Timeless Elegance in Lovely Laos

Laos is my favourite Asian holiday destination. It is charmingly undeveloped and long may this last. It reminded me of travel adventures in my youth, a South East Asia secret.

The fact that Laos has remained virtually untouched after years of political isolation is a massive part of its charm. The Laotians are warm, friendly and inexperienced with tourists. The country will delight with its great scenery, ethnic villages and unexplored corners.

We’ll find French Colonial charm and a great croissant in Vientiane, ancient hill tribes who remain remarkably unchanged near Vang Vieng, the picturesque Luang Prabang monks in the early morning with their quiet alms collection (unlike in Myanmar which was so touristy and lacking in authenticity), the majestic and graceful Mekong River which showed the simple life on the river. Yet despite this simplicity and underdeveloped tourism, we found some wonderful hotels.

Yes, the Sofitel at Luang Prabang  big shout out to you for a wonderful stay!

Come with me as I share our Laotian adventure:

Day One Bangkok to Laos Capital City – Vientiane:

Thai Airways 19.35 flight arrives Vientiane 20.45 – cost around AUD 212 one way.

We also investigated an overnight sleeper train. It was cheaper but you have to get off the train and cross Thai/Laos border, clear Customs/Immigration and then board a different train. The direct flight was easier!

Accommodation 1 night: Salana Boutique Hotel  

Let me rave about this boutique hotel, a great way to stay our Laos holiday…

Day Two: Vientiane To Vang Vieng

(LocAl GUIDE): 

Private Car

Cost: 180USD/day –  USD 270 per couple for the three days in a spacious Hyundai H1 minibus.

A larger van with space, air conditioning and good suspension are great to have, although in general, we were really impressed with the state of the roads. There is a new road between Vientiane and Vang Vieng (4 hours, 160 km)

Our half day tour of Vientiane sights included:

• Wat Si Saket
• Patuxai:  Vientiane’s Victory Gate monument
• 16th-century Pha That Luang,
• Cope Visitor Centre: Do not miss! This was a stand out of our entire trip. We simply had no idea of the impact of the Vietnam war on Laos.

Accommodation VANG VIENG 2 nights: Riverside Boutique Hotel Vang Vieng. An average stay with a fantastic breakfast and great river location with picturesque views.

Remember you’re in Backpacker land, top-notch hotels are still developing, as are the staff.

Day Three: Vang Vieng (LocAl GUIDE)

Vang Vieng is famous on the backpacker trail for tubing down the river with a beer in hand. Unfortunately, in the past, this was all unregulated. Water, alcohol and drugs are a lethal cocktail in 2011 the hospital recorded 27 tourist deaths. By 2012 the deaths in Australia were creating worldwide attention and many of the bars were closed. Vang Vieng has been cleaned up, but still maintains that youth fun feel.

We went canoeing down the river, we went hiking and we went swimming at the Blue Lagoon. 

• Blue Lagoon Blue  Best of an average bunch of Blue Lagoons: Blue’ish water pond filled with a chaotic mix of kayaks, tubers, ‘Me-Tarzan, you-Jane’  people launching themselves off the jumping platforms…
• 

Day Four: Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang (PRIVATE CAR)

Accommodation 4 nights: Sofitel Luang Prabang booked through Luxury Escapes. Wonderful still raving about this hotel the staff and the place!

Day FIVE:  Luang Prabang

At leisure wandering around:

• cooking school, Almsgiving and massages were included in our Luxury Escapes deal.

One of the best Luxury Escapes deals we have enjoyed!

Day SIX:  Luang Prabang

At leisure wandering around. Luang Prabang was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 it is the ancient royal Capital of Laos and with many

Almsgiving – we got up at dawn to be transported to the sister hotel the 3 Nagas for the almsgiving. The hotel staff helped up dress appropriately, showed us how to offer the offerings of steaming hot rice they had prepared especially. They took our camera’s to enable us to concentrate on the giving. I thought it was incredibly well organised, it felt authentic, it felt real and not a manufactured tourist event.

Do not miss:

• Kuang Si Waterfall hike and swim – worth the climb.
• Sunset Laos Beer on the Mekong river.
• Dinner at Rosella Fusion Restuarant.
• Early morning market.

Day SEVEN: Luang Prabang to (MEKONG CRUISE)

• 6.30AM – Depart for 2-day Shompoo Cruise on the Mekong River USD 130 per person.

You can read all about my views on the cruise here: Shompoo Cruise: 

I was glad we had done the cruise which gave us a unique insight into life on the river

One of the real highlights was stopping off at the village and giving the children some supplies to help them with their schooling. Despite this village being on the official stopping off point and us being there on a Saturday (when there was no school), the villagers seemed genuinely pleased to see the boats and receive the gifts.

Overnight Stopover in Pakbeng:

There is really nothing much to Pakbeng except that it is the halfway stop between Luang Prabang and Huay Xa

Accommodation 1 night: D P Guest House A no-pretence guest house, on the Mekong River, perfectly acceptable for an overnight stopover. USD 40/ night.

Day EIGHT:  to CHIANG RAI (Thailand)

Our Shompoo cruise took us to near the Laos border where we boarded a bus to the Thai border. From there we took a pre-booked car to Chiang Rai

Thai Smiles flight depart Khon Kaen at 14.30 the next day and arrives Bangkok at 15.30 AUD 50.

I hope you have enjoyed this little wander around Laos. I was captivated by What would you enjoy most about visiting this delightful part of the world? If you have been what was the best thing to did?

Thank you for joining me on day twelve of Wren’s Worldwide Wanderings:

Blogging from A-Z challenge. 

L is for Laos

Linking with thanks to Angie at Mosaic Monday