Laos Revealed

Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to your centrally located hotel. Vientiene is a fascinating capital with a fusion of Lao, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, French, and American influences. This charming and easygoing city will provide a smooth introduction to Laos. After a short rest, an orientation walk of the Lao Capital is a pleasant way to spend the day, strolling around some of the city’s most historical sites and seeing some French colonial architecture. We observe the sunset by the Mekong Riverside until the late evening. Overnight in Vientiane

AM:    After breakfast, we start to visit the major sights of the capital, including the oldest Wat Sisaket with thousands of miniature Buddha statues and the former royal temple of Wat Prakeo, which previously housed the famous Emerald Buddha Image. On the way to the famous and sacred structure of That Luang Stupa, we will stop to take pictures of the imposing Patuxay Monument, which is well known as Vientiane’s own Arc de Triumph. From there, we visit the central or Morning Market, which is a great place for browsing antiques, handmade textiles, and gifts.

PM: We spend the rest of this day touring the Lao capital, visiting the National Museum (closed Tuesday) formerly known as the Revolutionary Museum, which exhibits artifacts, photos, and legends of Laos’s historical fighters and leaders from the Ancient times to the new revolution period. We then board our short flight to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage City of Luang Prabang, which is perhaps the best-preserved traditional city in Southeast Asia. On arrival, we transfer you to your hotel. After a short rest, we stroll around the Night Market, where you can find a lovely selection of textiles made by the locals and the hill-tribe people surrounding Luang Prabang. We then climb up to the top of Mount Phousi for an enjoyable exploration of the sacred, gilded stupa as well as viewing a beautiful and panoramic sunset over the Ancient city and the Mekong River. Overnight in Luang Prabang (B)

After breakfast, we enjoy a short guided tour seeing the city’s oldest temple of impressive stupa of Wat Visoun and the shrines of Wat Aham and Wat Mai, Wat Sene, and the magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its roofs sweeping low to the ground, which represents classical Laotian architecture. We then board a cruise upstream on the Mekong River, which gives us a panoramic view of the tranquil countryside as well as an enjoyable visit to the mysterious Pak Ou Caves, two linked caves crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes left by pilgrims. Along the way, we stop at the village of Ban Xanghai, where they make the local rice wine. On our way back, we pass the local villages at Ban Xiengmene and Ban Chan and continue to see the royal temple at Wat Longkhoun and Ban Phanom, a village famous for its hand weaving. Overnight in Luang Prabang (B)

An optional early start gives you the fantastic opportunity to participate in the daily morning rituals of saffron-clad monks collecting offerings of Alms (often in the form of sticky rice) from the faithful residents. This tradition is very unique in Laos, being the only Buddhist nation still preserving the ritual. Later, we visit the National Museum (closed Tuesdays) at the former Royal Palace.  It displays a collection of artifacts reflecting the richness of Lao culture dating from the days of the early kings right through to the last sovereign. There will also be time for us to look around the Central Market. After visiting these sights in the morning, there may be free time (depending on your flight) to venture into town and stroll around the shopping area. The tour ends after your transfer to the airport for departure (B)