Lonely Planet Laos

lonely planet laos="lonely planet laos"
Must see/do's in Laos?

Hi Guys,
I'm planning a big trip to SE Asia starting in Thailand in January and have ideas for Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam but not sure what I should do in Laos? I'll be there in February probably, might be a bit chilly for tubing etc. I have a lonely planet but would really like to hear some personal recommendations from people who've spent time there as to favourite towns, places etc.

Thanking you very much in advance, xx

Hi
I was in Laos in June for a couple of days. I visited Luang Prabang and around.
Luang Prabang is just a small incredibly clean quiet town consisting of colonial villas and Buddhist monasteries, most of them are small, the oldest one is 16th century's Wat Xieng Tong.
For a breathtaking view you may want to climb the Phousi hill in the centre of the town. There is a stupa on top, a monastery (again) and a 'Buddha's footprint' in a cave.
I also visited the Royal Ballet, but it was quite standard for SEA.
My best impressions: I have taken an elephant ride in the elephant village 15 km from
Luang Prabang. Riding on the neck of this gentle giant through the rain forest is a fantastic sensation. It is possible to interact with the elephants for 1-2-3 days in that village (Mahout courses).
Also I liked VERY much the Kuang Xi waterfalls (40 km from Luang Prabang) - that time of the year the water was clean blue in the white natural basins cascading up to bottom, and people were bathing.

Laos is for nature lovers, trekking, kayaking ets. but all this you can read in the LP. The food is excellent, the accomodation very decent and it looked perfectly safe at least in Luang Prabang.

Unfortunately, it was only 2 days, and I already miss it again. I want more.

Pak Ou Caves in Luang Prabang


lonely planet laos
lonely planet laos