Give me more noddle soup

Advantages: everything
Disadvantages: none

...Luang Prabang is situated in the heart of Laos and one of the Highlights of the country. It is not only all the temples, the delicious food or the night market, no, it is this feeling you'll get when you arrive. You'll feel welcome and at home. Most people stayed a lot longer than they planed! Including me of course, I wanted to stay for two nights and stayed for over a month! ---------------------------------------------- How to get there? Luang Prabang is a town in the north-centre region of Laos. If you arrive in Vientiane you can get a bus to Luang Prabang, it takes about 10 to 12 hours and you have the choice between a local bus (110000kip) and a VIP bus (160000kip). You can get the ticket with a travel agent or just go to the bus station. Buses leave several times in the morning and again a night bus in the afternoon. You need...

sun-is-shining 01.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Luang Prabang (Laos)

Personally my favourite place to be in Asia, if not the world!

Advantages: Friendliest city you'll ever go to, amazing food, beautiful scenary, plenty to do..
Disadvantages: None I can think of other than you will be unable to leave and your initinery will become void!

...Luang Prabang is very special. Yes, it's touristy as hell! Yes, accommodation is getting expensive by Laotion standards. But don't let that put you off! For a start, there is a budget quarter of the city located down a series of extremely charming alleyways run by Lao families. It has bucket loads of character and the guesthouses here are legendary for there warm friendly welcomes and smiles. So that solves the problem of expensive accommodation prices! It's about 7-10$ or a decent single room. I have to recommend you stay at Oudomphone Guesthouse, as this is undoubtedly the best guesthouse in South-East Asia possibly the world! It was one of the first guesthouses to open up in the budget district and has set the bench mark for all the other guetshouses. It is run by the sweetest family you'll ever meet and has bonuses like free...

Pablo_Sevilla 28.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Luang Prabang (Laos)

Wat A Place

Advantages: Quiet Is The New Loud.
Disadvantages: After A Time You'll Pray For Something To Happen.

...In 1995 UNESCO declared that Luang Prabang was Asia's most preserved city. Steeped in a French colonial history this (small) town is a sleepy enclave that nestles between the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. At first Luang Prabang doesn't excite but after a time it just begs that you give it more time and attention. In order to reach Luang Prabang we took the 2 day slow boat from Huay Xai on the Laos side of the Thai/Laos border. The trip is not without its discomforts but the scenery that fills the banks of the Mekong is nothing short of wondrous. We peered from the window of the wooden vessel and imagined we were watching a National Geographic documentary. Luang Prabang is the second biggest city in Laos after the capital Vientiane but its laid-back nature means that it espouses the charm of a quiet village back home. Its people are...

indiecater 02.12.2002 · Read review
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Review of Luang Prabang (Laos)

cultural and cozy

Advantages: culture, temples
Disadvantages:

...There are some places which I immediately fell in love with in my life. Luang Prabang was definitely one of them, and all of my friends said that same thing. It is a town that is small enough you can walk around yet possess so many things to offer. They have many temples, each of which is different. They were absolutely beautiful. There are good restaurants. The best part about Luang Prabang is that you feel that it is a living city. You walk around and feel some sort of energy circulating in the city. This is a UNESCO designated city, so you will feel enriched culturally and historically when you stay there. This is a place to relax, and renergize yourself. I stayed there only for a few days, but wish I stayed there for one week. Take a good book and read on the patio of your hotel. Enjoy good food and take lots of walks....

mshirato 16.09.2000 · Read review
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Review of Luang Prabang (Laos)

Don't expect too much help

Advantages: good overview over the main attractions
Disadvantages: bus times and prices inaccurate

...-------------------- I'm using the 6th edition, published in August 2007. -------------------- Laos is definitely my favourite country, travelling or living there. My initial plan was to spend there one week, basically just a quick stop on my way to Vietnam but in the end I stayed for over 3 months and I'll return to Laos soon - just cannot get enough of it. A traveller I met at the Thai/Laotian border gave me his Lonely Planet and since that day the book hasn't left me. The main attractions such as Luang Prabang and the Plain of Jars are well covered and described, however, if you want to go off the beaten track better rely on other sources. But I'll come to this negative points later. ----------------------- Chapters - Quick reference with Laos fact file, exchange rates and important phone numbers. In this book they use a scale to...

sun-is-shining 17.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Lonely Planet Laos - Lonely Planet

Ever heard of Laos. Thought not.

