Most of the interesting buildings in Vientiane are of religious significance. All tour companies and many hotels and guesthouses will arrange city tours and excursions to surrounding sights but it is just as easy to arrange a tour independently with…
To truly honor the memory of Ho Chi Minh, visitors to these sights are obliged to buy a bouquet of flowers to lay at three separate places: One at the foot of his statue in the central square in the…
The sights of Ninh Binh are scattered outside the city, too many to see all in one day. Most travelers visit Ninh Binh on a tour from Hanoi, so it’s a good idea to look closely at the sights below…
All sights in the city center can be reached on foot, but you’ll want to hire a car with a driver or, for the brave, a motorbike taxi to reach sights outside the city center. Tuol Sleng and the Killing…
Arriving in Vientiane Getting there by air Most visitors arrive in Vientiane by air, the great bulk on one of the daily connections from Bangkok, with Thai Air (www.thaiair.com) or Lao Airlines (www.laoairlines.com); the latter also runs international flights from…
Laos is fast becoming the darling of Southeast Asia, satisfying all the romantic images of perfumed frangipani trees, saffron-robed monks, rusty old bicycles and golden temples, all set among a rich tapestry of tropical river islands, ethnic minority villages, cascading…
The sights are conveniently close together but, to begin with, it is worth climbing Phousi or taking a stroll along the river roads to get a better idea of the layout of the town. Most of Luang Prabang‘s important wats…
Anchored at the junction of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, the former royal capital of Lane Xang is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is home to a spellbinding array of gilded temples, weathered French colonial facades and…
The city of Lang Son is connected to Hanoi by a broad, flat highway, and is more or less a sleepover stop after the stunning ride from Cao Bang, before you make your way back to the capital. Dining and…
About a 6 hour ride past the Hanoi airport north on Route 3, and north of Thai Nguyen, you’ll pass through some areas of terraced rice farming that are a harbinger of the stunning mountainous scenery to come. From the…