The Unesco-listed heritage town has enough must-see attractions to fill any itinerary but with great beauty comes great tourist dollars - not to mention Chinese investment, but has Luang Prabang lost its soul asks the SCMP's Tim Pile The most magical time to explore Luang Prabang is at dawn, when the resonant thump of temple drums provides the city with its early morning call. Groups of monks sleepwalk through the mist, silently accepting alms.

By Lee Kah Whye, Singapore, Nov 12 : From the gleaming new city of Khorgos sprouting out of the desert in Kazakhstan to the kilometres of shinny steel rails being laid in the countryside in Laos, China's trillion-dollar signature Belt and Road Initiative is making an impact around the world. President Xi Jinping announced BRI, formerly known as "One Belt One Road" to the world in visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia in 2013.

The management of the Zoological Park of Thailand and Pongsavanh Group of Laos sign a deal to give an admission fee discount at Khon Kaen and Ubon Ratchathani zoos to the group's customers in Vientiane on Nov 5. Benjapol Nakprasert, director-general of the Zoological Park, said the discount was available for customers of the Pongsavanh Group of Laos. Khon Kaen and Ubon Ratchathani zoos were destinations for Lao tourists and the Khon Kaen Zoo alone welcomed about 10,000 Lao people last year, he said.

Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit and visiting Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel agreed on Sunday to deepen the traditional friendly relations between the two countries, Xinhua reports. The Cuban leader made an official state visit to Laos on Saturday and Sunday at the invitation of President Bounnhang, also general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee.

Central Onslow resident John Flanagan once patrolled the ports and cities of 1950s Vietnam, on the hunt for weapons and ammunition being smuggled into the country by Communist insurgents. - Fram Dinshaw CENTRAL ONSLOW, N.S. The first thing that hit John Flanagan as he stepped off the plane in Saigon was a wall of heat and humidity.

The Phadeng viewpoint and the climb to reach it are among the many breathtaking activities to be experienced in Vangvieng district, Vientiane province. Many people miss out on this fantastic experience because the climb to the top is not easy and Lao visitors in particular are likely to dismiss the idea, as hiking is not among their preferred leisure activities.

The second Laos-China Film Festival with open-air movies being screened across Laos has expanded cultural exchange, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Wednesday. The Chinese embassy to Laos in cooperation with the Lao Department of Cinema under the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism and China Radio International in Laos jointly opened the second Laos-China Film Festival Tour in Lao capital Vientiane on last Friday.

The most magical time to explore Luang Prabang is at dawn, when the resonant thump of temple drums provides the city with its early morning call. Groups of monks sleepwalk through the mist, silently accepting alms.

While her older sister Princess Eugenie is enjoying married life with her new husband, Jack Brooksbank, Princess Beatrice had her own fun on Wednesday night by celebrating Halloween in style! The eighth-in-line to the throne was spotted partying at Annabel's in Mayfair, London on the spookiest night of the year and certainly dressed for the occasion - as a unicorn! Dressed in a white midi-dress with a black waist belt, Eugenie completed the look with a bright lilac wig with a unicorn horn headpiece. Chelsy Davy also attended the same Halloween party as Beatrice, and wore a pair of ripped jeans with a sheer black and lace blouse, while completing her scary look with spider eye makeup and a pair of black feather earrings.

Nateuy No. 1 Tunnel, some 360 km north of Lao capital Vientiane, is located in the northern Lao province of Luang Namtha bordering China in the north.

If you're planned out and partied out post-nuptials, there's a gorgeously serene place in Southeast Asia where you can simply chill, soaking up exotic architecture and temples, not to mention rays; indulging in delicious food; learning the peaceful ways of the monks; and maybe chasing a waterfall or two. That idyll is Luang Prabang, Laos, a place many world travelers call their favorite destination in the east.

Luang Prabang's rise to become one of Southeast Asia's top luxury destinations for those in search of culture and relaxation was inevitable. In the years following the former Laos royal capital's designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, this magical town, nestled at the bottom of forested mountains that tower over the Mekong River, attracted a slow trickle of luxury accommodation options, from the Amantaka to the Belmond La RA©sidence Phou Vao.