Lao travel stories

Jump to story list

Best budget rooms in Luang Prabang 2013

Luang Prabang has a reputation as an upmarket town catering towards package tours and older folk willing to spend a bit more on their accommodation than the typical backpacker -- and indeed, the World Heritage-listed town has some absolutely world class accommodation, but it's all but useless unless you've got cash. For those with less money though, some decent options are available, if you know where to look.

Read full story
Pi Mai Lao in Luang Prabang: In 1999

Situated on a hill rising dramatically at the intersection of two rivers, Luang Prabang has for centuries enchanted those who arrive by boat � still probably one of the best ways to first see the former royal capital of Laos. This town dominated by wats of unspeakable beauty is somnambulent, peaceful and languid, masking a fascinating history of conquest and recapture, and only hinting at an intricate culture and complex traditions. And at designated times of year, the town springs to a life that is unique.

Read full story
Vientiane's Chinatown

Just a few kilometres from the centre of the Lao capital of Vientiane, you'll find a little piece of mainland China that most visitors don't even know exists. While not on the scale of the Chinatowns you'll find elsewhere in the world, S?nji?ng is still a fascinating enclave, where thousands of Chinese immigrants seek to recreate through food and shopping, the home they left behind in China.

Read full story
Laos' vanishing elephants

Our group crouches as quietly as possible, staring into the dense undergrowth, hoping that the crashing noises ahead of us are what we are searching for: the elusive Asian elephant. If we have struck lucky, the heat, the insects and the two hours of exhausting walking on the fringes of a national park in central Laos will all have been worth it.

Read full story
Battambang weekend

It may be Cambodia's second-largest city, but Battambang, a sleepy burg connected to the Tonle Sap by the Sangkor River, retains a unique small-town charm and makes for a great weekend getaway from Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. Battambang province is steeped in dramatic history, with ownership going back and forth between Siam, Cambodia and the French. In the 90s, the areas around the city were one of the last holdouts of the Khmer Rouge. Despite its turbulent past, Battambang has an allure that's all its own, from the early 20th century French colonial buildings and 1960s Khmer architecture to Cambodian cuisine with a distinct Thai influence.

Read full story
Luang Prabang Film Fest & Gabriel Kuperman

Luang Prabang has no working cinema but that didn't deter Gabriel Kuperman from becoming the founder and director of the first-ever Luang Prabang Film Festival in December 2010. The festival of Southeast Asian films was a big hit with tourists and locals alike and is set to run again in 2011. We speak to Gabriel about the struggle to bring films from around the region to Luang Prabang, how Lao teens got involved, his amazement at the turnout and his hope to show Lao sub-titled films at this year's event.

Read full story
Photos of Luang Prabang, Laos

The highlight of many a holiday to Laos, Luang Prabang really can be as beautiful as they say. Sure the main strip can feel like a bit of a tourist trap at times, but it isn't difficult to wander off to find a bit of the serenity that first saw it become a "must visit" on the Southeast Asia tourist trail. The following pictures were mostly taken in and around the town itself.

Read full story
Tubing in Vang Vieng

Like a SE Asian Goa, Vang Vieng offers the constant debauchery that marks any infamous destination on the now well-worn backpacker/hippie/party-people trail. It just doesn't have a beach, nor, frankly, does it even need one. The famed attraction has become, incorrectly but perhaps appropriately, immortalized on t-shirts and tank tops as: "Tubing In The Vang Vieng Laos."

Read full story
Phonsavan and Luang Prabang

The laid-back charm of Laos is present wherever you travel in the country, but tourism has certainly developed at dramatically different rates. Both the Plain of Jars and Luang Prabang are internationally known historical sites, the key difference between the two is that the latter is a well-established World Heritage site, while the former is an unsolved archeological mystery scattered throughout several rural fields. Traveling by bicycle these two stops on the tourist trail fall within a few days travel of each other, but their differences could not be more apparent.

Read full story
Elephant trekking in Laos

Elephants are the quintessential poster child for tourism in Southeast Asia. If you've opened a guidebook or two, you know that the gentle giants figure prominently in the tourist scene and are featured attractions in almost every corner of the region. For most of us, a generic ride atop one of the massive mammals isn't quite what we're looking for in terms of making meaningful memories. Fortunately, there are a host of other options that promise a closer look into the lives of the peaceful pachyderms -- but do they deliver?

