Laos has changed so much compared to when I first set foot 10 years ago” Mr. Doan Phuoc Truong, a blogger travel from Ho Chi Minh City comments.
In 2003, when traveling from Luang Prabang back to Vientiane with distance The road is more than 300km long and Mr. Truong has to sit on a bus and travel by road, which takes 10-15 hours due to detours through many hills and mountains and stopping at rest stops.
But this trip also took about The same way but it only took him less than 2 hours to get there.
One of the major contributions is the appearance of the Laos – China high-speed railway line with a length of more than 1,000km connecting the city. Kunming city, capital of Yunnan province (China) to Vientiane capital of Laos. After 5 years of construction, the train has been in operation since October 2021.
In Laos, high-speed trains run. on a distance of more than 400km passing through 6 stations including Vientiane Vang Vieng Luang Prabang Muang Xai Luang Namtha and Boten. With a speed of up to 160km/h, the train runs smoothly and has good soundproofing even though it goes through many tunnels dug through mountains and forests.
Coming to Laos this time, Mr. Truong spent 6 days and 5 nights to experience it. He spent time exploring the three cities of Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Vientiane. These are all cities with high-speed train lines running through.
Departure From Ho Chi Minh City, it takes more than an hour to fly to Pakse city. After completing immigration procedures, he took another flight to Vientiane. From the capital of his country, the Vietnamese guest continued sightseeing, stopped overnight in the town of Vang Vieng, the ancient capital of Luang Prabang and returned to Vientiane.
“Thanks to the train’s speed of up to 160km/ “So I, as well as many other tourists, can greatly shorten the travel time from the South to the North of Laos,” Mr. Truong said.
According to this customer, depending on each route, there will be different ticket prices. For example, the route Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang is 190 km long and takes less than an hour to travel and costs 195,000 kip (about 230,000 VND); The Luang Prabang return trip to Vientiane, which is more than 300km long, costs 393,000 kip (464,000 VND).
According to the staff at the station, because the ticket price is quite high compared to people’s income, the train should take the train. Most of the passengers are foreign tourists such as Koreans, Russians, Japanese, Vietnamese, but the majority are still Chinese tourists.
Mr. Truong observed that the stations are all clean and modern with spacious waiting rooms. enough seats for guests. There is also a business class lounge, restaurant and souvenir shop. Each station is designed with its own identity culture Laos.
The train consists of 9 carriages, one locomotive, one restaurant carriage, one business class carriage, one first class carriage, 5 economy carriages with a total of 720 seats. Business and first class carriages are located at the front of the train. The carriage doors are always closed during travel using electronic locks to separate other carriages.
Meanwhile, the general carriages are equipped with hot and cold drinking water faucets, outside hand wash basins and toilets. clean.
The Vietnamese guest commented that the interior of the carriages is very new, with seats upholstered in fabric and equipped with charging sockets. under foot. The back of the chair is also designed with a dining table like on an airplane. The luggage compartment located above has no lid. For large-sized luggage, guests must place it at the front of the carriage.
In addition, trains arrive and depart very precisely on time and to the minute as shown on the notice board and on the ticket.
However, because guests only have 5 minutes to get up and down, it often causes jostling. At the end of the trip, when passing through the checkpoint, visitors must return the ticket to the staff for comparison and scan the code again.
What impressed Mr. Truong most was the combination of classic and modern from exterior to interior design of 3 main stations.
At Vientiane station, the facade is painted dark yellow like the roofs of temples. The station includes 7 tracks, 4 platforms and a station lobby that can accommodate up to 2,500 passengers at the same time.
Meanwhile, Vang Vieng station is suitable for guests who love to experience nature. When stopping here, tourists continue to go out to explore many destinations such as climbing mountains, rowing boats to limestone caves, swimming on the Mekong River or immersing themselves in the emerald green water of Blue Lagoon Lake.</p >
And finally, the most beautiful station is Luang Prabang with 2 platforms and 4 concourses accommodating 1,200 passengers. At the station, there is always a team of tuk tuks to take guests to the city center for 50,000 kip/person (60,000 VND).
After 10 years returning to the “country of a million elephants” the Vietnamese guest I see that Laos is “changing” day by day, especially its infrastructure system is increasingly developing.
He sees that Laos’s tourism industry is developing according to a methodical approach without being commercialized. tourism services or concreting scenic spots while still preserving and preserving traditional culture.
Tickets to visit historical sites and high-speed trains for Laotians and equal international visitors. Here, there is also no problem of haggling or cutting corners. The streets are free of traffic jams, no car horns, and a slow and peaceful pace of life.
“Those are the reasons why I love this land and people” Mr. Truong shared.
Laos-China high-speed railway line constructed by China National Railway Group from the border town of Boten bordering Yunnan to the capital Vientiane is a super project traffic of the country of a million elephants.
The project was started in 2016 and will operate from October 2021 with an initial contract worth 12 billion USD later increased to 6 billion USD.
Photo: Provided by the character
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