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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 Gabu
June 15th 2006

Phonsavan to Sam Neua

Asia » Laos » East » Phonsavan

Squat

Phonsavan is home to an ancient little known lost Scoobie Doo episode it's title "The Plain of Jars." Yes we really went out of our way to go see some mysterious stone jars in a field. Yes the field was only partially cleared of land mines. I can hear you saying, "Isn't it thrilling enough to gaze upon the enigmatic jars? Why add so much excitement with land mines?" Well you know I like to push the envelope and also I wasn't alive when they (Ze Germans! Ok the Americans really) bombed the shit out of the place. Also I find [View Full Entry]

By daveandlucy
June 13th 2006

Power cut? but England are playing at eight!

Asia » Laos » West » Luang Prabang

sunset over the mekong

Taking the bus from Vang Vieng was another slow haul through the mountains but the views from the cliff top roads were second to none. Clouds hung low in the tree-lined hills as we wound our way up and over the peaks. It was possible to see for miles around, and this twinned with a dose of the Beatles made for a relatively pleasant journey. Lucy on the other hand was not enjoying the trip as the musical entertainment from the bus' stereo was limited to playing heavy metal through crackling speakers, and the fact that the journey was making her [View Full Entry]

By daveandlucy
June 12th 2006

The higher you get the harder you fall

Asia » Laos » West » Vang Vieng

river scenery

The trip to Vang Vieng took us through windy, hilltop roads that made the 160km drive seem to last an eternity, the first glimpse of the town was that of the sheer, tree covered limestone cliffs that dominate the region. Clouds hang low in the hilltops and the scenery gives an eerie feel to the sleepy, riverside village. The main town itself is tiny and dominated primarily by the T.V bars on the main road that house weary/ hung-over travelers looking for a dose of The Simpsons or Friends to heal the scars of the previous nights over-indulgement. The menus in [View Full Entry]

By Jill and Roy
June 11th 2006

Champasak to Don Det

Asia » Laos » South » Si Phan Don

Bus from Pakse to Champasak

We left Vietienne on a relatively comfortable bus for an overnight trip to Pakse. Once in Pakse, we were encountered with a decision of where to go (because Pakse in itself does not offer much). We teamed up with another couple to head to a small town called Champasak. The tourist sight in Champasak is an Angkor-style temple - Wat Phu. The temple was nice but not the best we had seen. Nonetheless, the overnight to Champasak was worthwhile in the ride to and from offered great scenery, transportation in a crowded local bus with alot of rice under our feet [View Full Entry]

By Lynch Mob
June 10th 2006

Mecca for the Adventurously Lazy

Asia » Laos » West » Vang Vieng

Zip Line

Vientiane was like a city on sedatives. Spending one afternoon drinking too much BeerLao while watching a monsoon rear its ugly head was relaxing enough but when I learned that the most exciting aspect of the city was the gun range in the center of town (that I most definitely visited), it was decidedly time to head to the hills. My new traveling partner Sean, good guy, its just a shame he went to Notre Dame, and I heard through the bamboo telegraph that the two hot spots in Northern Laos to see are Luang Prabang and Vien Viang (VV). We [View Full Entry]

By daveandlucy
June 9th 2006

Secret wars and Beer Lao tours

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane

Tuk Tuk!

The drive from Vietnam to Laos began with slight confusion as everyone on the bus was heading to different destinations but after a couple of hours we stopped at Dong Ha and everyone was shepherded to the relevant bus, or in our case, a death trap. The comfortable first leg of the journey gave way to memories of Thai mini bus journeys as our driver made the 75 km trip to the border in about 10 minutes traveling an average speed of jesus christ per hour. We eventually arrived in Savannakhet after another bus transfer and went for a look around. [View Full Entry]

its thirsty work at the beer lao company

By Joff TJ and Ru
June 9th 2006

Vang Vieng

Asia » Laos » West » Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng
We got bored so we drew on Joff's back!

Vang Vieng [View Full Entry]

By avriljb
June 5th 2006

Best.Country.Ever. That.is.all

Asia » Laos » West » Vang Vieng

our guest house view in Vang Vieng
I could get used to this...

We have been having an absolutely smashing time! Laos is for sure, hands down, no doubt about it, my favorite Asian country so far. After staying in Vientiane for a few days we decided we would trek around Northern Laos. We caught a 4 hour bus ride to Vang Vieng. This little town was SMASHING. It was so laid back, beautiful and full of activities. We ended up hooking up with 2 Aussies in Vientiane and they were having so much fun with the Biggin posse they decided to come with us, despite already being there a few weeks earlier. We [View Full Entry]

By Nami
June 5th 2006

Cross-dressing, fertility and explosives......

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane

What to do with an old parachute
If you have an old parachute lying around use it as a tent, sun shade, roof for a merry-go-round, anything!These monks have found a good use for it!

If any of you have spent your evenings wondering what the combination of cross-dressing, temples, sex and explosives is I now have the solution to your pondering: The Lao Rocket Festival! Every year just before the rainy season all along the Mekong river villages hold rocket festivals, otherwise known as Bun Bang Fai. Shooting rockets into the air while all the young virile (and not so virile) males are running around in dresses and wigs, with wooden models that very clearly represent “fertility” as they grind back and forth together are all meant to help in bringing forth the r [View Full Entry]

By Phil and shelley
June 5th 2006

Laos: Luang Prabang - Vientien

Asia » Laos » West » Vang Vieng

Luang Prabang
These waterfalls where so beutifull we went to see them twice.

After Chiang mai it was on to chiang rai which was not very nice, it had a really depresing atmosphere and there was basically nothing whatsoever to do there. We were very proud we got public buses to chiang rai and we were damn happy to get a public bus out of there, where we went to chang kong. This is like the border, you get your passport stamped then you get in a funny looking speedboat, go across the river (takes all of 2 minutes) and poof, your in laos. The day we arrived it was so hot i thought [View Full Entry]

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