Bali or Laos?

[joe552]

Thinking about where I'd like to spend a week during my next trip to LoS next September. I've narrowed it down to Bali or Laos (Luang Prabang) and wondered what forum members felt was a better option (I know this is totally subjective). I'm not looking for a 'gay' destination, not hugely into the beach, enjoy seeing something of a new culture and of course relaxing (it's a holiday after all). I'm a mid-range traveller (тВм50 per night is okay for hotel).

Any experiences of either place you'd like to share?

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Here are one traveller's thoughts on both places, which I hope can be of some use to you. I really enjoy both places, and actually will go to Luang Prabang again some time end of January, and to Bali again in March.

Your тВм50 will go a lot further with Lao hotels than those in Bali -- although I can recommend at least one hotel in Seminyak that only costs about тВм30 (Puri Cendana, on Jalan Dhyana Pura -- excellent value!). Bali will also cost you significantly more for airfare. That said, there are exquisite temples all over Bali -- many of them private family temples, but if you ask politely, the locals are often very proud to show them to you. The local Balinese language is fairly impenetrable (and also slowly dying out), but Bahasa Indonesia is quite easy to learn, although not terribly pretty, IMHO. That said, English is widely used on Bali, and you should have no problem.

There are excellent western style restaurants, but expect to pay full price for them (a nice exception is Trattoria on Jalan Laksmana/Oberoi, which is great value). I'll put prices in dollars, as it's an easy conversion: Drinks are also fully priced -- I believe we paid $100 USD for a bottle of Black Label in a gay club, and $6 USD each for gin martinis at Hu'u (my favourite restaurant in Asia -- in Canggu). Dinner for 2 with wine: Kudeta $150, Hu'u $200 -- but we did have 2 bottles of wine, and one of them was a Pouilly Fuisse. There is a surprising lack of seafood on Bali, and local food is somewhat uninspired. The local smoked salmon is an unpleasant colour, and most of the Indonesian food we had would have been better used to feed swine.

The sea is one of Bali's best features -- cool and fresh, with perfect waves -- but if you are not a beach person, I suppose that is wasted. Like in Pattaya, there are people who hassle you to buy things -- the line 'I don't speak English,' spoken with a convincing accent, usually drives them off quite efficiently. The artists' village of Ubud is definitely worth a visit, and perhaps an overnight stay. While there is a lot of tourist junk for sale, there are still quite a number of good artists there, with original and compelling work. February is rainy season, so bring your brolly. I found the Luxe guide (http://luxecityguides.com/) extremely useful for Bali, and, of course, Lonely Planet.

Luang Prabang -- also has many beautiful temples (about 30 of them, in fact), magnificent scenery, and friendly locals (probably more so than Bali). Lao language is quite beautiful, and to my ear, easier to understand than Thai: there seem to be fewer tones, and Lao people generally speak more slowly, and enunciate their speech, at least when they are speaking to a foreigner. This is all very good, because a lot of the people we met did not speak English at all. Many of the older Lao people, especially the well-heeled, speak excellent French, but the younger ones are limited to Lao and Thai, and, amongst the better-educated, English.

There are a handful of excellent French cafes (you'll recall that Laos was at one time a French colony), and at least one very good French restaurant. For some reason they like US dollars, so some examples: a decent hotel costs about $40 to $50 -- obviously there are many cheaper and many more expensive. A Pastis (national drink, it would appear) at happy hour costs $1, lunch for 2 in a smart cafe (try Cafe Ban Vat Sen) costs about $14, with red wine; dinner for 2 at l'Elephant with a pleasant bottle of red about $70.

February is the end of the dry, cool season, so there is no point visiting the waterfalls -- and do bring a jumper or smart jacket for the evenings, as it can be a bit cool (actually perfect for dressing nicely for dinner and drinks!). A boat trip to the cave (which supposedly houses 4,000 Buddha images, although I suspect most have been stolen or broken) is worthwhile, but do go with a friend, as it is a full day out. By the Nam Khan river (as opposed to the Nam Mekong), there are lots of young, hip cafes and bars (including 1 or 2 gay ones, depending on the night), and there is a great shop where you can borrow books for a tiny sum. Phousi Mountain is definitely worth the climb (it's not bad -- I did it when I was 12 kilos heavier, and managed to smoke 3 cigarettes once I got to the top). There are some very nice cafes on the Mekong -- halfway down between the road and the river bank -- that serve local dishes.

Local food -- some is similar to Thai, some drastically different and some closer to French. I'll write about a few of my favourites:

Larb -- A spicy traditional salad of chopped fish or meat, much much nicer than the Thai verson, and delicious with Khao Niao (sticky rice).

Or Lam -- A local Luang Prabang soup, which consists of mini aubergines, red meat, rice or barley and greens -- a hearty one dish meal.

Som Mou -- Pork meat marinated in vinegar and chillies, in a banana leaf -- a bit like the spicy sausage one finds in Chiang Mai. More rare but definitely a great find is Som Pa -- the fish variant.

