Tourist Attractions in Laos

keep an open mind. People are trying to move up. Some people tend to want fast money, so that's when tourists get ripped off. If you want to avoid that as much as possible, don't look like a tourist. lol. But if you insist on staying in Lane Xang Hotel or Don Chan Palace...expect to be prey. yeah it's sad, but accept it. if you're not fit to handle yourself in Laos, maybe it isn't the place for you. Trying to find some monumental buildings like they have in Europe? There's nothing really like that in Lao.

Unique Suggestions: Yeah there are temples, and they might not seem as grand or as interresting as something you've seen in another country, but that is a place of worship for the people....so respect that, and i guess try to appreciate it. If you're offered drugs or whatever, much to your distaste, just say no and forget about it. don't let it ruin your trip. i find it best to to take a lazy walk around the cities, looking for people who speak a little bit of english and then try to communicate with them. have a conversation, few jokes, and laughs.

if you're going to vang vieng and want to have a sober good time, just go do some kayaking. You can chose to stop by the riverside bars or you could easily just go all the way down the Nam Song. it's a good workout and fun.

Fun Alternatives: the best Laos has to offer to visitors is the people and a little bit of mother nature. if you're intensions to visit are for some other reason, plan to be a little more dissappointed. I had a great time though, and i go back every year.

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Not sure that htis is a warning or trap.

Unique Suggestions: There are lots of children in Loas that flock to the tourists when they arrive at food stops etc many of them have even smaller children in their care. They are ususlly begging and will hang around while you eat. We never gave them money but we often handed out fruit which they seemed grateful for. At some places they were waiting for our coke/fanta cans so they could have them not sure if they recieve money for the cans or what. We tried to give a small amount to all of the kids we saw but of course you cant give to everyone and at times we had to take back our fruit when some of the bigger kids took from the smaller but it was not a major issue we just gave it back to the smaller kids usually the "thief" looked pretty sheepish.
We generally kept a stash of fruit in the van and gave it out ot the kids when we saw them. None ever asked for money in fact they didnt ask for anything.

say NO toward it!! the bus condition was suck and u need to stay several hours in the border of Laos - Cao Treo to wait for the opening of the office!!

typically this bus ticket can be purchased in every agency and guesthouse in VIETIANE... it can cost u 16 - 18 US dollar and end up with a nightmare!

so, just say No to this bus service!

Fun Alternatives: for border crossin to VIETNAM, the best way is travel to SAVANNAKHET n purchase the tourist bus service from there to HUE... for m, this one is better...

If you take the slow boat from that goes from the northern part of Thailand to Luang-prabong some of the operators will try to get you to pay a 50 bahtt fee for "insurance" They even have a semi-offical looking form that you have to fill out. It's a scam. Don't be the one to pay the money.

Unique Suggestions: Be the leader to stand up an proclaim it a scam. They aren't going to kick off the whole boat of angry tourists.

Having just come through the border from Lak Xao into Vietnam, there was a sign saying that as it was the weekend, there was a charge of 1 USD for stamping the passport to exit the country. Of course this was repeated by the Vietnamese to enter. So total extra cost because its a weekend is 2 USD. Not much I know but worth knowing!!

Unique Suggestions: Smile and pay!!

Fun Alternatives: Dont go on a weekend or try another border crossing where it may not happen.

Night Time at the Zoo..... It's not all that great , since you can not photograph what you see. It was also a very long line, and really you are not seeing anything up close and personal that you could not do during day time. We took local bus , and it was a LONG way to travel , for something you can see at any Zoo.

Luang Prabang is some 11 hours by bus north of Vientiane. To split this ride up in two parts many tourists make a stopover in Vang Vieng. This is a small village surrounded by sceinic mountains and could be a really nice place to stay. BUT this little village has in a short time become a horrible tourist ghetto. This is really a place where one would whish that the authorities said stop and limited the rapid expansion of new bungalow ghettos. Worst of it all though, is the river which is full of fat americans riding tubes shouting "yeeeah cooool!" So if you can, avoid this place and head north as quick as possible.

If you want to travel from Northern Thailand into Laos via boat, there are things you have to be careful of. First off, do not buy your tickets in Thailand as they are very overpriced.

Unique Suggestions: The best thing to do is go into Laos before buying your ticket and do not buy it at the border either, despite what the apparent border guards tell you.

Fun Alternatives: The cheapest way to buy the ticket is to buy it at the boat itself. If you know you are going all the way to Luang Prabang, buy the two-day ticket but make sure it is marked for LP. If you are not sure, just buy the ticket to Pak Beng. You may pay a bit more for the second journey but you are more flexible and do not have to deal with the possibility of getting the one day ticket for the two day fare.