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 Traveller's Tales: Places to go and see in Laos
Take a tour of the top places to go in Laos. You may read about must see places and activities in the area. Also, you might want to read our
Luang Prabang city guide,
and Vientiane city guide.
Pages (1 of 5):
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| R Horgan |
02 June 2005 |
Stayed at La Residence Phou Vao - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Luang Prabang was not what I expected. It was smaller, older, more rural than I imagined. There are many picturesque views in and around LP, and I had seen photos from other travellers posted on websites. I guess it led to an unrealistic expectation that beauty would surround me at every turn. The truth is that the Mekong is muddy, many of the streets in LP are dusty, and the Wats are not in the best repair (especially after I'd seen so many impressive temples in Thailand).
Having said that, once you start to explore Luang Prabang and the surrounding area, you find lots of natural beauty.
The hill in the centre of town (I just can't think of the name right now) offers spectacular views of the surrounding town and countryside.
There are basically two places to visit in the area: Kuang Si Waterfall and Pak Ou Caves.
The Kuang Si Waterfall is spectacular. We spent two hours there, but I could have happily spent the entire day. It is peaceful and you can shoot an entire roll of film (or fill a memory card) trying to capture all of its unique beauty.
The caves were only mildly interesting in my opinion -- the main reason to visit them was to have an excuse to cruise on the Mekong River with fantastic views of mountains exposed with every bend in the river.
We ate at a couple of restaurants in town, and while the food was good (the highlight was the "Luang Prabang Salad")the service was a poor quality. I spent many weeks in Thailand ahead of this trip to Laos, and the Thais offer a very high level of service everywhere. In Cambodia a couple of weeks earlier the service was not refined, but there were lots of people ready to assist you. In Luang Prabang I found that the servers were inattentive, sometimes surly, and often simply not to be found.
We booked the trip to the Pak Ou Caves through a local travel agent a day ahead (though you can just walk up to the river and grab a boat if you want). The agent arranged a pickup at our hotel, and delivery to the riverside. We were then parked on a hard wooden bench with a German couple where we waited for about an hour with no explanation except that another passenger was coming. When the bench got too hard the four of us in turns asked the fellow coordinating our trip what was going on. He squirmed and mumbled, but generally just kept walking away. I kept following him until he finally said he would jump on his motorcycle and go ask his boss what to do. This didn't happen -- finally the four of us were loaded on the boat 90 minutes later than scheduled departure, without the mysterious missing customer.
This seemed to be a pretty normal approach to service in LP, which is really just a village trying to figure out how to cater to the spectrum of visitors that range from backpackers who consider indoor plumbing to be a blessing, to well-heeled travellers who are accustomed to having everything done for them.
I'm probably in the middle somewhere, but I was often surprised when a van or a boat would deliver several of us to a destination, park or tie up, then let us off with no explanation about which way to go, or any hint about what to do. Even the backpackers would look around in confusion and ask, "Which way do we go?". This happened at EVERY location I visited.
If all this sounds like I didn't enjoy Luang Prabang, I must say that I enjoyed it very much. It is real Laos -- not a slicked up version of Asia for western tourists to visit. It is surrounded by incredible natural beauty, and the trip was one of the highlights of my time in South East Asia.
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| H Banzhaf |
27 December 2004 |
Stayed at Lao Plaza Hotel, Vientiane - Vientiane, Laos.
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One day is enough for Vientiane. I recommend to visit Wat Sisaket in the morning and That Luang in the late afternoon.
Outside of Vientiane Vang Vieng (Two and a half hour by private car) has a beautiful scenery due to its limestone cliffs but it can certainly in no way be compared with the scenery of Yangshuo/Guilin in Southern China.
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| E Brodal |
17 November 2004 |
Stayed at Asian Pavilion Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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Vientiane is a quiet and laidback city (compared to other asian capitals anyway). I also found it quite friendly. Major attractions are easily available by foot. I particulary liked Wat Si Saket. Other places worth seeing are places like Pha That Luang, Morning Market and the National museum. I spent about three days in Vientiane before moving to Luang Prabang further north.
