Laos had always been a quick stop on our route across South East Asia. Prior to coming out here we hadn't met many people who had been, but nevertheless we decided to give ourselves two weeks to travel across.

We had to make a land border crossing via Cambodia that we soon realised was going to require bribes as well as visa fees. There are many experiences of the border written online and seemingly things change at this specific post often. So with that all in mind we boarded a mini buss packed with other wide eyed to tourists to head into Laos in the South. Still in Cambodia we stopped to change buses and Laos up the new bus with mangos and beer. At this point we were handed visa forms and had our passports looked at by the bus operators. They were very brazen about the fact that we would need to pay $2 dollars to have passports stamped out of Cambodia and $5 for stamp in plus Laos visa. As they collected our visa forms i realised they were in on this money too. It's very well organised.

Arriving at the border we were marched in and hand finger prints scanned before paying $2 to have our passports handed back. We didn't even see a Laos but rider officer, the passports were taken away and the money and then were returned on motor bike as we started to drive out. We be beenluckynin the past few months that all our border crossings have been smooth and easy, but it's stil hard to not get angry at this sort of corruption that is so obvious.

Bribes aside we changed buses again, this time a potentially drunk man then started to hustle us onto a new bus, now we had formed a bit of a group on the bus and couldn't help but laugh at the situation now. So, off we were bundled into van number three and hopefully on route to the ferry port to cross to one of the famous 4 thousand islands, Don Det.

Ferry is probably overplaying it a bit, but We clambered onto a long fishing boat and just about established which island we were heading to. Knowing that we were only minutes away from our final stop we were finally able to relax and enjoy the scenery. The four thousand islands are as they sound, a group of islands in the south. Some are just small patches with a tree, and others are big enough to house a good boat load of tourists.

Although we had given our final destination to the bus by us back in Cambodia, there was sadly no entourage waiting to ferry us to our guest house, a cruel joke for a travelled to be on the receiving end of. So we strapped our bags on and walked down the island, abosrbing the little tourists strip before we hit island life. Our bungalow was nestled on the river and pretty much in a local area, next to the tiny local school.

We had spent ten hours travelling that day and were ready for cold beer and whatever food we could find. In town we bumped into some of our fellow bus companions and ended up having a late one in town with them. Late one in Laos is restricted to 11 o clock when all bars close. So unless we something illegitimate, nights end early.

The next morning we woke with very sore heads. Perhaps a combination of not drinking as much these days, loosing weight and perhaps our age?! So we slept for much of the morning in the shade of the blistering heat on the guest house veranda. When we could summon the energy we rented some bikes and cycled to the famous waterfalls. The island had a very laid back feel to them, with palm trees lining the shore and only a sandy path connecting the island up. During the daytime the heat is almost impossible to bear, so many locals swing in their hammocks under their houses built on stilts. Some have even wired their tv's outside too. Everything seems to happen out doors in the shade in this season.



This was a great first impression of Laos, and we felt a bit sad leaving so soon but our short time here meant had to move on. So back on the boats and onto Pakse. This was thankfully a less eventful journey by bus but another long one to the town heading north.

Pakse is well located for visiting the large plateau of natural beauty and waterfalls so we rented a scooter for the day and explore. This was the first time we had got a scooter out, and having travelled through south east Asia and seen so many tourists with cuts and bruises we were put off, but Laos was certainly quieter and I promised Olly I would keep below 30 km an hour!

The overriding consensus from people we'd met was the capital is small and uninteresting. We thought we would give it a try and sadly, that's our consensus too. There isn't much to do so we relished the fact we could find a proper French bakery and chow down some coffee and a croissant, and then spent the day on bike exploring the city. The one place that was interesting to see was the COOP museum, which demonstrates the impact of Laos being the most bombed country in the world. During the 1970's a bomb was dropped every minute for four years. So now, there are a lot of campaigns to raise awareness and this charity linked to the museum helps build prosthetics for those who have Lost limbs. It's a truly tiny place, no bigger than our flat, but even Barack Obama has visited this place.

