Laos Travel Blogs

We've just arrived in Vientiane! No, actually, we had lunch here already (and the fried frogs were so tempting to eat!). And we have also walked around the area of this city for a while not knowing where to go really and can not be bothered to look up on our Lonely Planet book that s…

"You pick the place and I'll choose the time,And I'll climb the hill in my own way,Just wait a while for the right day,And as I rise above the tree line and the clouds,I'll look down, hear the sound of the things you said today."Fearless - Pink FloydAround noon I had was woken up when Paul had to g…

What does it take to get from northern Thailand to Laos? Answer: three Chiangs. Unfortunately Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Chiang Khong are all uneventful and same-same. Much more interesting are the three other backpackers with me on the bus: Henrietta from Englan and mates Zohar and Niv from I…

We entered the Laos side of the border and it seemed every bit as shady as the Vietnamese side. Some people had to get visas and the rest of us went to get stamped in. Once again, the border official wanted something. Thankfully, our guide spoke Lao fluently so she sorted out whatever issue the…

The 9 strong backpacker rabble (apart from a 20 year old Russian guy Demi who chose, that's right chose, to walk the 37km distance) stuck at the border post settled down to wait, and wait, and waaaaaait... until a white mini bus suddenly appeared out of the drizzly glo…

I woke up at 6 AM and went to the balcony of the guesthouse. My jaws dropped, I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was a beautiful morning where all the rock hills were covered by fog. I ran back to my room and grabbed my obsolete camera. After taking a couple of pictures, I spent time for awhile en…

“This is the new information for you!” People are getting a little nervy.  Most of us haven’t seen our passports since handing them over to the guys running the guest house at Chiang Khong last night.  Chiang Khong, sat on the east bank of the Mekong river in the far northeast of T…

The van dropped us off at the bus terminal and we went to check the timetable. The first one leaves at 13:30 and the second at 16:30. "What time is it?", Wayne asked. I said 13:30. Let's go! Then a bus conductor waved at us and told us to get on the bus! Neither of us wanted to wait until 16:30 for…

This time there were no rats. Instead there were a lot of wasps in the bathroom although they didn't cause any big trouble. Last night the guides came by in the evening to ask if we were in for an early morning junglehike and of course we were. I got up at 06:00 and in the dark we ziplined to get t…

This morning when we were checking out of the Grand Luang Prabang, the clerk informed me that we owed $4 for the glass we broke on our first day. This is a pretty high-end place, and I have never known a nice hotel to bill for such a petty thing. At first I thought he was making a joke. As I was pr…

from the moment i arrived, i was enthralled by the peace and serenity that pervades luang prabang. it seeps into your soul and you slow down and merge with the meditative pace of this enchanted town .

I woke early and left Charlotte in Muang Ngoi as she was planning on heading east and I was thinking of going the opposite way. I decided to head back to Luang Prabang to sort my Laundry and to catch a bus elsewhere. The guys from Muang Ngoi were also on the boat and bus back to Luang Prabang so I…

I spent a week in Laos, a destination that had been calling to me for many years. It exceeded my every expectation. It has hermit kingdom written on every face, in its reserve and its quiet beauty. Laos is what I had been looking for in Thailand all those times.

The overnight train was horrible, you felt a bit like you were on a rollercoaster :( The train stops in Nong Khai, which is maybe 10km short of the Laos border, we then take the short train ride across the border to Thanalong... Everyone on the train is a tourist and after getting off the train, w…

After a disappointing experience trekking in Chaing Mai I had high hopes that the rumors of a more authentic experience in northern Laos were true.  I met five good people at the border town of Hyuay Sai.  During the three and a half hour long windy minivan journey we determined …