The three most popular destinations in Laos
The main three cities people usually manage to visit in Laos are in the central/northern region – Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Vientiane. So naturally, I also passed through all three of them. Laos as a country has typically been considered as laid back and untouched. But what are these cities like nowadays?
Luang Prabang
When talking to other travellers then usually the main place they mention regarding Laos is Luang Prabang. Being the cultural hub of Laos at the moment, it is mainly known for its Buddhist temples. I took half a day for myself to visit the main ones there. During that time I managed to visit four. But while walking around in the city you notice temples within a couple of hundred meters all the time.
It is pretty obvious that the centre of the town is refurnished with tourism in mind. The night market is built up each evening on the main street and all the vendors are selling similar things – traditional fabrics, plates, jewellery and other types of souvenirs. So it is a perfect place to buy some gifts while being in Laos.
Besides checking out the city, Luang Prabang is the perfect base to visit Kuang Si waterfalls from. As one of the main attractions in Laos, it is only 30 km south of the city. I took minivan transportation there and back (cost 35.000 KIP = 3.5 €). The falls are multilevel and the water is a beautiful greenish colour. It is possible to take a swim there in different places and just relax in the natural pools.
I would say that Luang Prabang has a pretty similar vibe to Hoi An in central Vietnam. It is pretty much catering only to tourists. As for the central part of it at least. So it was difficult for me to see or understand what is Laos about in that city.
Vang Vieng
The first thing I noticed when arrived in Vang Vieng was all of the restaurants and bars which were mainly selling western food. Signs of kebabs, sandwiches, pizza and burgers all around. While browsing the town, later on, my first impressions seemed to be correct. Another town that is fully catering only to tourism. But nevertheless, it is still worth visiting it. Vang Vieng has become the centre for outdoor sports and activities in Laos.
But not complaining if you can get a sandwich like that for only 1 €.
I decided to take my first try at actual rock climbing there. Since it was the low season (rainy season) during my visit I happened to be the only trainee at that day. So I had a personal instructor for the whole day. Vang Vieng is surrounded by many limestone cliffs which means there are many options for rock climbing. It was definitely a difficult physical challenge and I was really struggling with over hangers but a great experience for sure.
The main and most popular activity in Vang Vieng is tubing along the Mekong river. Since it was raining pretty much for my whole stay there I decided not to go for it though. Another option besides taking a tube and floating down the river is taking a kayak to paddle between the mountains.
On my second (and last) full day in Vang Vieng, I wanted to take a scooter to discover the surroundings. Since it was raining I only managed to take a trip in the evening a few hours before sunset. I decided to go and check out the Kaeng Nyui waterfall just outside of the town. Since it had been raining for a couple of days the clayish dirt road heading there was really slippery. I managed to stay up still and witness the water dropping down from a 30-meter high cliff. After that, I wanted to check out some viewpoints on the other side of the town but I reached them too late. The entrances for the hills closed already by 5 pm, so it was not possible to go up anymore.
Vientiane
The capital of Laos has made huge progress during the previous years. I was reading blog posts about the city being really slow-paced and full of dirt roads about 10 years ago. But today you could already see the first skyscrapers rising on the skyline!
While there is not too much to do in that city (being an actual functioning local city), there are still some places worth visiting. Since the places are not really close to each other and walking/cycling in 32-degree heat for tens of kilometres was not really appealing I decided to take a scooter for a day in the city. During a half day, I managed to visit the Patuxay Monument for some good views over the city, That Luang temple and the COPE visitors centre.
The COPE (Cooperative Orthotic & Prosthetic Enterprise) centre educates visitors about the tragedies what has happened to Lao people ca 50 years ago and what is still happening. Basically, the American military was bombing the Ho Chi Minh trail which went through Laos during the Vietnam War horrendously. They were dropping cluster bombs (more than 270 million bombs!) in Laos in crazy amounts. Thousands of innocent people were being killed in the attacks. Many people are getting insured or getting killed until these days even. Up to 30 % of the bombs did not detonate on the impact with the ground which means the countrysides are still full of active bombs. Laos was not even directly involved in the war. True fact – Laos is the most bombed country in the history of the world per capita.
Coming back to some easier information, the riverfront of Vientiane is a great place to spend an evening at. There is a huge market that sells a variety of items intended for locals. On a clear day, the sunset upon the Mekong river and Thailand across it is supposed to be magical.
Best place to visit?
All of these three cities/towns area really different from each other. I would say that the capital, Vientiane, had the most authentic feeling to it. It feels like Laos is starting to get a flow of tourists for these three places. At least they seem to be ready for it – there have not been so many people around to accommodate all of the facilities here. It is the rainy (low) season though at the moment so probably the tourist count is lower than usual as well.
But this is not the whole of Laos. I have heard that the northern part is really mountainous and worth visiting for trekking and small rural villages. Personally, I decided to make my way down south towards 4000 islands. I can already say that it was totally worth it! But about that in the next posts.
