Laos - "Simply Beautiful"

[keyser_soze]

di pa ako nakapagresearch what to visit in Vientiane and LP..

any suggestions?

Vientiane
*Pha That Luang - Great Sacred Reliquary, believed to contain a piece of Buddha's bone
*W@t Si Saket - the oldest temple in Vientiane
*Ho Pha Kaew - used to house the Emerald Buddha that now resides in Bangkok's W@t Phra Kaew
*Patuxai - Viantiane's version of Paris' Arc de Triomphe
*Xieng Khuan - Buddha Park
*Lao National Museum


Luang Prabang
*W@t Xieng Thong - LP's most magnificent temple, built in 1560
*Phou Si - a hill where several ancient temples are situated, like W@t Pha Phutabhat (built in 1395, believed to be constructed on the site of a buddha footprint), That Chomsi, and W@t Tham Phou Si. very nice sunset views here.
Ho Kham - Royal Palace Museum
*W@t Winusalat
*W@t Xieng Muan - look up! ceiling painted with a gold naga
*W@t Long Khun - a favorite retreat of Lao kings
*W@t Tham Xieng Maen
*W@t Chom Phet - nice view of the Mekong river here

Around LP:
*Pak Ou Caves - very popular trip along the Mekong River, the caves contain hundreds of buddha images.
*Tat Kouang Si waterfalls - spectacular, reviews describe it as "Eden-like".

[regdor]

@keyser_soze: salamat ng marami. yung sa Vientiane, kaya lang ba yun ng isang araw, i mean, nung araw ng pagdating from KL which is around 10am then at night proceed na to LP via bus?

[keyser_soze]

^^ETA around 10am? so baka mga 11am ka na ready mag-start to explore, that's basically just half a day na lang. very tight na yan, wag ka na lang magtagal sa bawat site, and just skip the buddha park.

[regdor]

basically, eto kasi iti ko at approved na vl ko ng manager ko although pede pa naman akong humirit na mag 3 days vl na lang ako para may exra 1 day ako...

day 1 - KL to Vientiane (7:35am to 9:10am) yung flight then at night Vientiane to LP (7pm na bus)
day 2 & 3 - LP
day 3 night - LP to Vientiane (7pm bus)
day 4 - Vientiane to LP (9:30am - 1:35pm) yung flight

so 10am start ng gala, yes checked the google map and di kaya ang budha park nyan, just planning only to visit the four must see places in Vientiane (Pha That Luang, *** Si Muang, Patuxai and Haw Phra Kaew)...

[SiOMs]

Hi keyser_soze!

You mentioned na you took a morning bus, is there a night bus going to Luang Prabang from Vientiane? Wanna save on time(and accommodations) kasi medyo tight ang schedule namin hehe

Also, is there a train from Luang Prabang to Bangkok? I hope meron para we can add an extra day to our stay in Luang Prabang.

Any idea what the weather is in late June/early July?

Thanks in advance!

[regdor]

^hello sioms, pupunta ka pa lang Laos kaya may stop-over ka sa KL. kelan punta mo sa Laos?

[keyser_soze]

Hi keyser_soze!

You mentioned na you took a morning bus, is there a night bus going to Luang Prabang from Vientiane? Wanna save on time(and accommodations) kasi medyo tight ang schedule namin hehe

Also, is there a train from Luang Prabang to Bangkok? I hope meron para we can add an extra day to our stay in Luang Prabang.

Any idea what the weather is in late June/early July?

Thanks in advance!

meron night bus. refer to page3, post #43 for sched (take note circa 2010 pa yun, not sure kung may pagbabago)

walang train LP-BKK.

weather in June-July parang Pinas lang din, maulan na yan

[SiOMs]

^hello sioms, pupunta ka pa lang Laos kaya may stop-over ka sa KL. kelan punta mo sa Laos?

Hello! Yup, Laos ang punta namin June 21 kami. Ikaw?

[SiOMs]

meron night bus. refer to page3, post #43 for sched (take note circa 2010 pa yun, not sure kung may pagbabago)

walang train LP-BKK.

weather in June-July parang Pinas lang din, maulan na yan

Oops sorry. Nag-back read ako but I must've missed that info about the night bus. Thanks! I'll look for it.

Naku sayang naman talagang magbabalikan kami ng Vientiane. Oh well. We'll make do pati narin sa weather.

I've read somewhere na expensive daw sa Vientiane? How much ang average meals dun? Also Luang Prabang? Matipid naman kami sa food so we don't really expect to eat at restaurants.

P.S. yung automatic visa na granted upon arrival may binabayaran ba dun?

P.P.S. Thank you keyser_soze! Ilang times na ata kita napag-tanungan sa iba't ibang thread dito

[regdor]

@SiOMs: minove ko na to Sept 14 - 18 kasi for my birthday then holiday kin kasi sa KL on Sept 17 so pasok sa banga... I'll be going na lang to Hat Yai, Thailand for my June travel...

[wanderer9020]

P.S. yung automatic visa na granted upon arrival may binabayaran ba dun?

A visa is a document issued by a country's government allowing the holder to enter (or to make a formal request to enter) or to leave that country.

Laos allows visa free entry for Philippine passport holders for certain duration subject to immigration officers discretion depending on the purpose of your visit.


So no visa, no fees...

