Southeast Asia forum

Thats fantastic thank you so much! We are both very keen on Laos. There are a few places in the North im keen on as well. I was looking at the gibbon experience but because it will take such a big chunk out of our time im not sure. I have seen something similar by bangkok but its a one day kind of thing.

How much time will traveling laos generally take? i was thinking we could maybe fly from Vientiane to Pakse... My friend is very anti planning but i think we may need to, at least a route anyway.

Thanks!

Rose
It would help if you first stated what you want to do? What are the kind of things you like? Do you enjoy nightlife, beaches do you like to hike or hunt or fish? Do you like history and old architecture? Are you interested in romance... I mean, where you go and how long you stay there is intimately tied to what you want to accomplish or do or see while here.

Well, I won't speak to that which I myself have not experienced (which would be Vietnam and Cambodia). But if you want to get off the beaten path I would recommend the following:

Take the train to Ubon Rathathani. Go from there to Khemerat. This is a small provincial town on the Mekong river. Not a lot going on there - take a slow day and get a closer look at how Thais live in a rural (but scenic) environment. Next day go to Mukdahan (where I live). Check out the nightlife there (I highly recommend Noree - a bar / restaraunt with a fantastic band) and go to Phu Pra Thoep National park. This old communist stronghold also has fascinating rock formations for which Muk is famous (relatively speaking). After a couple of days in Muk, go 50 km up river to That Phanom . This temple is large, beautiful and has one of the oldest Chedis in Thailand. The temple is some 1,500 years old. That Phanom also has a little nightlife to enjoy. Next day, go to NKP, visit the Ho Chi Minh house (Uncle Ho lived there for several years) do a little shopping, and enjoy some great dinner and drinks around the Vietnamese clock tower. From there you can go up the Mekong to Nong Khai, breaking up this five hour trip with another stop in a smaller town along the way. It's incredibly scenic up there, and you won't be running into any tourists. Once you arrive at Nong Khai, you can cross into Laos (as you could at Muk or NKP if you were so inclined). Hit the high spots of Laung Prabang, Vientiane (not in that order) and maybe party at VV, then go back down the Mekong on the Laotian side. See if you can visit the old Long Tieng secret base of the CIAs war in Laos, go to Tha Khek and check out the Konglor cave which everyone raves about (and from photos looks pretty nice and interesting), go down to Savankhet, go to the dinasour museum and hang out with other backpackers for a couple of days, then down to Paxse and cross back into Thailand or keep heading south into Cambodia! To keep stress out of your life, get back to BKK at least two days before you are due to leave. That way if your movement schedule goes wrong, you're still OK.

Have a good time. I've lived here over two years, there's still tons to check out. Six weeks or six months, there's a lot to see and do.