Wanderlust Travel Awards 2010 Top City
By Wanderlust team
Discover which city scooped top prize in this year's awards

Top city: Luang Prabang, Laos

Ranking %

1 Luang Prabang, Laos 94.74

2 Siena, Italy 94.67

3 Berlin, Germany 94.15

4 Seville, Spain 94.00

5 Kyoto, Japan 93.33

6 Melbourne, Australia 92.22

7 Boston, USA 91.85

8 Krakow, Poland 90.91

9 San Francisco, USA 90.53

10 Tallinn, Estonia 90.40


Right at home:

“Luang Prabang is one of those rare traveller towns where as soon as you arrive you feel right at home,” wrote reader Lucy Palmer of your perennial favourite city.


“Maybe it’s the languid pace of life instilled by the monks, maybe it’s just being in the shadow of those majestic temples; maybe it’s the presence of the mighty Mekong – but the whole place makes you slow down, forget any stress and just appreciate the environment around you. Yes, there are things to see and do, but that’s not the point. Luang Prabang is simply a great place to be.”



Despite its growing popularity, you told us the town retains those things that make it special: its colourful markets, French cuisine, outbreaks of drumming by the resident monks. And you recalled great local excursions – learning to be a mahout at an elephant centre (www.laos-adventures.com), gold-panning at a jungle ecolodge (www.kamulodge.com) and taking a boat trip to the Kuang Si waterfalls.


Even the frequent power cuts and lack of ATMs, concluded reader Charlotte West, “just seem to add to the charm of this one-of-a-kind place.”


Get there fast – then slow right down.


>>See the rest of Wanderlust Travel Awards 2010 winners here

If you’ve got never traveled to a developing country, Laos would certainly provide you a unique expertise and most likely additional than simply one. With its previous colonial charm and vast rural areas, if you like the outside or just need to relax Laos has masses to offer. When visiting Laos you’ll have to purchase Laos currency that is known as Kip and here are some benefits and disadvantages of using Kip.

Volume: Laos Tour widely accepts US bucks but on arrival in the country you may probably exchange your Greenbacks to the native currency called Kip, attempt not to change all your money to Kip as you may be in for a surprise and in all probability additional cash than you’ll carry. A definite annoyance is that the sheer volume of money; you’ll notice this as a tourist changing $100 US at a time however when buying a bike or different large items, locals typically would like a carrier bag or even a suitcase filled with it. This brings in another drawback counting your money takes a while.

Millionaires: I assume this might be seen as a bonus as when you change your money in Laos you have got become a rapid millionaire. You’ve got reached celebrity standing in some countries but not in Laos as most people are millionaires here. When exchanging money the most effective approach to try to to this can be amendment a little at a time, this will give you sufficient native currency to acquire little items like food, drinks, entrance fees and tipping at hotels. It’s not advisable to vary massive sums as you may have to hold it around with you all day and it will probably not all work in your wallet.

Paper Currency: This is a fairly cool advantage they are no coins, which is nice, no coins to lose or hear jingling in your pocket as you run for the bus. On the opposite hand there’s plenty of paper with the most important note being equivalent to merely 5 US Bucks

Tiny amendment: Have you ever ever had the matter that you wish to buy something tiny however do not seem to have any change. This downside does not ever seem to happen in Tour of Laos with the most important note hardly price that a lot of, it’s made buying tiny things from markets extraordinarily easy.

Colors Co-Ordination: Individual notes are all totally different colours and straightforward to tell apart, which could be a definite advantage over the US currency and conjointly a lot of original with the US bills all being the identical color and size.

Closed Country: Laos Tours is officially a closed country which means any left over Kip you have got at the end of your trip ought to not very be taken out of the country all nobody will build a fuss, if you did take money out of Laos there would be no use for it as no one would accept a comprehensible difficulty. When changing cash in Laos; keep the exchange receipt that you just obtained from the bank, this makes it easy to change back your unused local currency to $US Bucks while not the receipt the bank will not comply with the exchange. If this fails attempt a native restaurant or search to see if they will exchange it for you, albeit at a reduced exchange rate.

The last option is to stay it for different uses like whereas camping you perhaps cold, it might come in handy when beginning a fire or if times are desperate it makes smart rest room paper.

Source: http://articlicious.com

(KPL) A tourism information center was built recently in Parkbeng district with 287 million kip of government fund.

The center was considered as the main potential for attracting the tourist and helping them to save the time to looking for the tourist sites in the province.

In the first six months of 2007-2008 period, the Parkbang district has received 24,548 tourists, 1,140 of which was local tourists and 23,307 foreign tourists with able to create income about 6.137 billion kip.

To day, the Parkbeng district has one hotel, 2 resorts and 13 guesthouses with 216 rooms and 20 restaurants.

