Luang Prabang

Pros: Luang Prabang is beautiful ,a gem in a fascinating country.
Cons: The battle for preservation struggles with the onset of tourism. However, heritage is valued.

A cockerel crows as we stumble through the darkness. In an hour dawn will break over the finger-like peninsula, formed where the mighty Mekong River meets the Nam Khan. In Luang Prabang, northern Laos, you can hear the soft swish of early morning road ...

Pros: People, culture, temples, prices, history, monks, peacefulness, natural beauty.
Cons: Limited infrastructure, disrespectful tourists.

Opening I visited Luang Prabang in January 2008. I had never been to Laos and was eager to see my 10th SE Asian country. I did a lot of research online and used the Lonely Planet guidebook but I basically went in without any first-hand advice. ...

Pros: a jewel of a city frozen in time
Cons: Celine Dion a go-go in restaurants

'And towards the end of the afternoon a charming plain suddenly spread out in front of me, a plain of beautiful colours - beige and green and gold - the plain of Luang Prabang surrounded by uneven but harmoniously formed hills such as those of Poussin. ...

Pros: Quiet Is The New Loud.
Cons: After A Time You'll Pray For Something To Happen.

In 1995 UNESCO declared that Luang Prabang was Asia's most preserved city. Steeped in a French colonial history this (small) town is a sleepy enclave that nestles between the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. At first Luang Prabang doesn't excite but after a...

Pros: Beautiful town, sweet people, delicious food, lots of outdoor adventuring, cheap crafts
Cons: Small, hard to get to. Some say not worth it if short on time.

I was lucky to arrive in Luang Prabang - on a flight from Chiang Mai - just after a late afternoon rain when the weather was relatively cool. Oh but I had too much faith. By evening the temperature must have been 80 with nearly 100% humidity as I plodded ...

Pros: Slow pace, beautiful
Cons: Insanely hot sometimes

A friend and I were recently in Luang Prabang for a few days, having flown to Laos mostly on a whim. I'm very glad that we went, and I'm also VERY glad that we went NOW.

Luang Prabang is about thiry minutes from Vientiane by air, or between 7...

Pros: Jewel of a town
Cons: Getting busier with travelers

Review Topic:  Overview

My wife and I spent 4 days in Luang Prabang in February 2000, and can recommend it most heartily. Yes, it's busy with tourists, but it is still a marvelous place thanks to its setting on the Mekong River,...