From the quiet Capital we escaped north to the more touristy location of Vang Vieng. The place has become a hotspot for outdoor activities given its prime location for waterfalls, mountains and rivers. Perhaps much less of a cultural experience but certainly a unique one, tourists come here to sit on rubber rings and cruise down the river stopping off at bars for drinks and food. Not one to miss an opportunity to try something new we rented some rubber rings and headed off to the river bank. Total time required to get down is 3 hours, and sunsets at 6, so we started at 11 to ensure we had enough ‘drinking time’ on the river. Due to a crackdown on the area in recent times there were only two bars open on the river and they were practically on the first ten minutes of the river, meaning we were in the bar drinking by 11.10 and then bar hopping again at 2pm. It was actually a fun day out and very easy to meet people which was good. The ride down to the end was stunning too! Needless to say our evening ended pretty early after a full day of drinking on the river!

The next morning we woke with some wonderful l hangovers, but determined not to waste a day in the area we rented bikes and cycled out of town towards some lagoons and waterfalls. Sadly the drinking of the day before had caught up with us and we managed to only reach one place before turning back exhausted. However for some reason we then decided to climb up to a view point, which was muddy and pretty hairy in places to be walking! I think neither of us wanted to be defeated by a day of drinking, but alas we are not the younguns we once were!

From Viet Vang we took a speedy bus north to Luang Prabang, a world heritage preserves town. The road north was perilous in places and we drove past a huge trailer that was upside down and totally burnt out. It looked like it had been dropped from the sky!

Arriving into Luang Prabang it’s clear to see why the town has a heritage status. The main town is surrounded on one side by the Mekong and the other by a smaller river, with a steep hill in the middle donned with a pagoda on top and a monk monastery on the side, the streets are lined with cherry blossom trees, and river side bars lined with palm and coconut trees. The pace is super relaxed, perhaps what HoiAn In Vietnam was like many years ago! All the buildings have a French colonial influence to them and you’ll often see Buddhist monks walking around the town.

We treated ourself to a wonderful traditional Laos meal at L’elephante and took a trip to the most beautiful waterfalls we had ever seen just outside of the town and spent the afternoon swimming in the crystal blue waters! Wow! The evening turned into another late one as we joined some girls we had met previously to go late night bowling at the only place in town that serves beer after 11!


Our final day in town was spent preparing for a two day boat ride up the Mekong to China and finally getting ourselves up the Pagoda hill for a beautiful sunset! The temperatures in Laos have been incredibly high of late. Even the locals are struggling with the day time 40 degree heat!

And so before we knew it we were getting on a boat for two days travel up the Mekong river towards the Thai border. The boat was long, wooden and decked out with car seats in rows, with lots room for bags and panoramic views. the first days journey was a ten hour stretch, and as we passed through the remote countryside of Laos we stopped at the odd village to drop off a local and usually bags of supplies. Often we’d see the children come down to check out he latest haul, or watch the boat of westerners past by. Some of these places were extremely remote.


After the sun started to set we docked at a small town and were accosted by some guest houses for our nights stay. Now well seasoned travellers we opted for the cheapest option £2 a night, with a fan, dribble shower and bed bugs! Luckily we had our sleeping bag liners to protect us!

The next morning we joined the boat again for the long stretch to Thailand. We started to talking to more travellers on the boat by then and before long we had a group of 14 who were going to head across into Thailand that day and we began plotting to to get into Chiang Rai the same day (2.5 hour car ride from the Laos border).

But for the rest of the trip we enjoyed the final views of the Mekong and Laos. Definitely somewhere we will return to.

When our boat made land for the final time Olly sprung into action to organise a tuk tuk to the border and then a minivan to Chang Rai. Little did he know he was going to followed by three western women and myself for a few more days in Thailand!