Luang Prabang, Laos 2024-12-1-2025 老挝世界文化遗产城琅勃拉邦

Exactly 20 years after our first visit to Luang Prabang, we found it ever so changed. From the quiet humble city it had become a bustling, loud tourist hot spot. Partially due to the direct and efficient rail connection from China which brings in loads of organised tours as well as the international recognition as ‘the place’ to visit, unfortunately took away much of its charm. The ever smiling friendly Lao became more of a dollar hunter. Granted, their temples and natural beauty are still there but became more of a money maker than inspiration. It’s still lovely and relatively cheap but to us, it lost a bit of it’s sparkle.