Advantages: The most beautiful place in the world and no Americans
Disadvantages: Don't expect the luxuries you are aquatinted with

...we encountered was terrorism. When we were there I was nearly blown up by a bomb and a day later nearly burnt alive when a incendiary device exploded in the morning market. That was when I decided to leave the capital. As with any third-world country the infrastructure in Laos is minimal which makes trucks on dirt roads the only way of getting around. We undertook this ordeal as we went to Luang Prabang, an exhausting ride and I’d recommend you to stop overnight at Vang Vieng. Luang Prabang is lovely, it is charming and soulful and as with all areas of Laos, the people are wonderful. Going further north is an experience for the travel hardy, no one speaks English and most have never seen a European before. But this all makes for an adventurous and highly rewarding holiday. Although I spoke about terrorism, it seems to have...

jezeres 29.06.2001 (15.07.2001) · Read review
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Review of General: Laos

Jars on a plain

Advantages: great place to visit
Disadvantages: getting around is not so easy

...The 'plain of jars' is one of the must sees in Asia - similar to Stonehenge and the figures on the Easter Island nobody knows the origins of these small to big stone jars. They are located close to Phonsavan in the north-east of Laos close to the vietnamese border. Phonsavan is easily accessible from all major cities. You can go by local bus or by minibus - Local bus from Luang Prabang was 50000kip and the minibus was 85000kip. There are 3 jar-sites whereby Site was is the most easily reachable. You have 3 ways to visit the sites: - by tour: every GH will offer you tours. Expect to pay 80000 for Site 1 and 150000 for all 3 Sites. I found that the tour was overly rushed and you didn't have enough time to see this impressive place. - go with a TukTuk: Find a TukTuk driver to take you. It will be a lot cheaper than with the tour and you...

sun-is-shining 01.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Plain of Jars (Laos)

The Undescovered Jewel Of Asia

Advantages:
Disadvantages:

...What a place! Over 8 days in 1999 I spent £40 a day and lived very well on it. We entered Laos through Thailand near Chaing Rai at a place called Chaing Khong. You can sort out 14 day visas there at roughly the same price as any where else but in 24 hrs! You then catch a little boat accross the Mekong to a place called Huay Xai in Laos. The prices here are the same as in Thailand. From here you catch a boat that takes you on a two day trip along the Mekong for abour £5. You stop one night in a little village along the way. You end up in Luang Prabang, the old capital. This is a superb place and so so cheap. 30p for .5L beer, 75p for decent hotel room, 50p for a good meal. You can really afford to live it up! Don't miss the waterfalls near here, I think they are the best I've seen in asia. Next we went to Vaing Vein...

jsriddett 10.08.2000 · Read review
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Review of General: Laos

Amazing, unspolit part of Asia

Advantages: Cheap, unspolit, friendly people
Disadvantages: None

...here, which was very practical and the locals seemed to approve of you more wearing this. It was quite cold here in the evening so a jumper would definately be recommended. We then travelled up to Luang Prabang, the bus ride was very interesting and would advise you get there early to book your seat as some people ended up on the roof and it was cold. Luang Prabang was a beautiful city,definately worth a visit is the Kuang Si waterfalls. Here we watched children weaving the beautiful fabrics you see everywhere and the falls were stunning. One problem we had was money, we ran out of kip and ended up having to cash $100 worth of Kip on our last day just to get by and this amount of money could last you a week. You can't take the currency out so we did deals with other tourists (not advised). Take Thai baht or US$ with you in...

pintaspilot 09.12.2000 · Read review
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Review of General: Laos

The Scruffy Shoe Diaries THE SECOND HAND CITY

Advantages: See Opinion
Disadvantages: See Opinion

...happy to have a laugh an a joke at the expense of the funny-looking white boys and the journey was all very congenial. At one point I thought we had Colin married off with one of the almond-eyed young beauties, but having sworn an oath of allegiance to Her Majesty's Postal Service, he explained that it was a match that could never be. Ah well, she'll get over it. ************************************ FROM THE EARLY 1900s, Laos was a low-key French protectorate, known as the land of the lotus-eaters, where an indolent lifestyle prevailed. It was too mountainous for plantations, there was little in the way of mining, and the Mekong was not suitable for commercial navigation. The French built very few roads – the main colonial route constructed was from Luang Prabang through Vientiane to Savannakhet and the Cambodian frontier. Some...

Paiceyjohn 28.05.2002 (16.10.2002) · Read review
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Review of Vientiane (Laos)