Pho -- Noodle soup with meat, similar to the Vietnamese variety

I recommend getting a *new* Lonely Planet Guide and, if you can read French, Le guide du routard, Cambodge & Laos.

This will sound very crass but heck I'm an American and that's what other people expect so I'm told. Did you get laid in Luang Prabang (by one of the locals I mean) and if so how easy was it to find someone?

[ceejay]

Joe - you seem to be like me - no sooner get back from LOS than you're planning the next trip. Still, half the fun is in the planning, and it keeps you going through these long cold winters, doesn't it?

I haven't really made my mind up yet, but one option I am considering is to fly fly Kuala Lumpur - Chiang Mai - Luang Prabang with most of the time spent in Chiang Mai and Luang Prabang and maybe a few days in Malacca on the way back. As an itinerary, that has the bonus of bypassing Bangkok.

Mumbaighost - a very informative and helpful piece on Luang Prabang. I have bookmarked it for future reference. Thank you.

[Bob]

As I've been to Luang Prabang, I'd choose Bali - only because I've never been there. Luang Prabang is a great place though - a very quiet little town (15,000) with lots of temples, good food, at least one sorta gay bar (but just a bar and not even close to what I'd call a host bar), and some interesting things to do and see (one enjoyable trip is taking a boat up the Mekong to the Pak Ou caves to see a gabillion budda images, statues, etc.).

If you're looking for just a very quiet and relaxing time, Luang Prabang might fit the bill....but don't expect any really vibrant nightlife (most of the town is closed by about 11PM). As for hotels, I stayed at the Villa Santi Resort (about 2 miles out of town), the nicest place I've stayed at in Southeast Asia (with the exception of the Goodwood Park in Singapore). But I understand it's a lot more expensive now. If you're looking for upscale in town, try the Villa Santi
Hotel.

P.S. I went in 2003 or 2004 and we (I and my Chiangmai bf) had booked a hotel over the internet that somebody on one of the boards recommended (sorry, don't remember the name). When we got there, the room was on the first floor (about 10' from the street noise), major water stains on the wall, no tv, etc. (a dump - and I'm not that picky), so we immediately left and got a room at the Villa Santi Resort. Beautiful place, grounds, outdoor dining, etc., and they have a nice mini-bus that goes back and forth to town every hour (after a day or two of that, we rented a motorsy to get back and forth). We only paid $62.00 per night there (a fantastic bargain) but I'm told now that it's over $200.00 a night.

Joe - you seem to be like me - no sooner get back from LOS than you're planning the next trip. Still, half the fun is in the planning, and it keeps you going through these long cold winters, doesn't it?

I haven't really made my mind up yet, but one option I am considering is to fly fly Kuala Lumpur - Chiang Mai - Luang Prabang with most of the time spent in Chiang Mai and Luang Prabang and maybe a few days in Malacca on the way back. As an itinerary, that has the bonus of bypassing Bangkok.

Mumbaighost - a very informative and helpful piece on Luang Prabang. I have bookmarked it for future reference. Thank you.

If the airport is open, I'd rather fly via BKK than KL.

[joe552]

Thanks for all the replies - especailly Mumbaighost. Air Asia now fly BKK to Bali so flights are incredibly cheap compared to BKK to Luang Prabang. Still, not an easy decision. A pleasant predicament! Yes, ceejay, I start planning my trip as soon as I'm home. A little less than half the fun I have while I'm there, but enjoyable all the same.

Thanks again.

[billyhouston]

I haven't really made my mind up yet, but one option I am considering is to fly fly Kuala Lumpur - Chiang Mai - Luang Prabang with most of the time spent in Chiang Mai and Luang Prabang and maybe a few days in Malacca on the way back. As an itinerary, that has the bonus of bypassing Bangkok.

That means flying Lao Airlines between CNX and LPQ. Having had a disagreement(financial) with their European Ticketing Agent they are getting very greedy on this sector, which I fly twice a year. VTE-LPQ-CNX costs half the fare from LHR-BKK (in steerage).....

[pong]

compared to Thai view Bali is far more exotiv-LP has more as a slight resemblance of ChMai ''15/20 years ago''. The remark that they are less pushy in Bali surprises me: I really found this the most annoying aspect of Bali-the endless ''transport''ayer dingin''whatever'' push. Both are also quite good in the budget sector-but then in Bali youll face thousands of Ozziekids let out on the loose. As for gay life" Bali wins hands down-but then I just had that chance meeting with a guy from the guesthse opposite. Both places suffer IMHO more as a little bit of a trendy/wewannebe-in etc. way of things-also prevalent here in BKK-but easy to avoid.

[joe552]

Just to update - the decision has been made thanks to Air Asia. Bangkok Airways to Luang Prabang came in at 13,000; to Phuket (for Krabi) was 7,000. Air Asia BKK to Bali is 4,150 - really no comparison.

Thanks again for all the info and advice.

Joe