The Lao city of Luang Prabang earned a spot on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its singular cultural offerings—mirror-clad Buddhist temples; traditional wooden houses on stilts; landmark Franco-Lao buildings dating to the 1890s. But the historic seat of the Kingdom of a Million Elephants also supports a plethora of silk weavers, wood carvers, bronze casters, and gold leaf artisans who create treasures that are easier to bring home. Here’s our itinerary for a day browsing the city’s retail riches.
Get oriented at the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre, a museum whose displays of textiles, jewelry, housewares, tools, basketry and ritual objects reflects Laos’s ethnic diversity. Likewise, the wonderfully curated shop is filled with intricately woven Khmu Lue vine purses, Hmong natural-dye indigo jackets, and hill-tribe silver jewelry. The same organization sells more locally produced treasures at the TAEC Boutique on Sakkaline Road, the city’s main street. Half of each sale goes directly to the shop’s artisan partners, and every item comes tagged with the name of the ethnic group producing it, like the Tai Lue, famous for handspun, hand-woven cottons and silks.
Indeed, the finest shopping around Luang Prabang often doubles as philanthropy. Also on Sakkaline Road, Celadon carries striking, rough-hewn wooden Buddhas on pure gold leaf painted bases; sterling silver elephant charm necklaces; pure Lao rose petal tea; and elegant vases. Opened in 2017 as part of the Buddhist Heritage Project, the store sends all profits to local schools, helping to train new generations of artisans. (One masterfully carved Buddha comes with a truly transformative perk: Thanks to a partnership with Rosewood Luang Prabang, the buyer can join 800 novice monks in a procession from the banks of the Mekong River to the Sangha’s Buddhist Academy for private ceremony and shared meal.)
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