Cosmopolitan UK - 09.2019

COSMOPOLITAN · 129

L

ast night I dreamed of Luang

Prabang. I dreamed of its steaming

streets, its snoozing street dogs

and its giggling monks. I dreamed

I was back there, on a scuffed wicker

chair overlooking the Mekong River,

breaking the spine of a new book and

sipping a Laotian coffee in the sun.

For years Laos has been overlooked

by its more extroverted neighbours:

party-girl Thailand to its west, culinary

arriviste Vietnam to its east; gap-yah

Cambodia to its south. But, like all

quiet beauties, Laos has finally revealed

itself to be the most bewitching of all.

It is a country of secretive hilltribes,

virgin forests where tigers roam, and

home to Luang Prabang – a temple-

saturated fantasy city.

SECRET HAVEN

Luang Prabang has all the brilliant

bits of an Asian city (street food, neon

lights, weaving tuk-tuks and $4 foot

massages) without any of the bad bits.

The streets are as clean as your nan’s

front room, the traffic shuffles rather

than roars and you won’t find a single

hustling salesman.

Laos was a French colony until 1953

and Gallic touches are everywhere in

Luang. The city is small – walkable

in a few evenings. It is also, rather

incongruously, full of luxury hotels,

the finest of which is Rosewood. You

could stay somewhere cheaper, sure,

but you’re not paying simply for a

room at Rosewood, but a slice of

nirvana. Situated a 15-minute drive

out of town in a forest, the hotel has

day beds scattered across a Granny

Smith-green lawn and a waterfall that

gently weaves through it. But it’s the

rooms that’ll be your holiday crush

• decorated in silks, they
  have age-old artefacts
  pinned to the walls. The
  Riverside Villas have
  a painting easel for

indulging your artistic fantasies,

Waterfall Pool Villas have their own

little pools, Riverside Suites have day

beds to relax on until night draws

in and Hilltop Tents are possibly

the world’s most luxurious canvas

creations, with king-size beds and

enormous balconies boasting

the best views on the property.

I’d stay again just for the

Sense spa, to be honest.

Rosewood is in a whole

different wellness league,

offering things like Hmong

Experiences (a native healer

uses herbs from surrounding

forests to cleanse your body) and the

intriguing Lost Remedies menu –

think centuries-old treatments such

as Nuad Hai Jao, a massage using

ginger and black pepper to improve

circulation and relax muscles.

As for tourist attractions, Laos may

hold the record for the world’s most

beautiful yet least mobbed. Tad Sae

Waterfall is the colour of an aqua-

marine gem stone and eerily quiet.

There are also sun and moon bears to

see, all rescued by the Save The Bears

charity, and an elephant sanctuary

a 20-minute drive from the hotel.i

WHERE:Farrah Storr

immersed herself in

Rosewood Luang

Prabang, Laos

THE GROWN-UP

GAP GETAWAY

Rooms at Rosewood Luang Prabang,

from £412 per room per night including

breakfast; Rosewoodhotels.com. Flights

with Singapore Airlines (from London),

from £711.82; Singaporeair.com

One sunbed for you,

one for your snacks

Hilltop tents: Glasto,

eat your heart out

GO SOLO

Learn how to

say “no thanks”

in the local

language

GET THERE ✈