peacheysmokey

After visiting Siem Reap, we are currently planning to spend several nights in Chiang Mai before flying to visit friends in Singapore, but the more I read about Luang Prabang, it seems so interesting. Any comments?

Kathie

These are two very different places.

WHile CM used to be (probably still is) sold to travelers by travel agents as "the real Thailand" the way it used to be 50 years ago, CM is a very large city, the second largest in Thailand. There is a stunning wat outside of town, Doi Suthep. In town, you can still see the old city walls in places, but it is a big, modern city. It has excellent shopping, especially for crafts. There are now some nice moderately priced places to stay in CM. If you want to visit the Elephant camps or do other activiiites organized for toursits in teh countryside (treks, rafting, etc) this is all available within a hour's drive from CM.

LP is the old cultural and spiritual center of Laos. The royal family lived there until being taken away to "re-eductaion" camps by the Pantet Lao in the 1970s (where they languished and died). LP has lots of lovely old wats people with lots of young monks and novices (many monks met the same fate as the royal family). LP is still a small town. During the day the streets are quiet. There are two sets of waterfalls outside of town that most people visit, and there are the Pak Ou caves, a Buddhist pilgrimage site for hundreds of years. LP is a place to really slow down and drink in the atmosphere. There are various villages outside of town that may be worth a visit: a local weaving co-op, Hmong villages. While there are more tourists visiting than when I was there just a few years ago, it remains a quiet little town. Though there is a night market and a Hmong market, this is not a place for shopping or spectacular sightseeng. If you are interested in Buddhism, you'll love it.

Craig

We have been to both and if we had to choose between the two, we would choose Luang Prabang. LP is small compared to Chiang Mai. You can walk from one end of the town to the other. It is more laid back than Chiang Mai - things seemed more accessible to us. There are some on this forum that would disagree. I have heard LP described as it is like Chiang Mai was 50 years ago. Chiang Mai does have elephant camps on its outskirts and an interesting road lined with crafts villages. The Laotian people are some of the friendliest on the planet and the surrounding countryside is stunningly beautiful.

I see that Kathie has now posted with some excellent information so I will not repeat. However, you do not have to have a great interest in Buddhism to appreciate LP.

peacheysmokey

It's a tough decision. I already have the flight to Chiang Mai and from there directly to Singapore. But if I can get the flights changed without too much hassle, I think LP would work.

ccc

I totally agree with Craig. In my mind, this is a no-brainer. However, it depends on what you are looking for. For some, CM would be the better place.

althom1122

Another vote for Luang Prabang. We loved Chiang Mai, but LP is extra special. Here's my trip report that covers both (you'll need to scroll down quite a ways to find the sections of CM and LP).

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34762799

And here are my photos (again, both places can be found here - in separate albums) -

http://kbutler8.photosite.com/

peacheysmokey

Althom,

As I've been planning this trip over the past few weeks, I've been going back to your posts quite a bit. They are really helpful.

Ellen

rhkkmk

LP for sure....you will not be able to fly to singapore directly from LP however...