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 Traveller's Tales: Shopping suggestions in Laos
Get the best advice on shopping in Laos. You may read about shopping malls, souvenir items and best buys in the area. Also, you might want to read our
Luang Prabang city guide,
and Vientiane city guide.
Pages (1 of 3):
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| J Brownjohn |
06 January 2004 |
Stayed at Settha Palace Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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With wider knowledge of the visa on arrival scheme I expect the place to pace of change to increase. Just remember to pick up the VOA form at Bangkok or wherever and get to the front of the queue at Wattay.
My latest LP guide gave prices that are already out of date: jumbos won't easily budge below $1 (OK they ask $2 but you know they're trying it on) and car+driver is not easy to find for as little as $10 more than LP upper bound figures.
The morning market is being spoilt by busloads of rich US tourists (when they arrived the stallholders immediately ignored my Asian wife). Prices are rather high, almost comparable to Bangkok and bargaining, even by an expert is hard.
Eating out is very cheap and continental food is good; e.g. we were very impressed by Cote d'Azur. We did not risk the roadside stalls and my wife was not too impressed by the Lao food. For me, I could not complain at $1 for a litre of excellent laobeer, while watching sunset over the Mekong. Vientiane is peaceful, people are friendly and easy going and I had a very relaxing stay.
My wife enjoyed visiting the weaving commune (enchanting for me to watch the ladies at work). On the way back from a relaxing day at Nan Ngum lake we stopped at a market selling all kinds of animals and animal components.
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| D Furlong |
21 December 2003 |
Stayed at Settha Palace Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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One of the hotel staff organised a car and driver for us for the day to tour the region (Buddah park, temples, Morning market, friendship bridge, lunch, more temples...) Vientianne is quite primitive and there really isn't that much to do and see (1 or max 2 days will do you). Be careful walking the streets and pavements (where they exist!) as there are a lot of open holes. Everything (over)priced in US$ - generally prices are way way too expensive. Worth the detour: Phaeng Mai Gallery - for handwoven silks. Absolutely fantastic - expensive but definitely high quality. (take a taxi - 5 to 10 minutes from centre).
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| K Teo |
15 November 2003 |
Stayed at Calao Inn, Le - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Till Dec, evening cultural performances at the Theatre located next to the Royal Museum. Some of the restaurants mentioned in Lonely Planet have closed down, eg. Lao Vegetarian, Soukarna, Malee Lao Food. Double check with hotel staff.
Please refrain from purchasing any religious statues etc, even though they are not antiques. You may face inconvenience at the airport security counter.
Travellers should also make a trip to Plain of Jars (Phonsavan). You can take a 35 min flight journey there. US$70 return. We stayed at Maly Hotel where they served delicious dinner. Weather at Phonsavan/Xieng Kuang could be a bit chilly.
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| R Pors |
26 May 2003 |
Stayed at Asian Pavilion Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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Vientiane is a small provicial town, nice for a stop over of a day or two. Be a bit careful when walking on the side walks, as there are many potholes etc. I would not recommend to spend a few days in a hospital to get with your leg in plaster, or walk around with crutches!
But for the rest, the distances are not too long to do everything on foot.
Before going up country, this is the place to buy a bottle of wine and drink some fresh milk (pasturised).
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| P English |
16 March 2003 |
Stayed at Villa Santi Hotel, The - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Great town and people, good night market at top of town, textiles and food may only be on weekends. Hired a moped and went to waterfalls, which were amazing, but be prepared for a unpaved road halfway there - leaves you a little saddle sore! But the views on the way of rice paddies and small villages were worth the pain!
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| T Lott |
23 January 2003 |
Stayed at Calao Inn, Le - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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I visited Bangkok and Chiang Mai in Thailand, and Luang Prabang in Laos. Luang Prabang was my favorite destination of the three. I spent three days here, visiting the Pak Ou caves (an peaceful, panoramic adventure by river boat), the majestic Kuang Si Waterfalls, and the Ban Phanom weaving village. We also spent time in town visiting markets, temples, conversing with Buddhist monks, other tourists, and eating at incredible restaurants. All the food was wonderful, even at the humblest of roadside food vendors. The Hmong handicraft village was very interesting as well.
