Night Market
Luang Prabang’s night market is the place for visitors to Laos spend the quality night for shopping, eating at the small stalls or watching extensive collections of the national handicrafts. The night market is located right along the Sisavangvong Road, beginning from the Wat Mai Temple and ending at the town centre – Settathilat Road. Every night from 5 p.m the street is closed off to the heavy traffic and turned into a walking street for shopping.
There are more than 300 different products in which most of them are hand-made by the vendors themselves. A wide range of products including textiles, ceramics, antiques, painting, shoes, clothes, bags, jewelry, quilts, coffee and tea and even rare spices are put on display in the market. In addition, the selling products here are also cheap with acceptable quality.
Most of the vendors come from minor ethnic communities so when you shop here, you are not only buying for yourselves but you can also be proud that you are helping the traders to earn a living and get out of poverty. Food and drinks are always available. If you want to grab a bite at the night market, you can find a small stall selling noodle stuck away in a small lane or a street stall offering BBQ chicken with sticky rice and nearby are the cafes serving drinks and Beer Lao.
There are more than 300 different products in which most of them are hand-made by the vendors themselves. A wide range of products including textiles, ceramics, antiques, painting, shoes, clothes, bags, jewelry, quilts, coffee and tea and even rare spices are put on display in the market. In addition, the selling products here are also cheap with acceptable quality.
Most of the vendors come from minor ethnic communities so when you shop here, you are not only buying for yourselves but you can also be proud that you are helping the traders to earn a living and get out of poverty. Food and drinks are always available. If you want to grab a bite at the night market, you can find a small stall selling noodle stuck away in a small lane or a street stall offering BBQ chicken with sticky rice and nearby are the cafes serving drinks and Beer Lao.
• Location: Sisavangvong Road, Luang Prabang, Laos.
• Opening hours: 5 p.m – 11 p.m (the road is often crowded after 8 p.m)
Morning Market
Morning market will be totally different from what you can see in the evening at night market. In the morning market, tourists will be driven off from the city’s lights, colorful paintings, antiques and souvenirs and indulge in the life of a real local. Morning market is not the place to shop for souvenirs for family and friends, rather than that, it is the place to buy ingredients for everyday meals which selling from rice, vegetables, fruits to fish and even frogs, grilled insects, anything which is the catch of the day.
You might need to note down that you should go early to see the bustle of the people and the diversity of products. And here, you can only use cash to pay.
• Location: Ban Pakham Road, Luang Prabang, Laos or Photisalath Road, south of Phou Vao Road
• Opening hours: 5:30 a.m – 4 p.m
Ock Pop Tok Living Crafts Centre
Ock Pop Tok means “The East meets the West” in English and it is a store which sales a lot of products relate to textiles such as bags and scarves. The products are hand-woven by the local women. Therefore, the Ock Pop Tok Living crafts centre help to promote fair trade and encourage the women of minor ethnic groups and Laotian women through their handicraft products and progression in their artistic skill.
• Location: Ban Vat Sene, Sakkarine Road, Luang Prabang, Laos.
• Opening hours: 8 a.m – 9 p.m
L’Etranger Books and Tea
The bookstore is situated right next to the Nam Khan River. This is a two-storied wooden bookstore comprise with a café. The books here are in a wide range of languages and subjects including arts, culture, travel, novels from Luang Prabang and South East Asia. The upper level, which is a café, offers beverages with a variety of fruit juice and tea with a simple setting. There is also a movie show in the evening around 7 p.m, hence, early come gets a more comfortable seat.
• Location: Phousi Road, Luang Prabang, Laos.
• Opening hours: 7 a.m – 10 p.m (Monday to Saturday), 10 a.m – 10 p.m (on Sunday)
