| Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 | |
Vientiane-Luang PrabangCountry forums / South-East Asia Mainland / Laos | ||
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| 1 | ||
does anyone know how much it would cost to hire driver for this route? | 2 | |
Never heard of taking a driver. Very nice minivans ply this route at very low prices so this is how most people go. | 3 | |
It is possible to take a private cab on this route. I am doing so in February, stopping at Vang Vieng to break he journey. Ours is booked with a travel company, but if you Google you can find links. At one point I was considering making my own booking arrangements but in the end Premier came up with a full tailor made package. | 4 | |
dianne--yes, Lao Airlines offers the daily multiple flights at U$63 for foreigners oneway [slightly cheaper for roundtrip flights] and for locals it's now U$48 oneway. | 5 | |
| 6 | |
we recently hired car and driver ,cheapest we could find was $180 | 7 | |
Has anyone been able to book a boat to make the trip from Vientiane to Luang Prabang? | 8 | |
After Hanoi the change of pace was significant. Greeted by smiling officials at the airport and about 30 Visas on Arrival were processed in as many minutes! You do need US$ ($30 for me an Australian, and $35 for my British partner) Experienced no difficulty in taking Kip from the ATM and negotiated a Jumbo ride in to town - 45,000 Kip for two but four of us rode for 60,000, and the driver was more than happy for us to check out 3 or 4 accommodation prospects. Initially we settled for the Villa Sokxai, recommended by many on this and Trip Adviser Forums, but the "VIP" room at US$30 was overrated and the Guest House has seen better days. It was clean and had a balcony over the main thoroughfare. After a stroll round town the next day we moved to Thana Boun Guest House right in the middle of the main street with sparkling new rooms well out the back. The service and facilities were excellent, it was very quiet and at US$19 this was great value and very convenient. Perhaps some would prefer a river view but we had plenty of time to take in the views during walks and food stops. As the establishment had just opened, I don't expect this price to last too long! We found L.P. a wonderful place to unwind, the town fairly flat and easy to explore on foot, and the restaurants, bakeries and wine outlets all very tempting. Wonderful dinner and atmosphere at the 3 Nagus Restaurant, but our favourite and less expensive was Tum Tum Bamboo in the main street where we had a traditional Lao meal, crispy grilled fish with ginger and fried chicken in lemon grass, washed down with a French chardonnay, (140,000 Kip - food representing half the cost) JoMa and Restaurant Luang Prabang Bakery were our favourites for lunch and the odd snack! At least two good wine bottle shops in main street where you can enjoy an adequate range of wine by the glass in a relaxed atmosphere, from 18,000 Kip to 40,000 Despite many warnings about lack of ATMs we did our usual (i.e. carrying very few US$ for emergency and using the ATM for withdrawals in local currency) and managed with just a couple of "moments". There is a machine at the airport and two in the main street; one down near JoMa and the other right in the centre near all the restaurants and Travel Agencies. These two were out of action half the time but seemed to be operational most mornings. The highlight of our trip was the journey by mini bus up the Nam Ou river to Nong Khiaw, then boat to Muang Ngoi and returning by boat to L.P. (Some kind person suggested that this was a far more rewarding and less tiresome adventure than taking the slow boat between L.P. and Huay Xai, and we are so glad that the idea prevailed! The mini was dilapidated, late for the pick-up and delayed for several reasons on the way to Nong Khiaw. (Quite another story but we needed to learn, as we soon did, that Lao people have different priorities and their take on what is important in life can be very different) The country and the mountains were spectacular, as we passed through villages of bamboo huts sitting on stalks above free range chooks and ducks which showed remarkable skills in crossing the road at will! The dogs were more commanding and only reluctantly moved off their dry spot in the centre of the muddy "highway" in the face of our tooting smoke belching mini van. At N.K. the scenery was breath-taking with spectacular, sharp pointed limestone mountains rising up from the very edge of the river. The highlight of our highlight was the Non Kiau Riverside Hotel and Restaurant, a truly magical place to stay! Individual self contained bamboo huts are perched high above the river bank with a panorama of river and mountains surrounding a large open verandah. A huge "Queen Ann" double bed with mosquito net and large ensuite, US$25 included breakfast. The lunch of Bamboo and vegetable soup (lemon grass and green chilly) and Morning Glory in fish sauce (skinny beans, spring onions, garlic and chopped cashews) with the inevitable bottle or three of Beer Lao, while watching activity on the river below. That night electricity went off at 5 pm due to tree damage during a storm. The whole village was lit up with candle light and dinner at another restaurant on the rivers edge was memorable at the remarkable cost of 20,000 Kip. The village is very basic but sites magnificent and people easy to warm to. One hour on the boat to Muang Ngoi. (20,000 Kip pax.) No other option but not to be missed! We shared the long boat with a dozen happy locals and one very boisterous goat. Seems that yesterdays storm had deterred any tourists from taking this trip. M.N. was certainly muddy but it's two dirt streets soon dried out and it was easy to dodge the slippery pools of red mud, shared with only pedestrians, chickens and a dog or two. All accommodation here is basic. We chose the bamboo huts at Nickos Place because the green roofs stood out as we approached up the river!! ( 40,000 a double) Cold water, a suspect mattress and screw the light bulb to turn it on. Compensation was a free Beer Lao taken in the hammocks on the small balcony with a wonderful view of a setting sun over the river and the happy chat of a family fishing across the other side. After an invigorating shower and some heavy duty pancakes for breakfast, we did a little exploring and a lot of gazing at the mountains. The return journey was enjoyable but we would recommend that road transport be taken from Nong Kiaw to L.P. if time is short. Back in L.P. there are more people around and at the wonderful night market bargaining is a little more enthusiastic but no hard sell and still more a friendly banter. Some v. good examples of Hmong blankets, silver artistry and more. Incredibly cheap and your dealing with the originator that often has spent all day travelling to this venue, and puting your currency directly in to the local economy.(you have to feel good about the experience!) Spent most of our last day in L.P. with a lovely Lao lady and two teachers from Missouri, USA. Dinner at the Blue lagoon Cafe. Superb french onion soup, fish tom yum, beef and onion stew, and a nice carafe of house wine in a beautiful courtyard setting at a cost of US$33 for food for two and drinks all round. The Swiss owner acknowledged our compliments by joining us and providing a complementary round of drinks The last leg of our Laos journey to Van Vieng and Vientiane is covered in a seperate posting to follow.! | 9 | |
Hi I'm heading to Luang Prabang in a few weeks and am trying to find contact details for the Thana Boun guesthouse; I see you stayed there and wonder if you can help please? | 10 | |
#10 you may want to start a new thread about the Thana Boun GH as this is a very old thread (October 2007) I saw your post because I contributed to this thread. However, most people will not see this thread. | 11 | |