We couldn’t leave mainland Southeast Asia without first sampling the delights of Luang Prabang and Angkor Wat. Luang Prabang is the one place in Laos where shit works. Restaurants never confused our order, the city is walkable, and the tourist sites are well run and worth checking out. A lot of backpackers and tour groups come here so it is definitely not off the beaten track. There are some irksome features such as the frankly tedious and overly large night market that clogs up the main drag, and the tourist hordes around the beautiful tak bak ceremony are frankly unpalatable. However, the UNESCO designation means that it is one of the few large towns in Southeast Asia that retains a timeless air. After bitching about tourist crowds in our last post, we really enjoyed Luang Prabang and stayed longer than we planned.

Highlights

• The temples. All 33 of them.
• Great local food and drink
• Traditional urban architecture
• For a tourist city it is surprisingly friendly and hassle free
• Local handicrafts
• The very sobering UXO center

When we were there
February 12-16 2016

Lowlights

• Night market

GETTING THERE & AWAY

We jumped on the pickup from Nong Khiaw. It cost … Read more