After a wholesome breakfast of omelettes, baguette, fresh fruit and a strong Lao coffee, we headed down the road to hire a bicycle. It is all very informal here – hand over 25,000 kip (less than £1), and you are on your way. With our hats placed in the front basket, we pedal away. The roads are flat, our bikes single geared but far more … Continue reading Cycling Don Det and Neighbouring Don Khon.
Neil Armstrong famously said ‘that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’. Annually, we visit Whitby and climb the 199 steps up to the Abbey. This year, we have super-charged ourselves and tackled the near 600 steps up to Wat Phousalao. There are definitely more than 550 steps to reach the Golden Buddha at Wat Phousalao in Pakse, Laos. The exact number … Continue reading Wat Phousalao, Pakse
Rather than a wordy blog, a selection of photographs we have taken as locals go about their daily life… Work … Rest … Play … Continue reading Laos – Work, Rest and Play
We departed Champasak with a thick bundle of kip, having been forewarned that there are no ATMs on the islands. Having crossed the river we have a brief wait by the roadside for our minibus and the subsequent bumpy journey along route 13, unlucky for anyone who suffers from a bad back, to the boat jetty at Nakasong. On more than one occasion, our heads … Continue reading Don Det – 4,000 Islands
This small town was the seat of the Kingdom of Champasak until the French abolished this independent state in 1945 and created the Kingdom of Laos. The town is even smaller today, more a series of villages that nestle on a pair of roads beside the Mekong River. A string of guesthouses and restaurants cater to the tourists who are visiting the UNESCO World Heritage … Continue reading Champasak
We arrived in Pakse soon after midday. The minibus ride from the border might have been along a toll road, but the cows and goats still had the right of way. This part of Laos is rural, and even when we arrive in Pakse, the biggest city in southern Laos, it retains that vibe. Over the next two weeks, we are back and forth from … Continue reading Pakse, Laos
Our first wander around Vientiane has an air of familiarity, yet we have never visited here before. Nestled on the Mekong and with French colonial architecture and wide boulevards in a grid pattern it has shades of Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. It also shares that same tired look, a little shabby, almost neglected, around the edges. Victory monument or Patuxay as it … Continue reading Vientiane
UXO, short for unexploded ordnance and Laos is still littered with it. The Cope Centre is well worth a visit if you are in Vientiane, a small museum that focuses on the ongoing clearance of UXO, the education to prevent further explosions and the rehabilitation of adults and children who have lost limbs. Laos is the most bombed country in the world per capita, in … Continue reading Laos and UXO
The train from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng was a world away from the battered minibuses that our Laos journeys have been synonymous with. Organised, on time to the minute and comfortable. What we get to see of the countryside is stunning,but much of the one hour journey is spent in tunnels that have been carved through mountains… Vang Vieng is heaven for adrenaline junkies … Continue reading Vang Vieng
Okay, there were more than two we visited today but we feel that this pair deserve a mention, well worth a look if your time in Luang Prabang permits. Wat That Luang was the cremation site for Laos royalty up until 1975. Built on a low hill in 1817, close to the banks of the Mekong. If you are imagining grandeur then sorry to disappoint, … Continue reading Two more temples…
We stumbled across our first Laos almsgiving ceremony in Pak Beng. Sat having an early breakfast before boarding the slow boat as the monks came down the street. The lady from the restaurant gave them an offering and in return the monks chanted a blessing back. Roll on a week and Luang Prabang – a UNESCO World Heritage City that is famous for the ceremony. … Continue reading Almsgiving…
Our return from Nong Khiaw was less fraught, a local bus and a view out of the front window screen. The roads are horrendous, a trace of tarmac along the centre strip and bare hardcore either side of that. Drivers heading in both directions vie for the smoothest ride, no doubt to protect their precious van and income as much as the backs of their … Continue reading Luang Prabang, take two…
Oldest On the Bus 