Chiang Mai Vs Luang Prabang

[midnighttiger]

I'm currently trying to decide between Luang Prabang and Chiang Mai.

The biggest advatanges of Chiang Mai being a much easier air connection; amenities such as Muay Thai, Yoga, Massage; plentiful, affordable housing.

On the other hand, Luang Prabang just seems so beautiful and charming with that small town atmosphere.

Anyone who has spent significant time in both have any opinions, if you had to choose?

[Amerifarang]

Chiang Mai wins,hands down for hospital and civilized amenities i.e. shopping malls fine dining etc. If you get sick in Laos you are screwed! LP is charming and a nice place to visit,but to live is another story! Think carefully about your move!

[naboo]

Chiang Mai wins,hands down for hospital and civilized amenities i.e. shopping malls fine dining etc. If you get sick in Laos you are screwed! LP is charming and a nice place to visit,but to live is another story! Think carefully about your move!

Wow! What a horrible size font.

Edited September 11, 2010 by naboo

[WinnieTheKhwai]

What would be the visa situation for a longer stay in LP?

[november222]

midnighttiger,

tigers have to be tucked in by midnight in luang prabang, its the law!!

Edited September 11, 2010 by november222

[jayjay0]

Chiang Mai wins,hands down for hospital and civilized amenities i.e. shopping malls fine dining etc. If you get sick in Laos you are screwed! LP is charming and a nice place to visit,but to live is another story! Think carefully about your move!

Wow! What a horrible size font.

Actually it is quite nice. T V is for every one and not all of us have microscopes for eyes.

[uptheos]

As people have previously stated, the hospital sitiuation is not good and flying out of there quickly to major destinations is also a problem. I'm not really sure that 'civilised amenities' necessarily includes shopping malls and fine dining is subjective.

I think if you felt comfortable with the lack of medical amenities and had quite a lot of interests to keep you occupied, Luang Prabang would be a nice place to live.

[harrry]

Chiang Mai wins,hands down for hospital and civilized amenities i.e. shopping malls fine dining etc. If you get sick in Laos you are screwed! LP is charming and a nice place to visit,but to live is another story! Think carefully about your move!

Wow! What a horrible size font.

Actually it is quite nice. T V is for every one and not all of us have microscopes for eyes.

Agreed and TV has opted not to apply Web Accessibility standards in not enabling font size changes. One very big weakness of TV which is on the whole very accomodating of individual diferences.

[Sparkles]

Back to the OP ? Luang Prabang is a beautiful place to visit,full of history ,great architecture,fine dining,nice people and interesting side trips. Living there, on a full time basis, may be a different kettle of fish. This relativly small area ia already overun with tourists, like ourselves, and when the Chinese economy gets going at full steam again it will only get busier. Sitting by the river on our last day a convoy of over 30 mini vans unloaded a load of Chinese tourists, with the obligatory flag waving guides, to visit the palace. A local sitting alongside us shook his head and said "what happened to my town ?"

The point I guess I am making is that the LP you see today may well not be the environment you want to live for the future. The Laos embassy in Bangkok can answer your long term visa questions. Medical services are ,I have been told, very basic. Vientienne would offer far more choices.

[jayinoz]

COST OF LIVING wise it not a lot of difference (Maybe LP JUST wins)...

Nightlife wise CMai wins easy (LP closed midnight)

Girl wise CMai wins- simply more...

Medical wise CMai wins...

More Farang places to eat wise CMai wins...

Entertainment HOT SPOTS Cmai wins...

Want a more country town feel to city LP wins...

Restuarants CMai wins....

LP wins.... because XYZ, not sure if others could add more- it an individual choice but very easy IMO.

Besides what is MOST important in your world- as any LP expats will tell US actually why they are in LP as opposed to CMai.

As some LP expats say- CMai is a joke and already over ran with too many of us... I say LP has many ST, LT, tourists and expats also. True, more so in CMai- that is a good thing for many. Depends on your owns values, and wishes primarily.

[mccw]

I went to LP in 02 and found it charming, now I find it an over priced tourist trap. All the locals have apparrently moved over the river, sold or rented their places; all people now are basically there for business and vibe subsequently completely differrent.

One lady Market stall owner went besserk on us because I said I'm interested in a few items but would come back with some money if I wanted them; I negotiated a better price at another place; next day she accosted us in the street with all these goods packaged up demanding money; really flew off the handle, calling my Missus a Thai whore an shit.