Visitors to Attapeu province are expressing an increasing interest in places of cultural and archaeological interest, the Head of the Provincial Tourism Office, Mr Vixian Viengkeo, said recently.

It seems overseas tourists prefer this aspect of the province to visits to ethnic groups and ecotourism. The number of foreign visitors to Attapeu province is growing, up from around 3000 in 2000 to 16,000 in 2007, said Mr Vixian.

“People coming here have heard that some of the temples have an ancient and interesting history, such as Vat That in Xaysettha district and Vat Ongsensoukhalam in Sakhae village,” he said. “Visitors have a strong interest in visiting these historical temples.”


Photo: Temple in Attapeu

The bones of King Setthathirath are said to be buried at Vat That, which was built around 1579.

A local resident, Mr Bounthone Sythanonxay, 65, is trying to locate anyone in the area who might know anything about the era of King Setthathirath, who was born in 1534 and died at the age of 38.

Ancient Buddha images believed to have been buried for more than 400 years were unearthed last year at the temple, when 139 images were discovered near an old building where many others are stored. The find consisted of 56 gold statues, 54 made of silver and 29 made of copper, of different shapes and sizes.

Mr Vixian said both local and foreign visitors were also keen to see Vat Ongsensoukhalam, which houses a large Buddha image in the sim (temple hall).

This particular image is called Phachao-ongsen , a reference to its size. Locals believe the image is sacred and has special powers, and that they will be successful in their endeavours if they call on the image for help.

The sim is small and old. In the 1970s, American missiles bombed the village and villagers hid in the sim for safety.

“Today, the sim is the only original part of the temple still standing,” Mr Vixian said.

This year the provincial tourism office will develop archaeological sites, particularly building access roads.

Mr Vixian said the office would encourage local people to make handicrafts for sale and to preserve cultural activities for the benefit of tourists.

By phon thikeo
Vientianetimes

Once again, the famous Age's travel blog has listed Laos as a must-to-visit for all backpackers. Here are what they say about Laos and Columnbia !


Photo: rice field in Laos

Holidays for people taking gap years are not complete without a trip to Colombia and Laos, it has been reported.

According to The Age's travel blog, Colombia is "cheap" and has beautiful beaches as well as great culture.

Additionally, it reports that Colombia contains Popayan, the world's only UNESCO City of Gastronomy.

"You can't throw a rock in South America without hitting some hippy tourist who'll talk for hours about the 'awesome' time they had in Colombia. Take me there," the travel blog author enthuses.

Another top backpacker destination is listed as being Laos.

The blog writer asks how it is possible to call himself a backpacker without having travelled to the destination.

Laos is bordered by Burma and China and boasts two World Heritage Sites which are Luang Prabang and Wat Phou.

Source: Age's travel blog

As the world gets wise to warming and brave new travelers embrace low impact lifestyles, green travel has become one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism industry.

Despite its rap as a collection of chic spas for wealthy, guilt-addled liberals who shell out $4,000 to commune with gorillas, green travel isn’t about giving a tour operator a month’s salary for some Disney-like attraction or consumer experience.

Traveling green is about finding and supporting destinations that have seen the light, and are already working to green-up their tourist offerings.

Seeking out green places to travel isn’t all that hard. Even New York City offers the possibility of an ecologically responsible vacation. Many travelers can get to New York by train, removing the need for a high-impact airplane ride. A tiny hotel room in SoHo uses less electricity than a deluxe suite in Aspen.

Plus, New York is a city built for walking, with solid public transport to boot. Time Out recently named New York the perfect place to “be green without doing crap.”

Here are 5 more eco-friendly destinations to put on your travel radar:



Luang Prabang, Laos

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic has made it their mission to bring this Southeast Asian country (which is landlocked by Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand) to the forefront of tourism. It’s working - Laos was #1 on the New York Times’ list of places to go in 2008.

However, the Lao government is aiming to increase tourism sustainably so as to protect their native wildlife, lush land and clean rivers, and preserve their two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Ancient City of Luang Prabang and pre-Angkorian Vat Phou Temple Complex. Another Heritage Site-to-be is the Plain of Jars in the highlands of north-central Laos.

The Lao National Tourism Administration has a dozen award-winning eco-tourism projects currently in development, spreading country wide to encourage smaller provinces to set up sustainable tourism, help protect over-exposed areas, and begin programs such as homestays, eco-treks, and local art exhibitions.

What’s Lao for “rocking it?”

Mjølfjell, Norway

Norway is so eco-conscious it balks when a marketer calls a Prius or Tesla green.

While other European countries have aimed to cut their carbon emissions by 20% by 2020, Norway has upped the ante to 30%. Norway is also helping China come up with ways to combat climate change.

Get out of Oslo and head into the mountains and you’ll see a lot of sustainable housing, including the Mjolfjell Inn and Youth Hostel .