A stamp on your passport is called entry /exit stamps and not visa.

[SiOMs]

A visa is a document issued by a country's government allowing the holder to enter (or to make a formal request to enter) or to leave that country.

Laos allows visa free entry for Philippine passport holders for certain duration subject to immigration officers discretion depending on the purpose of your visit.


So no visa, no fees...

A stamp on your passport is called entry /exit stamps and not visa.

Thanks wanderer9020! I think nahilo nako sa kakabasa sa iba't ibang thread. For the nth and final time, nag-back read ako dito. Nasagot na pala yung napakakulit ko na mga tanong regarding night bus and visas

So here's my itinerary. Suggestions and comments are more than welcome

Day 1 - arrive in Vientiane 9:10 am, exchange money to KIP, buy 8pm VIP bus tickets to Luang Prabang
- explore Vientiane: Pha That Luang, *** Si Saket, Ho Pha Kaew, Patuxai, Xieng Khuan, Lao National Museum

*Can we do all this in a span of 10 hrs? Magh-hire lang kami ng Tuktuk at dala ang mga bags namin haha! I don't want to get a hostel anymore since matutulog na kami sa bus going to Luang Prabang. *

Day 2 - arrive in Luang Prabang, check in Xayana Guesthouse
- explore temples

Day 3 - watch alms giving in the morning
- Pak Ou caves, Tat Kouang Si Waterfalls

Day 4 - go biking around Luang Prabang
- night bus back to Vientiane

Day 5 - arrive in Vientiane, head to bus/train station bound for Bangkok

Thank you in advance!

[keyser_soze]

Oops sorry. Nag-back read ako but I must've missed that info about the night bus. Thanks! I'll look for it.

Naku sayang naman talagang magbabalikan kami ng Vientiane. Oh well. We'll make do pati narin sa weather.

I've read somewhere na expensive daw sa Vientiane? How much ang average meals dun? Also Luang Prabang? Matipid naman kami sa food so we don't really expect to eat at restaurants.

P.S. yung automatic visa na granted upon arrival may binabayaran ba dun?

P.P.S. Thank you keyser_soze! Ilang times na ata kita napag-tanungan sa iba't ibang thread dito

no worries, glad to be of help.

hindi naman mahal sa Vientiane at LP, halos parehas lang ng presyo sa Thailand ang mga pagkain. average of 25~35 in ThB (i can't remember how many thousands in Lao kips hehe ) ang rice meal, at soup noodle.

visa. i know that citizens of SEA nations are free to enter for 30days. labas-masok ako sa Laos since 2003 at wala akong fee na binabayaran, pero nitong huli kong pasyal 2010, pinagbayad ako! i even explained to the immigration officer na hindi nya dapat ako sinisingil, but to avoid trouble na lang nagbayad ako, by how much? i can't remember na. nakapilla ako sa grupo ng mga Koreans, so inassume nya siguro na dapat din ako magbayad. hindi siguro well-versed yung IO na yun

..

[keyser_soze]

Thanks wanderer9020! I think nahilo nako sa kakabasa sa iba't ibang thread. For the nth and final time, nag-back read ako dito. Nasagot na pala yung napakakulit ko na mga tanong regarding night bus and visas

So here's my itinerary. Suggestions and comments are more than welcome

Day 1 - arrive in Vientiane 9:10 am, exchange money to KIP, buy 8pm VIP bus tickets to Luang Prabang
- explore Vientiane: Pha That Luang, *** Si Saket, Ho Pha Kaew, Patuxai, Xieng Khuan, Lao National Museum

*Can we do all this in a span of 10 hrs? Magh-hire lang kami ng Tuktuk at dala ang mga bags namin haha! I don't want to get a hostel anymore since matutulog na kami sa bus going to Luang Prabang. *

Day 2 - arrive in Luang Prabang, check in Xayana Guesthouse
- explore temples

Day 3 - watch alms giving in the morning
- Pak Ou caves, Tat Kouang Si Waterfalls

Day 4 - go biking around Luang Prabang
- night bus back to Vientiane

Day 5 - arrive in Vientiane, head to bus/train station bound for Bangkok

Thank you in advance!

looks good!

when time is tight na, you may skip the Buddha Park (Xieng khuan), nothing special, really.

[wanderer9020]

^^^ you might be using your US passport, kaya ka pinababayad

[keyser_soze]

^^^hahaha lol

how i wish bro!

[doolfreak_bige]

I am thinking of skipping Vientiane altogether and go straight to Luang Prabang. Thoughts?

[wanderer9020]

I am thinking of skipping Vientiane altogether and go straight to Luang Prabang. Thoughts?

I strongly agree.

[kionje_114]

sino magpupunta ng vientiane jan?
dito na ako nakassign sa work kaya if may pexer na magpupunta kita kita hahah..
konti lang mga pinoy dito at bhira pa sila lumabas,
we always do jogging sa stopa malapit sa that luang during sat and sundays

[blue_blooded21]

sino magpupunta ng vientiane jan?
dito na ako nakassign sa work kaya if may pexer na magpupunta kita kita hahah..
konti lang mga pinoy dito at bhira pa sila lumabas,
we always do jogging sa stopa malapit sa that luang during sat and sundays

wow great, ill be glad to meet up anyone for my solo trip this 1st week of October, from Vientiane to LP.