Luang Prabang - Enlightenment Activated, in HD

Having settled in Luang Prabang (the cultural capital of Laos) for Christmas, soaked up the relaxed cafe culture on Sisavangvong Road, and visited the UXO visitor centre (See Apocalypse, Still...) it was time to hit the culture button.

We visit the old palace for the more traditional show of cultural dance and then hit turbo at the much more contemporary ’Buddha’s Light Show’.

Both shows tell stories of the Buddha’s life, the first at the old palace including only traditional elegant dance moves, and the second bringing a contemporary energetic twist to the Buddha’s path to enlightenment and Lao folklore (imagine if Buddha did Broadway then landed a Vegas residency and you’re almost there).

Bhudda's light show is impressive and tech heavy - Intricate parallax scrolling animations projected on one or two transparent screens dropped from the ceiling between the audience and the performers, further projection mapping on the set and backdrop, lights, lasers and... a real moat filled with water at the front of the stage enabling monks in boats and a huge water fight mid-way through the performance.

The dancing and choreography is amazing, with some impressive use of props and ladders.

The show runs nightly. We are still wondering how much training each cast member must do to be strong enough to dance every night. Also very impressed by A) the dancers freezing for a full 7 minutes while the AV systems were rebooted (we think someone unplugged the wrong thing), and B) all dancers remaining upright while dancing on the soaked stage after the water fight.

10/10 – would get soaked again.