Laos offers the feel of untouched territory and secrecy
2011-07-07
The country of Laos, tucked between Vietnam and Thailand, has a mysterious allure coated in tradition and ancient culture that travelers may be journeying to discover.
If visitors to Laos have any preconceptions, it may revolve around a ceremony performed at dawn in the capital by the Buddhist monks, reports the New York Times. They walk in straight lines adorned in the traditional orange garbs while locals and tourists offer alms to their cause. To get a good view, guests may consider arriving very early, due to the ritual becoming slowly popular.
After some time in Luang Prabang, visitors may visit the Mekong River that hosts the Pak Ou caves, which have hundreds of Buddhist images. It takes two hours to flow upriver and one hour down by boat. The Whiskey Village can also be a stop where liquor is made from rice.
An oddity to travelers traversing the southwest part of the country may be the Plain of Jars, According to Lonely Planet, some of the vessels weigh as much as 6.6 tons and are scattered throughout a large area. Their usage remains a mystery, and they date back almost 2,000 years.
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