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GDL Launches 1-Day Vang Vieng Challenge
Green Discovery Laos is now offering a one-day version of its iconic Vang Vieng Challenge, which is less expensive and more challenging than the two-day excursion. “I think it’s the perfect way for people in Laos to challenge their friends and spend an unforgettable day in Vang Vieng’s natural wonders,” said the company’s communications manager, Margaux Canales. The one-day expedition has all the challenges of the longer programme: abseiling down a waterfall, zip-lining up to 120 metres in the tree tops, and tackling the ‘via ferrata’. The tour takes off at the GDL office and crosses the Nam Song River before a trek through rice fields and across streams, sometimes using ropes to navigate the rapids. The trek reaches the first mountain range for steep ascents, and then the trail wanders into a valley until the terrain gets steeper again. Green Season rains bring out belay devices for securely crossing streams. The real adventure starts with a climb up a waterfall on a ‘via ferrata’, and then a gorge crossing on a U-shaped cable bridge. At the top is a view of the limestone landscape. After lunch, zip-lines, some 50 metres above ground, delivers daredevils between jungle tree platforms using top-class belay devices. A V-shaped cable bridge crosses another gorge, before more zip-lining almost all way down the mountain. A walk back through the rice fields and ride back to town ends the day of exhilarating achievements. For the complete description, click here.
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Lao Airlines Revises Surcharge
Lao Airlines has issued an official letter that all their flight rate will increase by $5 effective from 11 November 2018, according to Focus Asia. The revised YQ surcharge is as follows: – Domestic Sectors from $13 to $18 – International Sectors from $25 to $30 – Routing of VTE-CAN, VTE-KMG, VTE-SIN from $40 to $45 The new charges will not apply to tickets issued before 1st of November.
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Sanctuary Lightens Up in October
Sanctuary Hotels and Resorts is celebrating Awk Phansa (end of Buddhist Lent) and the “Fire Boat Festival” on 24-25 October with activities in Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng. The fun kicks off with the “Boun Souang Heua” Boat Racing Festival on Vang Vieng’s Nam Song River on 24 October. Guests at the Sanctuary Nam Ngum Beach Resort can take the hotel’s fee daily shuttle to cheer on the paddlers. The celebration shifts to the Sanctuary Luang Prabang Hotel the next day for Lai Heua Fai…”The Fireboat Festival”. The hotel is offering a “Kratong” workshop from 14:00-16:00 to learn about this local tradition and decorate your own kratong (floating basket). Guests can then set off in the early evening to the Mekong River with their homemade creation to release it and wish for good luck for the future at the Fireboat Festival. During the Lai Fai Heua ceremony, locals go to great lengths to prepare small, candlelit homemade boats made from bamboo and palm leafs. More sophisticated boats carry oil lamps. Sanctuary Hotels & Resorts
