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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 (6 of 14):
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| H Nick |
20 December 2002 |
Stayed at Asian Pavilion Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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Vientiane is a lovely place, with lots of great restaurants and as we discovered lots of nice places to stay. We recommend "Healthy and Fresh Bakery" near the fountain, and "La Terrace".
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| P Garrett |
12 December 2002 |
Stayed at Villa Santi Hotel, The - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Overall didn't find Lao-cuisine to be as exciting as either of its neighbours Vietnam and Thailand. However we ate well in the nearaby French-run L'Elephant and a cafe under the same ownership directly oppositte from Santi (adjacent to Blue House). There are loads of other cafes catering to backpackers etc - but although promising-looking gastronomically not very notable.
There are also loads of tours on boats and other 3 and 4 wheeled vehicles going to "the waterfalls" and "Buddha cave" - but we felt that the range of tourist activities was not yet well developed - everyone was being shunted through the same two places. So we took a guided Merc from Diethelm Travel (one of only 5 in Luang Prabang) and fixed our own tour up into the hills - very worthwhile, and still good value. It was an ideal 3 night trip - longer and you better bring some good books, or start working on writing that novel...
Bangkok Airways offered their usual smooth service on our route from Chiang Mai via Sukhothai into Luang Prabang, and back to BKK. Backpackers also arrive on the boats up the Mekong - but having viewed their seaworthiness I'll personally wait a few years until they've got something a little more comfortable in service - at which point I'd definitely give it a try.
Shopping-wise there are a lot of the same product that many Asia regulars will know from BKK's JJ's market - slightly cheaper, but few fresh discoveries. However at the Hmong market (and elsewhere in town) look out for the attractive hand-made bedspreads and cushion covers. There are some nice silks and silk hangings to be had. And on a design front the two silhouette figures that occur in a lot of the work could probably give the writers of X-Files a few script ideas (you'll see what I mean!).
There are some nice paper products including lanterns and decent-value large format photo albums or scrapbooks. The silverware described in the guidebooks however was of disappointing quality - most looked like it had been knocked up in school first-year metalwork classes. One shop was an exception with some nice bracelets etc that looked like they'd been constructed with love rather than haste!
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| P Majka |
12 December 2002 |
Stayed at Villa Santi Hotel, The - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Small city with wonderful sights, good food, and few modern distractions. The Buddist and French Colonial influences mix with native Asian tribal cultures to provide very memorable experiences.
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| K Larsen |
10 December 2002 |
Stayed at La Residence Phou Vao - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Luang Prabang is a city filled with Buddhist temples (wats) and French colonical architecture. The town feels very mellow, and part of the delight is just strolling around town, observing the day to day life there. It's well worth taking a boat trip on the Mekong (we liked the Pak Ou caves), and a drive out into the hills to see some lovely waterfalls, which gives the opportunity to see some village life. We took the hotel shuttle into town, walked in town, then took a tuk-tuk back to the hotel.
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| K Malkiewicz |
10 December 2002 |
Stayed at Calao Inn, Le - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Luang Prabang is a charming old town and was the highlight of our stay in Laos. At the street market local women are selling beautiful hand woven silk shawls. After bargaining a little we bought several of them with prices ranging from 7 to 16 USD depending on sizes. This was much cheaper than in the local shops.
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| J Kinn |
24 November 2002 |
Stayed at Settha Palace Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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Vientiane serves mainly as a place you pass through on the way to more interesting places (such as Luang Prabang). Vientiane, however, is good for a day. The Settha Palace provided a car (for a very reasonable rate) to take us around.
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| W Jack |
22 November 2002 |
Stayed at Asian Pavilion Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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Vietienne is very nice and worth a few days. It is worth missing the crowds and heading to Southern Loas and heading inland as the people and small villages are wonderful.
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| P Longley |
04 November 2002 |
Stayed at Villa Santi Hotel, The - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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There are some very good places to eat, the Malee, Elephant and the hotel itself.
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| H Ganzler and donna barnett |
23 October 2002 |
Stayed at Villa Santi Hotel, The - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Laos is a great country to visit for people wanting to go somewhere that is off the beaten path. It's beautiful, the people are friendly and warm, the food is wonderful, and it's a great value for the money.
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| J Hourigan |
18 October 2002 |
Stayed at Calao Inn, Le - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Luang Prabang is a charming UNESCO listed world heritage site on the Mekong river.
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