Luang Prabang
Why go?
Standing on the banks of the mighty Mekong, this town of around
20,000 is in fact the third largest in Laos: hard to believe when
you stand on its main street and look out at the tiny old town, a
picture of sleepy provincialism apparently lost to the world. For
the moment it remains just that, but word is spreading and more and
more people are coming to see what the fuss is all about. Most of
them leave convinced that Luang Prabang was the highlight of their
tour.
So what do you do while you’re here? Well, not very much,
really. The old town is impossibly pretty and it’s
exceedingly easy to while away 3 or 4 days pottering about.
You’ll find gorgeous cafés, shimmering temples, the
Mekong flowing serenely by and a couple of lovely diversions to
take you out in the lush countryside (85% of Laos is forested hill
and mountain). It’s a great spot to end a tour of Indochina.
You won’t want to leave, but you’ll get home fully
rested.