The British newspaper’s travel experts curated a collection of the 20 top destinations to visit this new year and Laos featured in the list among some other usual suspects like Spain, Switzerland and France.
With most countries having opened up their borders after the pandemic, the world has started feeling like a small place again where no place is too remote or far away. The Telegraph has hence come up with an eclectic range of places where one could either slow travel over several weeks or visit on their much-anticipated summer vacation.
And Laos is the only Southeast Asian country to feature on the list.
Lauding the country’s year-old swanky high-speed train and the breathtaking views and convenience that it offers, the article says, “It slices through the northern mountains from capital Vientiane, curving along the north bank of the Mekong River to Vang Vieng, where the sugarloaf mountains tower over the ragtag settlement on the banks of the Song River. From there, pinch yourself.
“A journey that takes four to five hours by road on bum-numbing buses now reaches the fabled Unesco-protected temple town of Luang Prabang in 55 minutes. Further north is Muang Xai, the alighting point for sky-high ethnic minority villages, waterfalls, and a riverfront retreat in the jungle,” it adds.
Describing the Laos-China railway infrastructure with a bit of cheeky British humor, the article says, “with megaphones and barked instructions and stations so large that, like the Great Wall of China, they can probably be seen from space.”
Earlier this week, Laos was also hailed by CNN as one of the best places to visit in 2023.
