Blogs from East, Laos, Asia - page 9

A tuk-tuk arrived to take us to the bus station at the appointed time, but we still waited around once we got there for the driver to lash our bags to the top of the mini-van we would be taking across the country. Seeing crowds of people approaching we got some sensible seats, but in retrospect they were not the greatest choice for me due to the lack of leg room. We eventually left and headed straight up into the mountains. The scenery was pretty amazing, but I couldn’t see much of it due to the low windows. The road curved around hills and went through several mountain villages where highland Lao eked out an existence. After a few hours of twists and turns we reached a small town where we stopped for a break. There ... read more

The other day while dining with a group of ex-pats I met Keith, a well-traveled British man in his forties, in Laos researching and writing for a very popular company’s guide book. He was starting his research in Luang Prabang but would soon be heading west and north to continue his work. He invited me to come along, after learning I was the only at the table not currently working. I was reluctant to leave LPB, having only been in town about ten days, but realizing I could come back anytime, that I’d wanted to check out these same places, that I could learn more about the world from him, as someone who’s been almost everywhere, and that it'd be fun to tag along with a travel writer, I decided to join him. I was also ... read more

photos on the road to Viengxai, the Patheot Laos caves and then leaving and heading out to the Vietnamese border... read more

Phonsavan is approximately 6 hours drive from Vang Vieng up Route 13 then it is a right at Muang Phu Khodir onto Route 7. As you travel north on Route 13 you travel through some stunning scenery, the mountains are beautiful, the roads follow windy routes around the hills and through tiny little villages that populate along the sides of the road, there appears to be large aid projects funded by Australian Government and UNICEF to provide water, which is pumped up from the stream way below. There are centralised water points where the locals shower next to the road and thier house stand precariously on the edge of the hill raised up by stilts. As we passed through the villages you notice chaps loitering along the roadside and at what appears to be entry and ... read more

Most tourists make the trek to Phonsavan to explore the mysterious Plain of Jars, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Phonsovan region has another claim to fame: it's one of the most bombed areas in the world and is still packed with UXO (unexploded ordinance - bombs). We'll explain in a minute. Our driver picked us up at 9am and we met Tay at the one and only tourist center in town (the tourist infrastructure is still in an embryonic stage). While the driver handled our registration (permission from the government is required to visit the jar sites), Tay walked us around the small exhibits telling us about the "Secret American War". Located about 50 miles from the Vietnam border, Xieng Khouang (the former capital of this province and close to Phonsavan), was extremely close to ... read more