Guest Post: 7 Reasons Laos Is The Place For Lovers
If your lover gets a bit annoying, at least you can gaze into the eyes of another
1. It’s Out Of The Ordinary. For couples looking for a destination slightly out of the ordinary, a place to get their married life off to the right start and keep it on track, a Laos honeymoon can hardly be bettered. The whole country is intriguing, mystical and different, offering something for lovers that will create everlasting memories.
2. You Can Feel The Timeless Essence Of South East Asia. Laos is surrounded by neighbouring countries that have embraced consumerism and seen their cityscapes and cultural heritage completely transformed, but in Laos you get to experience the timelessness of South East Asia in a pristine condition. This is a landlocked country, a sort of real-life Shangri-La. Without beaches, it’s true, but with many other compensatory attributes. After all, beaches are not difficult to find, but the riches of Laos are rare indeed.
3. Peaceful City Life… In Asia, Really? Vientiane is the capital, although you wouldn’t think so when you experience its sleepy peacefulness – a world away in all senses from the great capitals of Western Europe with their rush and bustle. In many respects, Vientiane encapsulates the Laos ethos of laid-back agrarianism which many find so refreshing. The people here aren’t too concerned about finding their place in the economic sun and are content to continue as their forebears did without what they consider to be unnecessary distractions.
4. You Get To See Real Monks – And I Don’t Mean The Kung-Fu Kind. For real charm and a slightly more interesting urban environment just head for Luang Prabang, the premier city of Laos and the most popular one with visitors here. The tone of Luang Prabang is set if you rise at dawn and look down into the main street, where monks slowly and silently file down to the old part of town, begging for alms with small silver bowls. But it’s not really seen as begging, more a case of keeping the religious machinery nicely oiled so that the monks’ meditations and prayers will help keep the world spinning and keep the romantic love flowing.
5. You Can See A UNESCO World Heritage Site. The whole of Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so the many picturesque Buddhist temples and beautifully embellished palaces are safely protected from the curse of the developers who have blighted most other major towns and cities in the region. The acres of mosaic walls and filigree gold stenciling are in no danger of becoming packing aggregate in high rise office blocks, and will hopefully continue to delight us for many centuries to come.
6. There Is Peace And Harmony (I Forgot That Even Existed). It’s actually the spiritual ambiance, tangible throughout the whole of Laos and manifested in its many religious buildings and ancient ceremonial customs that makes the country so unique. The sense of harmony and reconciliation – despite its troubled recent history – work perfectly in keeping with the ideals and hopes of a honeymooning couple.
7. Everyone Is Chilled And Smiles, It’s Just A Perfect Place For Romance. The Laos people are unhurried and friendly, always smiling and even in relative poverty unflappably cheerful, an example to us all. One of the delights of a honeymoon here must surely be to sit at a table overlooking the lazy Mekong River with the locals, a glass of chilled white wine in one hand and your partner’s in the other. The river winds through Vientiane before wandering off untroubled and without any hurry through scattered fields and rural communities as it has since time immemorial, and indeed time itself seems to stop in its tracks here and allow a few precious moments of tranquility.
Author Bio: David Elliott is a freelance writer who loves to travel, especially in Europe and Turkey. He’s spent most of his adult life in a state of restless excitement but recently decided to settle in North London. He gets away whenever he can to immerse himself in foreign cultures and lap up the history of great cities.