Bit like what's happened to pai ; still beautiful sceenery and worth a short visit but totaly lost it's soul.

Edited September 11, 2010 by mccw

[Xangsamhua]

Haven't been to LP since 1974. Used to go there about twice a year in the 70s, on business. It was a nice town and very quiet.

I don't really have any interest in going back there, though I suspect anywhere in Laos is still a nice place to live, as long as you don't get seriously ill.

Was a bit put off by something I read recently in an academic journal (Journal of Lao Studies, Vol 1, Issue 1: www.laostudies.org) that the Night Market is now 80% Hmong. Why? Because the Hmong "are sensitive to what the tourists want: none of the Hmong clothing and bedspreads sold in the market are worn or used by the Hmong themselves."

So the "night market" in LP, of all places, is just another phoney tourist trap. It doesn't look good for the future of a town that is world heritage listed because of its authenticity.

(Incidentally, neither my wife nor I can remember LP having a night market in the 60s and 70s. This is an innovation. The Hmong used to come down from the hills at about 3.00 am to set up for the morning market. There were lots of them, and you could hear them padding along the street as they headed for the marketplace.)

[canuckamuck]

Chiang Mai wins,hands down for hospital and civilized amenities i.e. shopping malls fine dining etc. If you get sick in Laos you are screwed! LP is charming and a nice place to visit,but to live is another story! Think carefully about your move!

Wow! What a horrible size font.

Actually it is quite nice. T V is for every one and not all of us have microscopes for eyes.

Agreed and TV has opted not to apply Web Accessibility standards in not enabling font size changes. One very big weakness of TV which is on the whole very accomodating of individual diferences.

If you are using firefox you can zoom in to make fonts appear larger. just hold down ctrl and + at the same time eaach time you do it you zoom a bit. ctrl and - to zoom back out.

And now back to the thread already in progress.

[isanbirder]

This is like comparing chalk with cheese.

I have heard that LP is spoilt by excessive tourism.

[mccw]

Many of the "handy crafts" you see in Thailand cm , , cr, MAE sai , are for sale in Lp Market aswell, I asked where they got them from, they said china; mass produced to look old and authenitic and shipped out across the region.

[rametindallas]

Chiang Mai wins,hands down for hospital and civilized amenities i.e. shopping malls fine dining etc. If you get sick in Laos you are screwed! LP is charming and a nice place to visit,but to live is another story! Think carefully about your move!

Wow! What a horrible size font.

Actually it is quite nice. T V is for every one and not all of us have microscopes for eyes.

You don't need microscopes on your eyes. Just change the zoom level on you computer monitor. I have done that myself and the larger fonts become too large.

[lannarebirth]

I went to LP in 02 and found it charming, now I find it an over priced tourist trap. All the locals have apparrently moved over the river, sold or rented their places; all people now are basically there for business and vibe subsequently completely differrent.

One lady Market stall owner went besserk on us because I said I'm interested in a few items but would come back with some money if I wanted them; I negotiated a better price at another place; next day she accosted us in the street with all these goods packaged up demanding money; really flew off the handle, calling my Missus a Thai whore an shit.

Bit like what's happened to pai ; still beautiful sceenery and worth a short visit but totaly lost it's soul.

BINGO! You wrote what I'd been feeeling. LP best kept in memories.

[Yunnie]

Luang Prabang is pretty but the cons for long term stay FAR out weighs the Pros. If youre going to live in Luang Prabang then you must except that you will live with only the most basic amenities.

If youre going to live in Lao PDR - live in Vientiane. That way you have multiple options of getting out of the country quickly if need raises. Like alot of people stated, If you need a hospital, in Luang Prabang there's no way you'll get a good one with out crossing over into Thailand. At least in Vientiane, if there's a medical emergency, you can be stabilized for the trip to Udon Thani.

If you want to live in Lao but have Thai standard of living.... Live in Issan area - Udon or Khon khaen.

Chiang Mai would be where you want to live... although CMX is lacking as a flight hub, but much better then Luang Prabang which is almost exclusively serviced by the over priced Lao Air.

Access to hospitals

specialist doctors

dental care

expat/foreigner community

night life for all types of people

travel access

shopping

postal and parcel service

banking with internet

access to import items such as basic things like food from America and europe

transportation...

good internet (not the greatest like Japan or Korea, but Thai Internet FAR FAR 10000000x better then Lao's "broadband")

ect...