Trip of the week: a captivating journey across Laos

With its unspoilt countryside and glorious old Buddhist temples, Laos has a quiet charm that sets it apart from its busier neighbours, Thailand and Vietnam.

And this is a great time to visit, says Mark Stratton in The Times, with tourist numbers lower than ever owing to the pandemic, and the recent opening of the Laos-China railway. This 262-mile, Chinese-funded route cuts across the country from its capital, Vientiane, to Boten, on the Chinese border.

It promises to be an economic “game-changer” for Laos; and it makes the overland journey from Vientiane to the “petite” city of Luang Prabang (the country’s “only real tourism hotspot”) far easier. By bus, it took ten hours; now you can get there by train in a little more than two. Tickets are not available online, and are often sold out at the stations, so consider going with a tour operator that guarantees them.

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Life onboard the train feels faintly “Orwellian”, with regular announcements instructing you to report “antisocial activities”. But the ride is “captivatingly scenic”, past rice paddies harrowed by buffaloes bearing wooden yokes, and “denticulated” limestone peaks that emerge from misty forests. It is worth lingering in Vientiane before departure, to wander its broad boulevards (the legacy of French colonialism), and see its “dazzling” Buddhist landmarks.

But Luang Prabang is lovelier still, with no less than 32 richly decorated temples, some dating back to its 16th century heyday. Opulent French-built villas, many housing boutique hotels, line the Mekong here, and there’s a great array of restaurants, cafés and cocktail bars in which to while away the long, humid evenings.

Inside Asia (insideasiatours.com) has an 11-day trip from £2,051pp