Is Luang Prabang "touristy"?

A friend asked me recently is Laos touristy?

My answer is I can only really answer for Luang Prabang and the local area around this small city, and I answer no. And that is a good thing.

The word touristy to me usually means crass and loud, Disneyland long lines and crowds, and not being able to even take a photo without groups of people in your way, Ha Long Bay touristy? Yes, Machu Picchu touristy? Yes, Luang Prabang? No.

Being land locked with no beautiful salt water karsts helps keep people away. And until very recently (2 years), even the airport was quite primitive.  http://somanymiles.com/2013/07/the-new-luang-prabang-airport-and-the-quiet-end-of-an-era/

Luang Prabang doesn’t have that big draw, the large Angkor Wat type, WOW site draw that brings people. The small UNESCO World Heritage site has all kinds of restrictions on building and development which keeps it small and unique, at least for now. 

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/479  There are no McDonald’s, or KFC here, there are no buildings taller than two stories, and the night life is non-existent after about 11pm. No large bill boards or flashing neon signs. One morning we got up at 4:30am and were walking from our hotel to the main part of the old town for Tak Bat. 

http://www.pattayadays.com/2012/12/luang-prabang-tak-bak/

And we had to walk with flashlights just to see, crossing the small bamboo bridge into town, it was very, very quiet. Not even one motorbike was on the road. It was a little creepy and at the same time blissful, especially if you have been to a place like Bangkok or Hanoi and seen the hustle there.

In fact the Tak Bat is the main tourist draw. The only place where the tourists rudely crowded the area was where the monks walked during the morning Tak Bat on the “tourist” section of the main road through town. The monks walk in a circular route and just one street over there were only a few people. On the other side of the Nam Khan River there were also a couple different Tak Bats as there are so many Wats in the area. One started at 5:30 and one at 6:15. Currently there are 34 Wats/Temples and over 1000 monks in the area. http://www.travelfish.org/sight_profile/laos/northern_laos/luang_prabang/luang_prabang/253

Another way to avoid people is go there during the start of the “hot season”. The high season is from November through January. February is when you have the best chance for smoke and haze from slash and burn farming practices which are still practiced by local Hmong tribes. Then avoid the New Year’s celebration/madhouse of water spraying from April 13-16 and….GO! 

Toward the end of May the wet season starts and the little bamboo bridges in town will be dismantled. http://www.falangprabang.com/2013/02/luang-prabang-low-season-10-reasons.html 
although the wet season wouldn’t be a bad choice either……