Read full story
2008 Top Luang Prabang guesthouses

As the most popular tourist destination in Laos, Luang Prabang is filled with a wide range of guesthouses and hotels to choose from. Finding one with the right blend of comfort, style and value can make or break your visit. Here's an updated-for-2008 version of our old story titled "What's a good guesthouse in Luang Prabang?"

Read full story
Cheap flights with Discovery Airpass

If you're planning a holiday in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and are thinking of flying some of the legs, then the Discovery Airpass -- a flight coupon deal offered by Bangkok Airways, Lao Airlines and Berjaya Air -- can work out to be a slight money saver, delivering on the promise of cheap flights right across Southeast Asia.

Read full story
Crossing the Cambodia Laos border

Of all the border crossings in the region, the overland crossing between Cambodia and Laos has been one of the most changeable. In some ways, Dom Kralor has all the ingredients of a pain in the posterior crossing -- corrupt border officials, inconsistent travel advice and of course wildly varying traveller tales. Read on to find out the best way to cross this ever-changing border.

Read full story
Exploring Laos' Bolaven Plateau

One of the most rewarding experiences on offer in Southern Laos is a motorcycle trip through the Bolaven Plateau. It's home to numerous waterfalls, great scenery, tribal villages, and unexplored corners galore. So while everyone else is blasting straight down to Si Phan Don, swerve off the beaten tourist trail, get yourself a motorbike, a map and do some travelling!

Read full story
2006 Top Luang Prabang guesthouses

As the most popular tourist destination in Laos, Luang Prabang is filled with a wide range guesthouses and hotels to choose from. Finding one with the right blend of comfort, style and value can make or break your visit.

Read full story
The Phonsavan adventure

Arriving at Phonsavan airport, the internal immigration checkpoint reminds me that sleepy little Laos is still a one-party state. It goes quickly enough however, and soon I'm charging the wall of touts at baggage claim. I pick a shy-looking guide from the back exactly because he isn't shouting at me. My Phonsavan adventure begins.

Read full story
Is Lao Airlines safe to fly?

You're in Chiang Mai and want to fly to Luang Prabang. Or, you are in Vientiane and want to visit Angkor Wat, but don't have the time to go overland and can't afford flying via Bangkok. There's the rub. Sometimes a Lao Airlines flight is the only way to get where you want to go in the time you have. But given the airline's bad reputation for safety, what do you do? How bad is it really?

Read full story
The Gibbon Experience

Blame it on Alex Garland's The Beach, but when I first heard of a place deep in the jungle where people could fly through trees and stay in tree-top houses it sounded like an old wives' tale. I expected to be passed a map and to find myself lost, alone in the middle of the Golden Triangle. What I hadn't bargained for was The Gibbon Experience.

Read full story
Luang Prabang escape

Luang Prabang's charms, its French colonial architecture and Buddhist heritage are legendary. Add a tropical setting, and the appeal can't be denied. It's an enchanting place for a weekend away, with plenty to see and do.

Read full story
Muang Ngoi Escape

Imagine stepping back in time to a world without cars, motorbikes or telephones; where the day begins when the sun rises and ends with the light; where malls have yet to be built and produce is limited to what can be coaxed from nature.

Read full story
Southern Laos by scooter

During our recent trip through Southern Laos we hired one of those Chinese Honda Dream rip-offs from Mr Vong at Sabaidy 2 Guesthouse in Pakse and did a bit of a loop through what all the guidebooks seem to refer to as Laos' "Remote South" -- if you've got the time, some language skills (not essential but they do help!) and a bit of spare cash, this loop is a great diversion for those who want to see a bit of real southern Laos before they stray down to Si Phan Don.

Read full story
Huay Xai to Pak Tha by slowboat

If speedboats are too much for your heart, the roads too much for your skeletal system and flying too pricey, don't despair: see Laos from the comfort of a slowboat. From Huay Xai, the sense of transition, as the muddy bottom unwillingly releases the boat from its hold, and the prow is snatched by the current's powerful grasp and propelled down river, is only the beginning of what can be a week-long river trip all the way to the Laotian capital, Vientiane.

Read full story