The World Heritage town of Luang Prabang has won a ‘Top City Gold Award' from England’s leading travel magazine, Wanderlust. The magazine placed Luang Prabang, an ancient city in the north of Laos and a UNESCO World Heritage site, in the top spot on its list of travel destinations announced at the annual Wanderlust Travel Awards 2008, held at Earl's Court in London, UK, on January 31. “We didn't expect to win the award because the judges hadn't told us the good news beforehand,” said the Deputy Governor of Luang Prabang province, Dr Khampheng Saysompheng. He flew to London with his delegation to receive the award. Luang Prabang was voted into the magazine's top ten, out of 615 cities, before the decision was made to give it the gold award. More conventional holiday spots such as Venice, San Francisco and Sydney also featured in the top ten. A poll of the magazine's readers found a satisfaction rating of more than 97 percent among those who had visited Luang Prabang. This is the third time the town has received a gold award from the magazine, also winning the top spot in 2006 and 2007. Dr Khampheng, who returned home with the award, said on Tuesday it represented the pride of the Lao people, especially those who lived in Luang Prabang. He thanked the magazine's executive board and its readers who had voted Luang Prabang into top place. “This award will encourage us to work harder to preserve and develop the town in a sustainable way,” Dr Khampheng said. The 1,200-year-old historic town is considered to be among the most beautiful in South East Asia and is renowned as the cultural and religious capital of Laos . “Luang Prabang won the award because it is an outstanding example of the fusion of traditional architecture and Lao urban structures with those built by Europeans in the 19th and 20th centuries,” he said “But the most important aspect of the town is the charm of the Lao people,” Dr Khampheng said. In 1995 UNESCO inscribed the town onto its World Heritage List. It became the first world heritage site in Laos , ensuring the preservation of its mixture of traditional Lao and French architecture. Since then, its unique character and charm have helped make it one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, for both Lao and foreign visitors. Recently the world's most famous newspaper, the New York Times, named Laos as number one of the world's top 53 tourist destinations to visit in 200 8. By MK. Vongsam-ang www.vientianetimes.org.la
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