found negotiating the price down to be extremely difficult and only bought two textiles that I could “feel” were 100% cotton.
Little Basket Shop - At the far end of Sisavangvong Road near the bamboo bridge is a little family-owned shop that sells beautiful woven baskets. From little containers, to stools, trays and hampers I wanted to take everything home with me!
Celadon - A tasteful shop with a small selection of coffee table books and thoughtfully designed local items, all proceeds go towards monk education initiatives. I picked up two large celadon elephant figurines to either use as bookends or decorate a table set with
our new celadon dinner plates from Thailand.
Thank you for following along on our visit to Luang Prabang! I cannot recommend this beautiful village enough and I hope this guide helps inspire travels of your own.
xx, SF
All images by David and Stacie Flinner for stacieflinner.com