This small town is loaded with subtle charms... French-inspired architecture, tropical foliage and fruits, countless riverside gardens, young children playing on sidewalks, Buddhist monks walking the streets with umbrellas over their heads to shield themselves from the warm sun, roosters crowing, and everywhere the friendly residents greeting with a warm "Sabaydii".
Shopping here is a treat, and there are many bargains to be found on beautifully hand-crafted items such as paper lanterns, silk and cotton items, Hmong Pandau stitchery, gold & silver jewelry, wood carvings.
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| P Garrett |
12 December 2002 |
Stayed at Villa Santi Hotel, The - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Overall didn't find Lao-cuisine to be as exciting as either of its neighbours Vietnam and Thailand. However we ate well in the nearaby French-run L'Elephant and a cafe under the same ownership directly oppositte from Santi (adjacent to Blue House). There are loads of other cafes catering to backpackers etc - but although promising-looking gastronomically not very notable.
There are also loads of tours on boats and other 3 and 4 wheeled vehicles going to "the waterfalls" and "Buddha cave" - but we felt that the range of tourist activities was not yet well developed - everyone was being shunted through the same two places. So we took a guided Merc from Diethelm Travel (one of only 5 in Luang Prabang) and fixed our own tour up into the hills - very worthwhile, and still good value. It was an ideal 3 night trip - longer and you better bring some good books, or start working on writing that novel...
Bangkok Airways offered their usual smooth service on our route from Chiang Mai via Sukhothai into Luang Prabang, and back to BKK. Backpackers also arrive on the boats up the Mekong - but having viewed their seaworthiness I'll personally wait a few years until they've got something a little more comfortable in service - at which point I'd definitely give it a try.
Shopping-wise there are a lot of the same product that many Asia regulars will know from BKK's JJ's market - slightly cheaper, but few fresh discoveries. However at the Hmong market (and elsewhere in town) look out for the attractive hand-made bedspreads and cushion covers. There are some nice silks and silk hangings to be had. And on a design front the two silhouette figures that occur in a lot of the work could probably give the writers of X-Files a few script ideas (you'll see what I mean!).
There are some nice paper products including lanterns and decent-value large format photo albums or scrapbooks. The silverware described in the guidebooks however was of disappointing quality - most looked like it had been knocked up in school first-year metalwork classes. One shop was an exception with some nice bracelets etc that looked like they'd been constructed with love rather than haste!
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| K Malkiewicz |
10 December 2002 |
Stayed at Calao Inn, Le - Luang Prabang, Laos.
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Luang Prabang is a charming old town and was the highlight of our stay in Laos. At the street market local women are selling beautiful hand woven silk shawls. After bargaining a little we bought several of them with prices ranging from 7 to 16 USD depending on sizes. This was much cheaper than in the local shops.
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| F Olivieri |
17 July 2002 |
Stayed at Settha Palace Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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Vientiane does not merit crossing the oceans for, especially when compared to the rest of the country. However there are things definitely worth seeing: the Vat That Luang (the one on the cover of most Veintian guidebooks) but above all the Wat Sisaket and its unique collection of Buddhas, under the portico surrounding the central crypt and its wall paintings. Here as elsewhere in the region, the princely way to go around is by tuk-tuk...provided the wheather is right. One myth to debunk: July -supposedly rainy and generally miserable- can be perfectly all right. You get more green all around you, and a little water from the sky never hurt anybody.
In Laos, eating can be a very rewarding experience (see if anybody has posted a review for Luang Prabang's Tum Tum Café©» in Vientian we ate well, but not spectacularly so, at the Kualao (111 Samsenthai Str.), with the background of a pleasant music and dance show. One unexpected bonus: the airport souvenir shop has unusually interesting silver jewelry you may want to have a look at on your way out.
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| J Mckim |
27 June 2002 |
Stayed at Asian Pavilion Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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Enjoyed a quick look at the city.
Had an excellent fish dinner at The Lao Plaza Hotel.
Found all the shopkeepers very helpful and friendly.
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