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 Laos travel tales
Our customers share their travelling experiences in Laos.
Read about first hand stories on travel tips and guides, events, entertainment,shopping, food, business and transportation.
Also, you might want to read our
Luang Prabang city guide,
and Vientiane city guide.
Pages (1 of 14):
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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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| R Kircher |
24 April 2005 |
Stayed at Settha Palace Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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The sights of Vientiane can really be exhausted in about a day. Spending two there, we found ourselves scratching our heads to figure out how to spend out time. Definitely try a Lao massage -- much better, softer and more relaxing than a Thai massage.
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| A Casey |
28 February 2005 |
Stayed at Asian Pavilion Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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Go to the 'Cafe Du Maison' on Pangkhan Road, (off Samsenthai Rd) for the absolutely best Lao Mountain Coffee in Vientiane!
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| R Wedderburn |
12 February 2005 |
Stayed at Lao Plaza Hotel, Vientiane - Vientiane, Laos.
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I was only there for 1 day but enjoyed it. Vientiane is a fairly sleepy capital on the river. I went to see most of the local tourist attractions which were easily accessible. Budha park is way outside of town and not worth the visit IMHO if you only have 1 day.
I ate dinner at a simple restaurant on the river. The fresh fish and sauce was out of this world. The meal along with beers and an entree for my driver was less than $5. Unfortunately, I don't have the name of the restaurant but there are many places along the river. Don't be afraid to venture out.
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| J Stephens |
12 January 2005 |
Stayed at Manoluck Hotel - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Slash and burn agriculture is practised in the surrounding hills and mountains in the dry season. It can be quite smokey in the morning, but lifting about 10.30 -11.00 a.m. Luang Prabang is a charming town set in a beautiful location. People were most friendly and loved to practise and learn English.
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| A Wilczek |
30 December 2004 |
Stayed at Villa Santi Resort - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Luang Prabang is awesome and I am very glad I went. People are very friendly and I felt very safe. One day we did the 4 hour cave tour and 4 hour waterfall tour in one day. These two tours will cost you about $50 per person at the hotel (ripoff)or you can go anywhere in town and get the same trip for $10. I highly recommend the restaurant Nazim as it has great indian food. I would also recommend the crepe place for a snack, a bit expensive but a nice european touch. I would also recommend renting a bike for the day as it is a great way to see the city and tour the temples/wat's and at $1 a day it is the best bargain there is. I loved this city and can't wait to get back.
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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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| M Mccarthy |
25 December 2004 |
Stayed at Villa Santi Hotel, The - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Coming back to LP after 6 years, the place is a bit busier, more clearly on the traveller route, but has lost none of its charm. Still the most magical place in SE Asia. Culinary highlight: The Saveur de Laos set at L'Elephant.
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| R Mcguigan |
21 December 2004 |
Stayed at Manoluck Hotel - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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After coming from Bangkok and ChiangMai I found Laung Prabang to be a beautiful scenic place full of warm and friendly people. I would recomend people to try to meet a local and have them show you the villagers and its surrounds rather than the tours which are on offer in all the travel companies along the main street. The staff at my hotel was happy to show me his village and the people and even showed me around the town and the temples. The only tour I did was a bike trek through the country side to a waterfall and back through some villages and textiles shops. It was interesting if you are fit and can take 5-6 hours of riding a mountain bike on uneven roads. There are plenty of cheap guesthouses right through to expensive hotels so everyone is catered for. A destination that needs to be visited before the coming of MacDonalds etc...
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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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