The Thakhek Loop in Laos is undisputably best done driving a motorcycle. This 4 (or more) day adventure takes you through magnificent caves, spectacular scenery, rural villages, boat rides, waterfalls, and a man-made reservoir to give you the best of South Laos. How to organize the trip of a lifetime, a 4-day itinerary, what to…
Vientiane is frequently described as sleepy, boring, uneventful, or all of these together. I think it’s charming. It’s Southeast Asia’s smallest capital. Vientiane is unlike megapolises like Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta, and Hanoi in all the best ways – the hustle and bustle is gone, traffic is lighter, air quality is not as bad, etc. Yes,…
In my mind 2 images pop up when I think of Laos: The Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang and a lone rusty motorcycle on a cliff, high above the surrounding karst mountains and flat paddies. This is about the latter – the Nam Xay Viewpoint. It’s a hill near the popular backpacker town of…
Up until December 2021, Laos didn’t have a passenger rail network. No trains at all. Then the Lao-China Railway (LCR) was opened, cutting the travel time from Vientiane to Luang Prabang from 8 hours by minibus to less than 2 hours on the high-speed train. The railway is an engineering marvel with hundreds of tunnels…
Laos is a country with marvelous nature and some ridiculously impressive views, scenery, and untouched landscapes. And the title for the most remarkable goes to, drum roll please, Kong Lor Cave! Maybe. After reading tens of highly enthusiastic praises for Tham Kong Lo (as it’s called in Lao), I went to visit the 7.5km long…
Laos has 3 UNESCO heritage sites: I recently had the pleasure to visit the last one: Vat Phou (also spelled Vat Pho, or Wat Phou BUT NOT Wat Pho which is a different temple in Bangkok). It’s often compared to Angkor Wat, some 200 km to the southwest. After all, it was built by the…
Who knew South Laos hides so many waterfalls, good coffee, and rural landscapes? Okay, the last one applies to all of Laos, but the first two should be reasons enough to visit Pakse and circle the region known as the Bolaven Plateau. For total freedom and the option to go everywhere, stop anywhere, and spend…
The trip from Kon Tum in Vietnam’s Central Highlands to Pakse, the gateway to the Bolaven Plateau in Laos is rarely done by backpackers. It’s a rare route that mostly just locals use. The road crosses the Bo Y – Phukeua border, which is way less popular than the one 400 km north between Lao Bao…