Luang Prabang’s forgotten palace
A palace-turned-museum in Luang Prabang gives tourists a glimpse of Lao history
When tourists go to the Unesco World Heritage site of Luang Prabang in Laos, many immediately think of the Buddhist temples and simple, yet beautiful way of life. This city also has some beautiful examples of French colonial and Lao vernacular architecture, like the Royal Palace Museum and old palaces like Villa Santi and Xiengkeo Palace.
Xiengkeo Palace, home of the Lao nationalist hero and World War II-era prime minister Prince Phetsarath Ratanavongsa, is in the compound of the Grand Luang Prabang Hotel and Resort. It now serves as a free museum that displays a lot of old photos, along with information on the prince’s life and work.
This French colonial and Luang Prabang-style mansion is nestled about 5km southwest of downtown Luang Prabang on a peaceful curve of the Mekong River. Prince Phetsarath was said to have selected this location for its tranquillity, the stunning landscape of mountains surrounding the town and the breathtaking views of the Mekong River.
To enter this mansion, you must walk through two arches decorated with brass floral motifs and the royal emblem of the Kingdom of Luang Prabang (1707-1946) and the Kingdom of Laos (1946-1975) — a three-headed elephant under an umbrella. The first thing you will see is a large photo of Prince Phetsarath, aka the Iron Man of Laos, on the wall in front of you.
Strolling further from the empty hallway, you come to the dining room. Like in most rooms of this house, there are brass floral motifs and a royal emblem above the arches, doors and windows.
On the first floor, you will see fresco paintings of graphic patterns and floral motifs on the upper parts of the walls in all rooms. In the hallway, there are a lot of black and white photos on the walls. You can learn about the prince’s life and work through these pictures. Among them are that of Prince Phetsarath paying a courtesy call to King Sisavangvong in April 1957 after 12 years of living in exile in Thailand and that of the prince’s funeral with the wreath from Lao Issara, the Lao resistance movement against the French that eventually succeeded in Laos gaining its independence.
The prince’s bedroom is decorated with old furniture in a mixed Lao and colonial-style, with portraits of the prince and his family on the walls. The prince had three wives, three sons and three daughters. The nearby small room had an altar for visitors to pay respect to the late prince. According to the exhibition at this museum, Prince Phetsarath was born in Luang Prabang on Jan 19, 1890, as the second son of Prince Oupahat Bounkhong. Prince Phetsarath studied in Saigon and continued his education in Paris. He returned to Laos in 1912 and was in government service from 1914 until 1941.
As the country’s last oupahat (viceroy), he became a leading figure of modern Laos and set up various useful systems for the civil service, the judicial system and the Buddhist clergy. He played a leading role in Lao politics before and after the Japanese occupation. In 1945, after the Japanese defeat in World War II, he later became the founder and leader of Lao Issara, an anti-French, non-communist nationalist movement, with the aim of preventing the French from restoring control over Laos. When France did manage to reclaim Laos in August, 1945, the prince decided to leave for Thailand in 1946 to head the Lao Issara government-in-exile.
In Thailand, he met and married a Thai woman, Aphinnaphon Yongchaiyudh, who assisted him in his work “very well” for the rest of his life, according to a Feb 20 seminar in Bangkok entitled, “Laos: What The Lao And Thai People Should Know”.
In March 1957, he returned to Vientiane and received a warm welcome. On April 16, he paid a courtesy call to King Sisavangvong and was given back his old title of oupahat of the Kingdom of Laos. Prince Phetsarath was offered an official government residence in Vientiane, but decided to stay in his Xiengkeo Villa in Luang Prabang with his Thai consort.
According to the same seminar, Prince Phetsarath stood firm on his ideologies. After returning to Laos, he sent a letter to a friend in Thailand expressing his discontent with certain situations in Laos and planning to return to Thailand. However, shortly before his planned trip, he passed away at the age of 69 after suffering a severe brain haemorrhage on Oct 14, 1959. Many Lao people still hang his picture up in their houses due to his popularity and perceived supernatural power.
A visit to this former palace of Prince Phetsarath is a great opportunity to see some beautiful architecture and learn about some of the lesser-known aspects of Lao history before communism.