Laos, SouthEast Asia

Laos is the least populated country in South East Asia. Tourism in Laos is not as huge compared to the neighbouring Thailand with 100,000 travellers crossing the border every year. Our border crossing from Thailand to Laos was a breeze! We got our departure stamps in our passports, and then walked down to a slow boat where we boarded and did the 10 minute ride across the river and reached our first destination in laos... Huay Xai. After spending the night in this small village, we walked to the pier where we boarded a slow boat for our 7 hour journey down the Mekong River. This was one of my favourite days in Laos. The family on board who own the boat made us a traditional Laos meal and we ate like Kings and Queens. Our stop midday was Houay Palam Village consisting of 55 families that originated from Cambodia. Surrounding this village is lush trees and bush, Mekong River and wild chickens, that I’m sure are a main food source. Before the sun went down we stopped in Pakbeng where we were introduced to local Laos Whiskey. In the morning we continued on our journey down the Mekong for another full on day. Peaceful, tranquillity and serenity are words that come to mind. Before arriving Luang Prabeng, we stopped to explore the amazing Pak Ou Caves which contain hundreds of Buddha statues. Luang Prabeng is a beautiful town with temple roofs, French architecture and stunning mountain backdrop. The highlight here was the beautiful Kuang Si Falls and of course the yummy fruit shakes. We spent 2 nights and 3 days in the preserved city in South East Asia. The night market is a great place to do some shopping. We then made our way to the village of Vang Vieng, located on a bend in the Nam Song River. The highlight of this village is definitely the pub crawl down the river in a tube. From this destination we travelled south by van into the town of Vientiane, the Lao capital which is located on the banks of the Mekong River. After our night we left the tour group and crossed the International Friendship Bridge into Thailand where we did the 13 hour night train back to Bangkok.