A destination in and of itself, the inn offers the standard outdoor fare (skiing, horseback riding, even a wildlife survival course) and also produces its own electricity.

Not bad for the world’s #5 oil exporter.

Belize City, Belize

Home to the longest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere, Belize is deeply committed to eco-tourism. Offshore, Belize boasts a number of cayes, some of which have been turned into eco-resorts, but others that remain pristine homes for birds, lizards and marine life.

Whale watching is a popular attraction here, as is mountain biking, horseback riding, and cave tubing. Go outside of the sandy city into the Mountain Pine Ridge Area and Maya Mountains, which have amazingly-preserved Mayan ruins. You’ll also find plenty of local artists and artisans to support in town.

While the Caribbean and Latin America are full of eco-tours and spas, you can also appreciate their beauty and natural preservation by traveling independently. Be sure to check out the preservations in Tobago (Trinidad’s less commercialized sister), the diverse terrain of Guadeloupe, and the stunning rainforests of Costa Rica.

Zurich, Switzerland

Voted the city with the highest quality of life in the world, Zurich was also recently ranked by Forbes as number 8 on their list of Top 10 Cleanest Cities.

Voted the city with the highest quality of life in the world, Zurich was also recently ranked by Forbes as number 8 on their list of Top 10 Cleanest Cities.

The city’s public transportation works like clockwork (no pun intended) to the point where very few residents own cars. There is also a large local foods industry, including cheeses that will make your deli’s Swiss cheese taste like plastic.

The world’s first four chocolate makers were also all Swiss, so you can take comfort in knowing you’re supporting local growers with those truffles and hot chocolates.

I single out Zurich here, but the rest of Switzerland is great for those who want to reduce their carbon footprint while still traveling Europe. Not only do you get the Alps and clean living, you can explore areas heavily influenced by the Germans, French, and Italians.

Thenmala, India

Surprised?

Even though India has some of the most polluted cities in the world, there are some areas that are working to green their environment. While other regions try to slap an “eco-tourism” label on what is really just nature tourism (“Over there is a rare flower,” “Look up there at the tree,” “Check out the elephant,” and back on the bus), Thenmala is taking green travel to heart.

The local Thenmala government, tourism office, and irrigation department are teaming up with residents to to make green tourism a coordinated effort. The best part? You’ll not only get to visit the Shenduruney Wildlife Sanctuary (part rainforest, part deciduous forest), but the tour guides are local youths who are trained in sustainable tourism. Now that’s something to feel good about.

Of course, there’s more than just this Fab Five. In fact, you can find plenty of eco-friendly destinations (from the transportation to lodgings to the cocktail hour) on every continent.

Source: http://travelreviewonline.com/2008/01/21/5-green-travel-destinations-for-2008/

Laos is listed as no. 1 of the world's top 53 tourist destinations for 2008 by the New York Times and one of the cheapest destinations 2007 by famous MSN travel magazine. This time, Laos is listed in the top 5 Soon-to-Be White Hot Tourist Destinations in the world by famous ABC magazine together with Bhutan, Mosco, Kazakhstan and Nicaragua.

Belows are the details:

Venturing off the beaten path is adventure enough for some, but beating down the path itself is for a special breed. For these alpha tourists, the joy of travel is in getting there before the people who wear Mickey Mouse sweatshirts do.

These destinations are poised to become vacation hot spots in the next few years but for now are still ripe for path-beaters to explore. You might have trouble getting around -- or even to -- your destination without a bit of the language or a local friend to help you out, but good stories are what alpha tourists bring home -- not T-shirts.

Laos
Adventure-seekers have already trailed Vietnam and Cambodia.

And while Laos has seen a couple of upscale hotels pop up -- like the Residence Phou Vao and its infinity pool -- there's still plenty of territory with little Western influence.

Though 10 percent of the country lives in the capital city, Vietaine, its lack of modern architecture has preserved an Asian village feel -- though the gilded temples are offset by French colonial architecture.

Don't Miss:
Mekong River: Charter a teak houseboat and float through the countryside along Southeast Asia's longest river. Tours range from three to 18 days and must be booked in advance.

Wat Phou: Six kilometers from the Mekong in southern Laos, this ruined Khmer temple complex dates back to the eleventh century. The name translates to "temple on the mountain," as it sits at the base of Mt. Phu Kao.

Luang Prabang: You can walk just about anywhere in this tiny mountain town, though bikes are available for a cheap day rate. Flanked by mountains and bisected by the Mekong River, the scenery is beautiful as its Royal Palace Museum, once the home of the king before communist takeover.

Kuang Si Falls: Find a day's worth of swimming, river hiking and picnicking at these beautiful waterfalls, just about an hour by boat or tuk-tuk from Luang Prabang. Under the jungle canopy, the climate is quite a bit cooler than in the nearby city.

More Information:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Travel/BusinessTravel/Story?id=4013735&page=1