The Royal Palace Museum of Luang Prabang is set back off the main street of Sisavang Wong, directly across from Phu Si Hill. Its tall, swaying palm trees and elegant rooftop dominate the skyline. It’s a beautiful museum to visit, especially if you’re trying to avoid the heat of the day and glean information about local history.
Otherwise known as The Golden Hall or Haw Kham, the Royal Palace Museum was built in 1904. We really enjoyed wandering around this beautiful museum and were especially intrigued to learn that the palace was specifically built on this site to allow visitors traveling by way of the Mekong River to gain entry to the palace upon arrival.
The royal living quarters remain as they were when occupied by the royal family. Interestingly enough, many locals believe that the palace is haunted by the spirits of the royal family.
The palace museum contains royal religious artifacts and a collection of prized artwork. There’s also an interesting collection of diplomatic artifacts, such as paintings, silver and china, which were given as gifts to the monarchy by the heads of state.
Other interesting objects of note are the wall murals depicting everyday life, silk screens made by the queen, musical instruments, masks, royal vestaments and the king’s elephant chair; engraved elephant tusks and an amazing collection of Buddha images.
Be sure to dress appropriately . Visitors who aren’t dressed properly won’t be granted admittance.
The Royal Palace Museum
Admission $2 U.S
Hours of Operation: 8-11am & 1:30-4pm
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someones been busy with her new camera i see…
exposure’s bang on..and the sharpness is tantalizing.
great shots c!
Hi Carrie ! You take us to Laos once again with great pictures! I agree with you : to take good pictures, a good eye is more usefull than a professionnal camera. But I’m sure you’re gonna give us great emotions with your new EOS400D ! You just have to “tame the Digital-Rebel beast” now, he, he !
hola again, thanks for the kind words at ‘a whole lot of…’.
got an experienced photoguy for a mate who once advised to turn shots with overcast skies into black and white. i’ve done a few with varying success rates but generally they do punch up the main subject in the picture a tad bit.
another option that i sometimes take is to bracket the shot process them into a HDR composite. if there were at least some texture in the skies, it should show.
as always, don’t take my word for it.
Great Carrie ! Don’t hesitate to share your experiences with the Canon EOS400D ! Formerly, I was shooting with an old argentic Canon AE1 ! And when the time came to change for digital, I kept focused on Canon and bought a compact “point and shoot” because it was the cheapest solution. But actually, planning a trip for next summer (China or Japan again ?), I’d like to buy a reflex… Among various options, I’m actually really interested in the 400D. Keep on telling us (and showing us !) the possibilities ! Well in fact, you have 5 or 6 month left to help me choose ! ! ! Ah ah ah !
Thank you thank you thank you! (and I’m glad to see you’re back)
This comment makes me happy. Happy because these photos were taken with my Canon point and shoot, which shows that you don’t need an expensive camera to take great pictures. It also makes me happy because I posted them as is. I didn’t process them, I just happened to be there at the perfect time of day.
I guess I should be a little sad because I spent so much on a new camera when the old one was producing great results, but you know what? I’m not sad in the slightest bit.
It’s going to be fun to see who can spot the point and shoot photos and who can spot the EOS photos.
Hi Jeff,
Thanks very much. I’m working on taming the beast as I write. It took me a little while to get used to the other camera, so I just have to be patient until I’ve found my comfort zone. My desire to learn far outweighs the little annoyances I’ve encountered over the past two weeks.
For example: the weather has really interfered with my shooting. When it isn’t raining, there still doesn’t seem to be any way to avoid these stark white skies we’ve had for the last three weeks. I’ve tried shooting indoors but I’m definitely an outdoor person. Still, this gives me the opportunity to learn something that I haven’t turned my attention to up until now.
My Be@rbrick collection has been keeping me entertained.
Well I agree with you – if you want take a good picture you don’t need an expensive camera. However, the EOS 400D gives you more options than camera which you have been using. For example you don’t need to come closer if you want to photograph some object. You can take amazing pictures at night (long time to expose). There is a lot of possibilities.
The Royal Palace Museum looks awesome. When I was admiring your pictures I was thinking about something. I’m curious – what is the eldest monument on Taiwan.
OK. It’s almost 3 o’clock a.m.. I’m getting to bed. Good night : )
Hi Carrie,
Great work on the Royal Palace museum in Laos. Your photographs are stunning and you have a great eye for photography. Moreover, your description of the National Palace in Laos makes me want to visit the country a.s.a.p.
Happy Days!
Nice post about the Royal Palace Museum. I was there the following day. Wish the weather had been a little nicer.