Laos - part 4

And onwards to the very south of Laos.
We travelled by overnight bus. And what a bus!
I've never seen anyting like it!
A sleeper bus with no seats, just beds, with clean pillows and quilts and supper, water and lollies were supplied.

I thought it was great and slept most of the way just opening my eyes now and then to peer out the window at the moon above the rice fields.
G, being taller, found it less comfortable.

We were then transported by mini bus for a couple of hours, and then boat to the island of Don Det, where we made the unfortunate mistake of getting off the boat.
It must be about the only place in south-east asia where there is not a tuktuk waiting to take you somewhere.
But we actually wanted to stay on the next island Don Khon which is connected to Don Det by a french built railway bridge.

So we walked - in the middle of the day, through the shadeless rice fields - to Don Khon.

G on the railway bridge - minus the rails

It was worth it!
We found the wonderful Mr Pan's guest house next to the river and promptly fell asleep!


From our verandah we had a great view as the afternoon storms swept along the river.

We rode bikes to the falls which surround the islands.

And to the very south of the island where the afore mentioned french railway began, and where you can see Cambodia.

Despite all the bike riding and losing my glasses (which luckily were later found) it was very relaxing.
The islands have no electricity, but the restaurants manage to serve up the best food, keep cold beer, and generally be a great place to chill out for a few days.

Mr Pan's guesthouse

Laos - part 3

As I said travelling in Laos was very easy.
Mind you we had done a fair bit of research before we went away.

Thanks goodness for the Lonely Planet guides!

We had 3!

When I first thought of doing this trip I bought "Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and the Greater Mekong".
It has a great overview of the region and I used it to plan the basic shape of our trip.

Fly to Bangkok, fly to Luang Prabang, fly from southern Laos to Siem Riep in Cambodia ('cus we werent sure about land crossing), fly from Phnom Penh to Bangkok, fly home!

We filled in the details as we went.

I also bought Lonely Planet books "Laos" and "Cambodia", because they had more detail.

Another very informative site is Travelfish.
Travelfish has acccomodation reviewed and rated by travellers and is fairly up to date.

the view from our room at the Elephant Crossing Guesthouse at Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng was the second place we stayed in Laos, reached by a 5 hour road trip through the spectacular mountains of northen Laos.
We stayed in the scenic Elephant Crossing with views across the Nam Song river to the limestone peaks.

The second morning we woke up to see a herd of water buffalo on the opposite bank.

blue lagoon swimming hole, near Vang Vieng

Being typical limestone counrty there are lots of caves.
We hired bikes and rode to some caves out of town and were doubly rewarded to find this delicious swimming hole. Vang Vieng is a bit of a party town, but I would have liked to stay longer and explore some more of the surrounding hiils, lanes and caves.

going to work in Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng is a bit of a party town, but it wasnt hard to escape the crowds and I would have liked to stay longer and explore some more of the surrounding hiils, lanes and caves.

But we had to push on to Vientienne

Laos - part 1

It seems so long ago we flew to Luang Prabang in northern Laos.
Not knowing what to expect!

Luang Prabang is world heritage listed because of its ancient monuments and unique beauty.


Wat xieng thong is over 500 years old and is so beautifully decorated inside and out.
It is one of many temples in the city, and only one of the very many we were to see on our trip!

There are also over 200 guest houses in Luang Prabang.
We chose ours on the internet, and what a little beauty!
For A$26 a night, aircon, TV, a baclony and delightful hosts!

rattana guest house

We soon discovered the local brew!
Beer Lao is very good and justly famous through the region.



We had dinner next to the Mekong river as the sun set.


Another day we climbed all the steps to Mount Phousi which has a temple on the top (surprise!)

the view from Mount Phousi over the city and Nam Khan river

Getting around was very easy by bicycle, everybody goes by bike or motorbike.


We stayed here for 3 nights, but could have stayed a week or two, it was so relaxing and interesting.
and it had a fab night market!