loveasia

Hi Rose3008,
Sorry have just read your post. The Lao Spirit is not in town, it is about a 40 minute drive outside. Athough it was lovely there we only ended up staying for one night rather than 3 as we missed being in the heart of Luang Prabang town. For us there was not enough to do and although the location was fantastic we felt we were missing what we had really gone to Laos for. At the Lao Spirit you are obviously restricted to the restaurant there and we soon realised we would miss the choice of food and being able to grab a fruit smoothie at whim. I guess for us it did not quite match up to expectations but for others it could be perfect - it's a personal thing. It is opposite the elephant camp so for someone wanting to do mahout training it would be good. We did go upstream to the waterfalls which unfortunately were very dried up and in no way matched the Kung Si falls outside of LP. I have read other posters who loved it but we were thrilled to get back to LP.

rose3008

hi loveasia!
just read your e to me!! I am off in 1 week now, very very excited! thankfully I am staying IN town at the Lao Plaza & I hope it will be OK! I never like to be far away from food or shops myself! I like to walk from my hotel everywhere! lovely to hear from you & thanxamill for the info!
best regards,
rose3008

loveasia

Hi Rose,
Hope you have a fantastic time. I'm sure you will love it - we can't wait to go back. Don't know the Lao Plaza but I'm sure it will be great - there are so many fab places to stay in LP. If you are able to, let me know about your trip once you get back.
Happy travels!

ekscrunchy

I want to note here that the guide in LP that I recommended above has a new e-mail address; you can now reach Ta at:


[email protected]

althom1122

You'll love Luang Prabang. Although we didn't use a guide (and didn't think one was necessary), I can see there might be advantages. Basically, though, everything is easy to do on your own.

Noticed you're staying at Sayo Guesthouse. We stayed there are really enjoyed it. I hope you're springing for the huge room at the main guesthouse (not by the river). There's a picture of the room (taken from the loft) in my LP photos if you're interested:

http://kbutler1122.zenfolio.com/f441927405

silverwool

I was in Laos last July and there was a lot more use of Kip than US dollars than there was on my trip the year before. ATMs all give you kip. (700,000 maximum per transaction)

Just another thought, I did not do the boat trip through Pak Beng but caught a bus to Luang Nam Tha for a couple of days trekking and one day bike riding round the valley. Lots of minority groups live round there and village visits are very non touristy. (ie friendly as opposed to people trying to sell you things all the time)

The bus trips may get boring for your daughters though. (4 hours from the border to Luang Nam Tha and another 8 to Luang Prabang.)

silverwool

Another possibility I thought of. Visit Green Discovery and/or Tiger Trails and see if they have any day trips of interest. I have trekked with Green Discovery and was impressed but they are more expensive than others. However, my guide told me that they paid guides and villages more than other companies. Both companies are online and worth a look.

ekscrunchy

The OP is from a year ago--I just topped it to add Ta's new address..

althom1122

Thanks ek. I hadn't noticed it was an old post.