Visitors admire Guangxi Waterfall in Luang Prabang province. - VT
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/Asia News Network): CNN, a US-based multinational cable news channel, has included Laos among the 23 best destinations to visit in 2023.
Laos is the only country in the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region chosen for CNN Travel’s top list published on Jan 2.
Only four places in Asia were picked for the list, including Laos, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, and Naoshima in Japan.
Surrounded by Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Myanmar, landlocked Laos has long been a must-hit spot for time-rich travellers making their way through the Southeast Asia circuit, CNN said.
“But now, thanks to the 2021 opening of a semi-high-speed railway, it’s easier than ever to get around the country at a quicker pace, shaving hours off journeys that previously took full days to travel,” the news channel said.
Laos offers diverse choices for tourists to visit and admire its natural, cultural and historical charms.
“Towering karst peaks await visitors to adventure-haven Vangvieng, while Unesco-listed Luang Prabang is filled with French-colonial heritage, Buddhist ritual and natural beauty,” CNN said.
Xieng Khuang, which neighbours Luang Prabang, hosts the mysterious Plain of Jars, a megalithic archaeological site, also listed by Unesco.
Located on a plateau, the Plain of Jars is named for the more than 2,100 tubular megalithic stone jars that are believed to have been used for funerary practices in the Iron Age, according to Unesco.
CNN also recommended northern Bokeo province, where visitors can enjoy a difference through the Gibbon Experience’s overnight treks - a tourism-based conservation project.
“For a once-in-a-lifetime experience that makes a difference, head for Bokeo province and join one of the Gibbon Experience’s overnight treks. Guests of this tourism-based conservation project spend the night in the world’s tallest treehouses – only accessible by zipline – among wild, black-crested gibbons,” it said.
Other cities and countries joining CNN’s list are Poland, Western Australia, Liverpool in England, Charleston in South Carolina, Vilnius in Lithuania, Fiji, Manaus in Brazil, Thessaloniki in Greece, Rwanda, Gothenburg in Sweden, Gruyères in Switzerland, Minneapolis in Minnesota, Bogotá in Colombia, Tanzania, Cairo in Egypt, Belize, Oaxaca in Mexico, Ottawa in Canada, and Uganda.
The listing has again put Laos into the global tourism spotlight. The National Geographic recently listed Laos among 25 breathtaking places and experiences for 2023. Recently, CNN also listed Pakse, the capital of the southernmost province of Champassak, among 18 most underrated places in Asia.
