The story of Lao New Year

Bpee Mai is the most widely celebrated festival in Laos. The festival is also celebrated by Laotians in the United States of America, Canada, France, and Australia. When the Lao people first emigrated from southern China, New Year was celebrated on the first day of January. Since settling in mainland Southeast Asia the Lao have adopted the new year's traditions of the Khmer and Mon-Burmese people, based on the Indian calendar and traditions. New Year takes place in April, the hottest time of the year in Laos, which is also the start of the monsoon season in Laos when their crops grow. Lao New Year takes place at roughly the same time as Songkran in Thailand and Chaul Chnam Thmey in Cambodia which are like the same thing.
English text from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_New_Year

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The best city in the world 2010 goes to Luang Prabang in Laos

Wanderlust Travel Awards 2010 Top City
By Wanderlust team
Discover which city scooped top prize in this year's awards

Top city: Luang Prabang, Laos

Ranking %

1 Luang Prabang, Laos 94.74

2 Siena, Italy 94.67

3 Berlin, Germany 94.15

4 Seville, Spain 94.00

5 Kyoto, Japan 93.33

6 Melbourne, Australia 92.22

7 Boston, USA 91.85

8 Krakow, Poland 90.91

9 San Francisco, USA 90.53

10 Tallinn, Estonia 90.40


Right at home:

“Luang Prabang is one of those rare traveller towns where as soon as you arrive you feel right at home,” wrote reader Lucy Palmer of your perennial favourite city.


“Maybe it’s the languid pace of life instilled by the monks, maybe it’s just being in the shadow of those majestic temples; maybe it’s the presence of the mighty Mekong – but the whole place makes you slow down, forget any stress and just appreciate the environment around you. Yes, there are things to see and do, but that’s not the point. Luang Prabang is simply a great place to be.”



Despite its growing popularity, you told us the town retains those things that make it special: its colourful markets, French cuisine, outbreaks of drumming by the resident monks. And you recalled great local excursions – learning to be a mahout at an elephant centre (www.laos-adventures.com), gold-panning at a jungle ecolodge (www.kamulodge.com) and taking a boat trip to the Kuang Si waterfalls.


Even the frequent power cuts and lack of ATMs, concluded reader Charlotte West, “just seem to add to the charm of this one-of-a-kind place.”


Get there fast – then slow right down.


>>See the rest of Wanderlust Travel Awards 2010 winners here Read more!

9th National Games to be held in Luang Prabang 2011

(KPL) Luang Prabang is preparing ahead for the 9th National Games in December 2011. The main stadium of the province has been renovated completely and the construction of other facilities is underway.


The province is allocating venues to be used for the competition. Twenty three roads are also under improvement as well as other basic facilities such as water supply systems and electricity.

Last year, the Lao National Sports Committee undertook major renovations to the main stadium which now has 80,000 seats. This year they want to build seven more competition venues.

Head of the Provincial Sports Service, Mr Chandy Bounnhong, said that they were asking the government to provide more than 138 billion kip for constructing new facilities and improving the existing ones.

Construction of the additional sport fields has already started and in general around 30 per cent of the work is carried out. Mr Chandy said companies will use their own resources to build the venues and the government will repay them later.

The new competition venues to be built and is being built include the stadiums of basketball, petanque, tennis, volleyball and beach volleyball, swimming pool and shooting range.

There are twenty-one sports to be competed at the 9th National Games namely petanque, basketball, football, sepak takraw, volleyball and beach volleyball, muay lao, boxing, badminton, cycling, swimming, taekwondo, table tennis, golf, shooting, bowling, judo, karatedo, top spinning, crossbow, pencak silat, and track and field.

The Luang Prabang provincial Sports Department is asking six districts to host selection competitions for the games in football, petanque, taekwondo, badminton, top spinning and crossbow.

Mr Chandy said they needed funding for athlete preparation and training as well as administration of the games.

Luang Prabang province last hosted the National Games twice so far 1996 and 2007 Read more!