Laos Travel - Accommodation, Attractions, Information
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Elephant Polo fever in Thailand Polo is a sport usually reserved only for the super rich who can afford to own their own horses and stables to house them. In Thailand polo isn?t played in quite the same way. They use elephants. The annual King?s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament is ... Daewon breaks ground for first urban area on reclaimed land Daewon Cantavil Construction Company of South Korea?s Daewon Group held a ground-breaking ceremony in Danang yesterday for Da Phuoc International New Town, the first urban development in the central region to use land created by filling in the ... Thailand and Cambodia Agree to Single Visa Plan The Thai and Cambodian governments will sign an agreement allowing foreign visitors to travel in both countries with only one visa.
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Maison
Souvannaphoum Hotel - Luang Prabang
Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel is located in the heart
of the city Luang Prabang and is only 5 kilometres from the nearest
Airport. All guestrooms at the hotel are well furnished
and beautifully decorated with several modern amenities. Guests can dine at the hotels Elephant Restaurant
serving wide variety of cuisine. The lobby is an
ideal place to relax and meet friends or business delegates. Guests
arriving with their own transportation can avail of the convenient
parking facility on-site.
Laos' isolation from foreign influence offers travellers an unparalleled
glimpse of traditional southeast Asian life. From the fertile lowlands of
the Mekong River valley to the rugged Annamite highlands, Laos is the
highlight of southeast Asia.
This is the least developed
and most enigmatic of the three former French Indochinese states. A ruinous
sequence of colonial domination, internecine conflict and dogmatic socialism
finally brought the country to its knees in the 1970s, and almost 10% of the
population left the country.
Now, after two decades of isolation from the
outside world, this landlocked, sparsely populated country is enjoying
peace, stabilizing its political and economic structures, and admitting
foreign visitors - albeit in limited numbers, owing to a general lack of
infrastructure.
Although travel in Laos is generally hassle-free, travellers should be
aware of the risk of rural banditry, unexploded ordnance and sporadic
violence in and around Vientiane. Travellers have been inadvertently
targeted in several attacks on buses travelling to and from the capital.
Ask around in Vientiane or Luang Prabang to check security before travelling
the western portion of Rte 7 in Xieng Khuang Province, between Muang Phu
Khun and Phonsavan, or Rte 13 between Vangviang north to Muang Phu Khun
through to south of Luang Prabang.
Small bombings and attempted bombings in Vientiane continue sporadically.
The Saisombun Special Zone, considered a 'troubled' area, is definitely not
safe. Permits, required for all visits to the zone, are not being issued.
Facts for the Traveler
Area: 236,000 sq km Population: 5.5 million People: 50% Lao Loum (lowland Lao), 30% Lao Theung (lower-mountain
dwellers of mostly proto-Malay or Mon-Khmer descent), 10-20% Lao Sung (Hmong
or Mien high-altitude hill tribes) and 10-20% tribal Thais Language: English, Lao, French Religion: 60% Buddhist, 40% animist and spirit cults
Visas: Fifteen-day visas are now available on arrival at
Vientiane's Wattay International Airport and at the International Friendship
Bridge at the Nong Khai border crossing between Laos and
Thailand, though you'll
need to meet a series of conditions to get one. Fifteen-day and 30-day visas
are generally issued through embassies, consulates and authorised travel
agencies.
The best time to visit is between November and February - during these
months it rains least and isn't too hot. If you're heading up into the
mountains, May and July can also be pleasant. Roads can be washed out during
rainy season (July to October), but there's plenty of river travel. Peak
tourist months are December to February and during August, although there
are relatively few visitors at any time.
Events
Festivals in Laos are generally linked to agricultural seasons or
historical Buddhist holidays. The Lunar New Year begins in mid-April
and the entire country comes to a halt and celebrates. Houses are cleaned,
offerings are made in wats and everyone gets dowsed by water. Bun Bang
Fai (Rocket Festival) takes place in May. It's an irreverent
pre-Buddhist celebration with plenty of processions, music and dancing,
accompanied by the firing of bamboo rockets to prompt the heavens to send
rain. The week-long That Luang Festival in Vientiane in November has
the whole repertoire of fireworks, candlelit processions and music.
Maison
Souvannaphoum Hotel - Luang Prabang
