- Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 4th Revised edition edition (Jan 1 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1864503734
- ISBN-13: 978-1864503739
- Product Dimensions: 18.5 x 12.9 x 1.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 308 g
- Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #806,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"Down to earth accurate information for every budget, enthusiastically written." -- Travel and Leisure
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
Steamy, exotic, laid-back Laos - the 'Land of a Million Elephants' - is slowly emerging from years of isolation, and its temples, mountains and natural wonders are more accessible than ever. Let this guide take you there.
*40 easy-to-read maps, including a color country map
*detailed explanations of Buddhism, Lao architecture and handicrafts
*special section on some of the many ethnic groups that make up the people of Laos
*insightful information on Lao customs and etiquette
*vital transport details, including overland travel and river trips
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fine guide book, typical for Lonely Planet,
By Brian Davies (Irvine, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lonely Planet Laos (Paperback)
I have recently completed a 12-month backpacking journey around the world, a trip that included Laos. In each of the 20-some countries I visited, the Lonely Planet I carried proved invaluable. However, after having read some of the other Amazon reviews of the LP Laos book before using it, I was expecting this particular guide-book to be worthless. But in fact, after using Cummings' book for nearly a month in Laos, I was pleasantly surprised to find it as useful as any other LP that I have used. Actually, expecting this guide-book to be useless, I brought along another Laos guide-book, which proved to be much less useful on the road when used side-by-side with the LP.Not only did I find the accomodation and eating sections for popular locations as accurate and update as I would expect, but Cummings' did a fine job of briefly describing many off-the-beaten-track places, providing initial ideas for numerous adventures into the unknown. And of course, as in any country to see the "real-thing", it is always rewarding to venture to places that you have not read about in a guide book. For this reason, I would certainly not criticize Cummings for not writing more. All in all, in my opinion this book certainly meets the lofty standards set by Lonely Planet. A bit of advice to would-be travelers: During my 12 months of diligently using Lonely Planet guides, I have been amazed by the travel-blunders made by fellow travelers who have carried travel guides, but have not used them. Some travelers perfer to do it "on their own", but I have seen numerous costly, time-consuming, and uncomfortable mistakes made that could have been easily avoided if they would have simply consulted the book in their hands. A little diligence goes a long ways.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
No wonder the planet's so 'Lonely'..,
By Patrick Hardy (Vientiane) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lonely Planet Laos (Paperback)
Joe Cummings' 'Lonely Planet Laos' is the most pedantic and useless guidebook I've ever been unfortunate enough to use. Cummings seems desperate to show the reader how much he knows about the country, going off on endless tangents that lead nowhere and tell the reader nothing (especially in his 'Dangers and Annoyances' section). Does your average traveller really need to know how the licence plate system in Laos works? His information on hotels, restaurants and other attractions is shockingly out of date and inaccurate. I once used the 1997 edition, and I noticed that very little in the book has changed. Don't waste your money.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Guide to nonexistent restaurants, old residences, old hotels,
By Timothy J. Triche, Jr. (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lonely Planet Laos (Paperback)
The problem with this guide is that, even though things have changed since the last revision, the guidebook hasn't. I would strongly recommend the Rough Guide and a curious spirit over the Lonely Planet guide to Laos, even the new 4th edition. Either way you're going to contend with some bad information, but at least with the Rough guide you won't have to put up with Cummings' writing. I'm sure he's a brilliant scholar, but there are other reasons people go on vacation besides research. Don't miss Luangphabang and the villages up and down the Mekong, whatever you do. Beyond that, everything in Laos is hit-and-miss. Relax and enjoy it. I've never had so much fun on a vacation in my entire life, and it was cheap as dirt, too.
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