Islamabad vs Luang Prabang

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Islamabad (; Urdu: اسلام آباد, romanized: Islāmābād) is the capital city of Pakistan, and is administered within the Islamabad Capital Territory. Islamabad is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, while the bigger Islamabad--Rawalpindi metropolitan area is the country's fourth largest with a population of about 3.1 million. Constructed as a planned town in the 1960s to replace Karachi as Pakistan's capital, Islamabad is noted for its high standards of living, safety, and abundant greenery.The town's master plan, designed by Greek architect Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis, divides the city into eight zones, including administrative, diplomatic enclave, residential areas, educational industries, industrial industries, commercial areas, and green and rural areas that are administered by the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation, supported by the Capital Development Authority.

The city is well known for the presence of several parks and forests, including the Margalla Hills National Park and the Shakarparian. The town is home to several landmarks, with the most notable one being the Faisal Mosque − the biggest mosque in South Asia and also the fourth largest in the world. Other landmarks include the Pakistan National Monument and Democracy Square.Islamabad is a Gamma + town as rated by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. The town has the highest cost of living in Pakistan, and its population is dominated by middle and upper middle class citizens.The town is home to twenty schools, including Bahria University, Quaid-e-Azam University, PIEAS, COMSATS University and NUST. The city is among the safest in Pakistan, and has an expansive RFID-enabled surveillance system with almost 2000 CCTV cameras.

Source: Wikipedia

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Luang Phabang, (Lao: ຫລວງພະບາງ/ຫຼວງພະບາງ) or Louangphabang (pronounced [lǔaŋ pʰa.bàːŋ]), commonly transliterated into Western languages from the pre-1975 Lao spelling ຫຼວງພຣະບາງ (ຣ = silent r) as Luang Prabang, literally meaning "Royal Buddha Image", is a city in north central Laos, consisting of 58 adjacent villages, of which 33 comprise the UNESCO Town Of Luang Prabang World Heritage Site. It was listed in 1995 for unique and "remarkably" well preserved architectural, religious and cultural heritage, a blend of the rural and urban developments over several centuries, including the French colonial influences during the 19th and 20th centuries.The centre of the city consists of four main roads and is located on a peninsula at the confluence of the Nam Khan and Mekong River. Luang Prabang is well known for its numerous Buddhist temples and monasteries.

Every morning, hundreds of monks from the various monasteries walk through the streets collecting alms. One of the city's major landmarks is Mount Phou Si; a large steep hill which despite the constrained scale of the city, is 150 metres (490 ft) high; a steep staircase leads to Wat Chom Si shrine and an overlook of the city and the rivers.The city was formerly the capital of a kingdom of the same name. It had also been known by the ancient name of Xieng Thong. It was the royal capital and seat of government of the Kingdom of Laos, until the Pathet Lao takeover in 1975. The city is part of Luang Prabang District of Luang Prabang Province and is the capital and administrative centre of the province. It lies approximately 300 km (186 mi) north of the capital Vientiane. Currently, the population of the city as a whole is roughly 56,000 inhabitants with the UNESCO protected site being inhabited by around 24,000.

Source: Wikipedia