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Laos Travel Blogs

Laos was under the control of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the government, ending a six-century-old monarchy. Initial closer ties to Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a gradual return to private enterprise, a liberalization of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN in 1997. To be updated

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By ec
March 4th 2006

Don Khon

Asia » Laos » South » Si Phan Don

"A little to the port-side cap'n!"
or starboard. whatever it is they say, the kid knew his stuff as he took us to Don Khon

There was no messing around in Pakse (ok, maybe a bit of messing about -we’re still unorganized students at heart) as we headed right towards the border to Si Phan Don, otherwise known as Four Thousand Islands. We had to get a riverboat to our island of choice, Don Khon, with the helpful guidance of a little kid sat at the front of the boat signaling the safest route to his dad who was tackling the steering. It’s all stilted wooden bungalows for accommodation here - I was sharing a double bed with Mike (another nervous night!) whilst Jonny was on [View Full Entry]

By Sathorn13
March 4th 2006

Laos - Day 5

Asia » Laos » West » Luang Prabang

Spider

Packed and checked out of Amphone Guesthouse. Biggest spider either of us have ever seen was on the wall two feet above Todd’s head. Mini-van was late leaving for Luang Prabang. According to The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia (p.509), “The section of Route 13 between Kasi and Vang Vieng continues to be a target for Hmong bandits and insurgents.” Right about there, the spare wheel decided to fall off from under the van. Stopped, tried to fix it, couldn’t, strapped it to the roof. While we were stopped trying to fix the wheel, a couple of guys walked by carrying [View Full Entry]

By Jonnys
March 3rd 2006

The sleepyness of Laos

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane

On the boat to Luang Prabang
Sore arse but stunning scenery!

Good day to you all and here is my first official blog on this new site. I was having many comments of "how do you use your bloody site" so ive changed to a new one. Here also I can download more photos- sweet! So anyway, I havent managed to leave a blog for a bit now cus Im a lazy arse and too much has been going on. So Ill start my news from where I left off- Luang Prabang. This place was a bit of a mystery to me because everyone hyped it up as being one of the [View Full Entry]

By Smudge
March 3rd 2006

Capital of Laos

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane

Will going mentals
Finding out that the embassywas on their dinner break

2nd March- Woke up relatively early today, the fact we were in a Dorm meant that when some people start waking up inevitably everyone else wakes up. Laos used to be a French colony, it seems that the "Frenchness" of the country is more apparent in the Capital than anywhere else we've visited so far- French restaurants and more french language. We had a really nice breakfast this morning, (Observant Jonny pointed out in classic style that it "Had a bit of a French Feel to it", he must have spotted the French pastries and noticed the fact that the name [View Full Entry]

By pkeusgen
March 3rd 2006

Bus ride and The Plain of Jars

Asia » Laos » East » Phonsavan

Searching for UXO

The plain of jars is fascinating and interesting historically - both for the 3000 years they've been there and the damage done during the American War. But the bus ride was even better! I visited the plain of Jars with two Slovenian girls (later I was to check out the CIA factbook to find out where the hell Slovenia is) and two Austrians that I met on the most interesting bus I have ever been on. Friday 3rd March, 2006 Woke up, stood up, and collapsed in agony as pain soared through my lower back; I knew immediately that my old [View Full Entry]

By ec
March 3rd 2006

Vientiane

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane

Mekong market
Local produce on sale by the riverside

So we did kayak here in the end!! We got a truck to our start point on the Mekong river then set off on a little practice run. I was soon pulled up by the instructor tho. He called me over and said 'no professionals'. i said 'i'm not a professional'. he said 'well you should be!' in the end they paired me with smith and asked me to show him the ropes, whilst jonny the intrepid explorer sped off into the distance. Before lunch by the river we faced our one and only set of rapids. Apparently there is some [View Full Entry]

By Sathorn13
March 3rd 2006

Laos - Day 4

Asia » Laos » West » Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng 1

The morning view from Amphone Guesthouse was spectacular—limestone karsts in the distance, before the morning mist burns off. Breakfast at Lucky—omelet baguette, sticky rice with mango, pineapple, and banana, and lao coffee. Lao coffee is black and strong and so good. Walked out about a kilometer to the first cave after crossing a local toll bridge over the river. The Mini-Mags didn’t cut it and we couldn’t go too far into the cave. Walked another 5 km to Phoukham Cave. Long walk but lots to see. Steep climb up to the cave entrance. This time we rented a head-lamp. Were [View Full Entry]

By Sathorn13
March 2nd 2006

Laos - Day 3

Asia » Laos

Breakfast at Croissant d’Or again, we love this place! Checked out of Lovan and walked around. Stopped for coffe and tea at Croissant d’Or and checked email. Back to Lovan to wait for bus to Vang Vieng. The ride to Vang Vieng was about 3 hours. Lots of bamboo houses on stilts and winding mountain roads. Incredible scenery, beginning to see how most people in Laos live. Arrived in Vang Vieng with little daylight left. Found a guesthouse with okay room for $3/night. Had dinner at Xayoh Hotel on the Nam Xong River. Walked to Xayoh Downtown Restaurant for our first [View Full Entry]

By corbandkel
March 2nd 2006

Sabaydee from Luang Prabang

Asia » Laos » West » Luang Prabang

Phew! We made it to Luang Prabang. After that boat ride I would've been happy with anything but we were lucky enough to get a reasonable room on the quieter side of town. We spent our time in LP checking out the sites of the city, a highlight being the climb up Mt Phou Si (no jokes) to see the views of all around - it was amazing. Back on the ground we explored the various Wats around town, one of which was crumbling and overrun with trees - quite pretty. We ate at the vegan buffet in the night market [View Full Entry]

By corbandkel
March 1st 2006

Blink and you miss it!

Asia » Laos » West » Ban Houayxay

Today after arriving in Laos the night before, we set off for Luang Prabang. According to everyone we've met and to all the guidebooks LP is Asia's most charming city and we certainly hope so - we had a not so charming introduction to the Lao people in the form of the crazy hostel lady we met just this side of the border. Thankfully we'd already met a few of the Lao people, Boonlarn and Amy who were old workmates of mine & Tash's and Kevin - our buddy from Pai who attested to the country's reputation of producing lovely, laidback [View Full Entry]

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Travel Blog » Asia » Laos