Luang Prabang or Siem Reap
Dec 29th, 2007, 05:05 PM
#1
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Luang Prabang or Siem Reap
Because of the vagaries of air flights, I have a choice of spending 5 full days in Siem Reap/ 4 full days Luang Prabang or the reverse 4 days SR and 5 days LP.
Based on your experiences, which would you recommend. I am a very outdoors person, enjoying hikes/treks, etc.
I also enjoy soaking up local culture/history and am a believer of of the slow travel principle. I am staying in locally owned hotels/guesthouses while in each place.
P.S. Thanks to all who are posting their trip reports. I am enjoying them and gleaning ideas from them.
Based on your experiences, which would you recommend. I am a very outdoors person, enjoying hikes/treks, etc.
I also enjoy soaking up local culture/history and am a believer of of the slow travel principle. I am staying in locally owned hotels/guesthouses while in each place.
P.S. Thanks to all who are posting their trip reports. I am enjoying them and gleaning ideas from them.
Dec 29th, 2007, 05:32 PM
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If you at all interested in the temples at Angkor, I'd spend the longer time in Siem Reap. There are dozens of acccessible temples, and there is no way you will see all of them. We spent a week there and could have spent more time. We also loved LP. It's more of a soaking up the atmosphere kind of place.
Dec 30th, 2007, 02:30 AM
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Based on your preference for outdoors experiences (hiking, trekking), I would look into spending more time in Luang Prabang and environs. Laos is a beautiful country. We only had 3 days there but if we had had more time, we definitely would have spent it outside LP exploring the countryside.
The temple area around Siem Reap is vast and could keep you busy for many days but I didn't find it particularly attractive. There is also the danger of stepping on a land mine if you are away from the main roads and attractions.
The temple area around Siem Reap is vast and could keep you busy for many days but I didn't find it particularly attractive. There is also the danger of stepping on a land mine if you are away from the main roads and attractions.
Dec 30th, 2007, 04:47 AM
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LP. The temples around SR are a unique experience, but a complete tourist experience. In LP, you can quickly get outside town into the countryside. I would skip the caves and take a boat up the river to some villages. We were the only westerners in each of the villages we visited. While there was clear commerce designed for westerners, it was refreshing not to be amongst a gaggle.
