Jaunted

Asia Travel

Laos Travel: The Tourists Are Invading

April 15, 2008 at 10:00 AM | 0 Comments

Travelers love to brag about their off-the-beaten-path adventures, but finding a corner of the earth that hasn't succumb to tourism is getting harder all the time. Now you can tack Luang Prabang, Laos right up there with Oman and Bangladesh.

The International Herald Tribune's Seth Mydans tells us that serene mornings along the Mekong are no longer; along with the peaceful pitter-pat of monks asking for alms is the din of camera-toting gawkers. Luang Prabang--a 700 year-old village and UNESCO heritage site since 1995--is slowly being turned into a "replica of itself," Mydans writes. The bars are open until midnight, and the quiet atmosphere that once defined the town is being bled out by a thirst for business.

It's another grim example of how tourism can change a place for the worse, drastically altering the quality of life for locals. And it presents a baffling paradox for travelers who are genuinely looking for a unique experience: How do you go without being part of the problem?

Related Stories:
· An Ancient Town Grapples with Modernity [IHT]
· Bangladesh is the New Bangladesh [Jaunted]
· Asia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Julie+G]

Adventure Travel

Up In Smoke

March 6, 2006 at 10:00 AM | 0 Comments

How times change. Jeff Koyen is chronicling a foreign locale where there used to be drugs, as opposed to actively going there to do them. Vang Veng, in the north of Laos, has cleaned up its act and declared itself to be opium-free. You'd have to ask Jeff if the same is true for himself.

Laos is getting a lot of ink these days, and rightly so. It's now pegged as the next it destination in Southeast Asia, as Thailand gets more crowded and Cambodia reworks itself as a super luxury tourist spot, Siem Reap in particular. In part, this may be true because Laos is still cheap: $10 for a double room in a guesthouse with AC. Luxe digs go for about twice that price, and local food is also about a dollar.

Of course, now that its clean, it won't be long until a faux-opium den bar and restaurant opens in Vang Veng. That's how we know freedom is on the march.

[Image via TheRedLion/Flickr]

Related Stories:
·   Out From An Opium Cloud [NY Times]
·   Southeast Asia Overview [Tales of Asia]
·   Laos Change [Jaunted]