Luang Prabang was really beautiful. I spend six days there, including daytrips to the caves and waterfalls. The trip to the Pak Ou caves was by slowboat on the Mekong river and included stop in villages like a Hmong village. I just went down to the pier where the boats to the caves started, and hired a boat for the day (we where three persons paying US$10 each). I think the rivertrip to the caves is just as interesting as the caves themselves, because of the beautiful scenery along the river. In Luang Prabang itself I particulary enjoyed the Royal Palace Museum, Phu Si hill and Wat Xieng Thong. Or just strolling the peninsula between Mekong River and river Nam Khan. I would also recommend to rent a bike (several guesthouses have bikes for rent for about US$1.50 per day) to explore the city and its surroundings at least for one day.
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| J Lou |
08 July 2004 |
Stayed at Calao Inn, Le - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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I only spent a few days in Luang Prabang but loved it. I managed to squeeze in most of the usual sights and activities - local temples, Royal Palace, Pak Ou caves, Kuang Si falls. But it would have been great place to hang out for a while - a Southeast Asian version of a European hill town. The locals are relaxed, genuinely warm and friendly and the whole town still has an authentic, 'un-touristy' feeling - hope it will stay that way.
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| J Herath |
10 April 2004 |
Stayed at Villa Santi Hotel, The - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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We enjoyed Luang Prabang - a relaxed town with friendly locals. Three or four days is a good length of time to see everything at a relaxed pace. The town is also compact enough to walk everywhere.
A climb up Mt Phousi in the centre of town is good for views of the town and also for watching the sunset. The relaxed night market in the main street below is worth a look too. We recommend a boat cruise up the Mekong. We had a 5-month-old baby with us, so we just did a 2.5 hour cruise (1.5 hours upstream, stopping at a traditional Lao village, then a 1 hour return). The cost was USD15/person, booked through the hotel. Other river tours visit caves, etc and are longer in duration and more expensive.
There was a very nice French restaurant near the hotel (L'Elephant). Ate there a couple of times.
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| A Leblanc |
10 December 2003 |
Stayed at Asian Pavilion Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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Vientiane is a small city and I walked everywhere. My main interests were food, wine, and getting a visa for Thailand, all within easy walking distance. There is a large square with a fountain in the center about 150 meters from the hotel. This square is surrounded with various kinds of European restaurants and delis and there are Laos restaurants and street stalls everywhere, plus seafood restaurants and bars down by the Mekong River.
The Thai consular section is just across the street from the morning market, which is known by everybody, and can be seen by people queueing up for visas. Some locals have set up desks on the street and for a fee which can be negotiated down to 700 baht (in addition to the 1000 baht for the visa), they will take care of everything for you and you don't have to stand in line. This service is in fact reliable. Your hotel or many travel agents could do it for you but it costs 1000 baht or more.
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| A Ho |
11 July 2003 |
Stayed at Calao Inn, Le - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Luang Prabang may not be everyone's cup of tea. But worth a visit if you're sick of Bangkok, and want to avoid the filthy Bangkok or the money-squeezing Vietnam.
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| P Quigley |
01 July 2003 |
Stayed at Villa Santi Hotel, The - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Luang Prabang is a great walking city...very picturesque. The old temples greatly revered and in excellent condition. This pristine place is a must see on your tour of world heritage sites in Southeast Asia.
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| S Ferguson |
11 March 2003 |
Stayed at Villa Santi Hotel, The - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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We enjoyed the many temples, a long guided walk thro' the hills the other side of the Mekong and a trip down river to a wonderful waterfall on our 4 day trip and I also bought some beautiful weavings. Easy to walk to nearby restaurants from Villa Santi.
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| T Lott |
23 January 2003 |
Stayed at Calao Inn, Le - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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I visited Bangkok and Chiang Mai in Thailand, and Luang Prabang in Laos. Luang Prabang was my favorite destination of the three. I spent three days here, visiting the Pak Ou caves (an peaceful, panoramic adventure by river boat), the majestic Kuang Si Waterfalls, and the Ban Phanom weaving village. We also spent time in town visiting markets, temples, conversing with Buddhist monks, other tourists, and eating at incredible restaurants. All the food was wonderful, even at the humblest of roadside food vendors. The Hmong handicraft village was very interesting as well.
This small town is loaded with subtle charms... French-inspired architecture, tropical foliage and fruits, countless riverside gardens, young children playing on sidewalks, Buddhist monks walking the streets with umbrellas over their heads to shield themselves from the warm sun, roosters crowing, and everywhere the friendly residents greeting with a warm "Sabaydii".
Shopping here is a treat, and there are many bargains to be found on beautifully hand-crafted items such as paper lanterns, silk and cotton items, Hmong Pandau stitchery, gold & silver jewelry, wood carvings.
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