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The author and his friends had spent long time in Luang Prabang, Laos. He would really liked it and he had thought it was a great city. Luang Prabang was another of the places Xan had visited before, and he’d really liked it so we were keen to spend as long there as we could. Loved it, it’s a great city. We stayed in a fab guesthouse just back from the Mekong River and close to the night market, bars and restaurants. It was managed by a young guy who regularly played guitar in reception. He was very embarrassed that he had a shaved head and explained why - there’d been a family death, his grandmother and as per Laos tradition when a grandparent passes away, he’d become a monk for a day. We treated ourselves ... read more

With 17 years' experience navigating the Mekong River, Mr Puoy is reckoned to be the best riverboat captain in southern Laos. The watery labyrinth he works in contains a reputed 4000 islands, so he needs to be pretty good. But right now, at the end of a harsher than usual dry season, the region's Laos moniker Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands), seems just a tad inaccurate. In a fading tropical dusk, Mr Puoy is steering the imposing teak-trimmed hulk of the Vat Phou through a dynamic environment of sand bars and swirling eddies, ripples and rapids. Rustic nets are being cast in graceful arcs from low-slung boats bobbing just centimetres above the waterline, as local ferries transport monks, buffaloes and bac... read more

Some of the most amazing adventure destinations center around the great rivers of the world. Whether it's rafting the Rio Grande, kayaking the Congo, or simply taking a leisurely cruise down the Nile, we seem to have a fascination with these waterways that have played an important role in human development. One of those rivers is the Mekong, which stretches for more than 2700 miles as it meanders through Laos, Thailand, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar. In Laos, the Mekong is known as the "Mother River" and it plays an important role in that country's culture and lore. Travel writer Kate Quill discovered this for herself recently when she made her own Mekong journey, sharing the details with us in this article from the London Times. Kate spent a week on the river back in October, ... read more

If you love cruising but would like to try a new adventure that will take you closer to the sights and sounds of incredible destinations, then small ship cruising might be right up your alley. Imagine seeing wildlife from just a few feet off shore instead of through binoculars hundreds of feet away. Cruise up small fjords seeing scenery that few people will ever see. Land at small villages or towns that give you a true experience with the locals. Small ship cruising gives you a more personal experience without the crowds formed by thousands of other passengers on today's mega-cruise ships. Small ship cruising can take you in many different directions to exotic destinations around the world. Vietnam is becoming an intriguing destination and there is a 12-day cruise starting in Hanoi and traveling south ... read more

Breanne told her trip in Siphandon, Laos in New Year Festival. Her travel here also includes kayking. Happy Lao New Year! Well I'm a bit flustered because of my own stupidity, I wrote this whole post already but be it my luck or not, the power cut out just as I was spell checking and I lost 2 hours work. My fault for not saving, I was almost pulling my hair out, but at least I wasn't writing a paper or something like that... with a deadline haha deadlines I remember those!So here we go again...Si Phan Don (4000 islands) is a beautiful display of natures talents. The Mekong fans out to distribute thousands (apparently some think 4000 or so after which the place is named) of islands of various sizes. We stayed one such an ... read more

As always I hope you and yours are doing well. This is the 4th and final blog on laos titled hill tribes. Currently I am in northern Vietnam on a 3 day motorcycle trek. Today is day one and if tomorrow and the next day are the same as today I should have a few great photos to share, anyway, onto the hill tribes. The first hill tribe trek that I took left from Muangngoi on the Nam Ou river. First, let me mention that they are called hill tribes because they live on the “tops” of hills. We walked for a few hours with our guide before stopping in a village for lunch. From there it was about a four hour walk up to the Seang savang, a Khmu village. We arrived shortly before dusk ... read more