Blogs from West, Laos, Asia

Heute fuhren wir mit dem Bus auf der Autobahn von Vang Vieng nach Viantiane. Dort besichtigten wir die große und berühmte Stupa, den Triumphbogen und mehrere Tempel. All dies war sehr sehenswert und das Wetter war warm bis heiß.... read more

Heute besuchten wir einen Markt und den Königspalast in Luang Prabang. Danach fuhren wir zu den Kuang Si Wasserfällen, wo wir auch zu Mittag aßen. Auf dem Rückweg machten wir noch an einer Elefantenfarm halt.... read more

After an overnight in Bangkok to catch the flight, I headed to Luang Prabang in Laos. Many travelers use the slow boat from Chiang Mai to Laos, but I asked some friends who had done that 27 hour journey and they said the scenery gets similar after some time. So I decided to save time and fly to Luang Prabang. In Laos, I was doing only Luang Prabang and not exploring multiple places in the country. Partly because the other parts of the country had felt like rural India to me and the landscapes familiar, so I wanted to visit the place that seemed most unique to me. Luang Prabang (means Royal Buddha Image), on the banks of the Mekong river is a UNESCO World Heritage site. After arriving, I took a sunset cruise on the ... read more

HE SAID... Having checked out of our Vientiane hotel (Family Boutique Hotel) in the mid-afternoon, we shared a light lunch just around the corner at Makphet, the same place we’d lunched the previous day. We were quite taken with the place, as it is a vocational training restaurant for young Laotians, and it is achieving life-changing results. We walked back to the hotel and settled in the lobby for an hour or so, then jumped into a taxi and headed to Wattay International Airport at 6pm. We were leaving Laos. Free face-masks were being handed out by officials at the airport in a half-hearted attempt to protect against the rampant coronavirus that had flared in China in early January. However, the masks really only offered a placebo-induced peace of mind. We were certainly not fully protected, ... read more

You know, you teach. You do not know, you learn … ~ Lao Proverb HE SAID... Today we were travelling south from Vang Vieng to Vientiane. We woke early (5:30am), as we had an early start. We were leaving for Vientiane at 8am, and it was our last destination in Laos. We headed down to Phetchaleun Hotel’s large dining area at 7am, where I helped myself to a fresh baguette, omelette, tea, coffee and the ubiquitous orange cordial that our Laotian hosts always offered in the morning. With breakfast complete, we loaded our packs into a minibus and made our way out of Vang Vieng. Within minutes we were speeding towards Vientiane, hitting every conceivable pothole on the way – the roads in Laos are not in the best of condition. At first the terrain was ... read more