Lauren Tabbron shares her favourite things to do in Manchester
Jess Astbury regales tales of festivities in warmer climates.
Laos has a lot going for it as a tourist destination. Party animals will be pleased to learn that in Laos there is a similar attitude towards alcohol as the rest of South East Asia, with phenomenally strong rice whisky being one of the most iconic national drinks. The Lao people have learnt from the full moon parties in Thailand how to cater to the tastes of revellers, with buckets (I’m not exaggerating) of whisky available in certain places. One thing everybody will say you have to do in Laos is visit Vang Vieng. Almost a rite of passage for backpackers, it is a small town teeming with bars selling western food, blaring out episodes of Family Guy while the foreign patrons get steadily more drunk after a hard day’s tubing, an activity which involves floating down a river in an inflatable ring and stopping at the many bars that line the banks to swing on questionably safe rope swings, dance to western pop and, you’ve guessed it, drink more booze.
Mercifully, Vang Vieng is a rarity in Laos. While it is a good thing that the party animals have a place in which to indulge their desires, it is equally delightful to see that this type of tourism has not taken over the whole country and that the Lao identity is not being lost. The jewel in Laos’ crown has to be the city of Luang Prabang. Just half a day’s coach ride from Vang Vieng, through some of the most beautiful, lush, green countryside I have seen, Luang Prabang sits in the middle of all this splendour, right on the famous Mekong River. Because of this stunning beauty, the whole area has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site, which means that incredibly for a city, cars are not allowed on its streets. This makes the whole city have a very relaxed feel for the most part, representative of the Lao attitude to life. It is a place with countless serene Buddhist temples, lazy boat trips to the nearby caves and very near a national park containing a spectacular waterfall and a bear sanctuary.
By night, the markets light up the car-free streets, selling all kinds of delicious foods, locally made clothes and goods and some just plain oddities that make great gifts to take back (bottle of whisky with a dead snake in it, anyone?) As is customary in most Asian countries, all prices need to be first haggled over, but a timid westerner need not worry, as the happy relaxed Lao people make it feel more like a game than the aggressive battle of wills it can feel like with other hagglers. If a traveller were after the quintessential Lao experience, then they could not do better than Luang Prabang, but there is much more authentic Laos to be discovered in other places, as well as the treks available to tourists to go and see the native rural villages.
Laos is easily accessible by plane, train and coach from Bangkok, so if you find yourself travelling in the area and have a few days spare then I would thoroughly recommend you pay a visit to this fine country. I would advise you to get in quick, however, as it is surely only a matter of time before more people cotton on and the real Laos gets lost in the tourism that engulfs a nation’s character but ultimately makes the locals more money. Kawp chai.
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