Laos

Wordless Wednesday – Tinkerbell, is that you?

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Wordless Wednesday – I’m not sure what that means ?

Wat Piawat – Laos – bombed ruins

The small town of Muang Khoun, due to its proximity to the Vietnam border was bombed heavily during the Vietnam War.  All that remains of a Buddist temple built in 1582 is this badly damaged statue to the Lord Buddha. Most people would head through this region on their way to visit the amazing Plain of … Continue reading →

4000 Islands – Si Phan Don – Laos

One of the more popular destinations in Laos is the southern Mekong islands known as the 4000 Islands.  This is a little misleading as most of the islands are tiny and only a handful are inhabited.  However the islands you can visit are a small rural villages well away from the larger cities of Pakse … Continue reading →

Don’t touch the animals (and would someone tell the animals please?)

Everytime I am about to go on holiday and visit the travel doctor for vaccines, malaria tablets and so on, they always drum into you, how you should never, never, ever, ever touch the animals in a foreign country due to the risk of rabies. Now I for one always avoid the captive animals such … Continue reading →

Want to travel light to a developing country? Here’s a good reason not to…

The internet is full of great sites on how to pack light for your holiday to a developing country.  Especially when you have a backpack to carry on and off buses, into remote regions and need to travel with the bare minimum of stuff. However, for a lot of us, thats not how we travel. … Continue reading →

Plain of Jars – Laos (Iron Age archaeological site)

Ever since I first heard about the Plain of Jars, its a site I’ve wanted to see for myself.  It was on my list along with the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt and the Nascar Lines in the Peruvian Desert. I finally got to visit Laos recently and I wasn’t disappointed! There are approximately 90 … Continue reading →

Wat Phu – pre-Angkorian temple in Southern Laos

While the temples in Cambodia in the Angkor region are simply swarming with tourists, in southern Laos is a beautiful pre-Angkorian temple which you can visit almost on your own.  Its known by a number of names, Wat Phu, Vat Phou, Wat Phou and so on. Though not as spectacular as the plethora of temples in … Continue reading →

Kuang Si Falls and Free the Bears Sanctuary in Laos

While in Laos we had the opportunity to visit the Save the Bears sanctuary at Tat Kuang Si Park, a protected area near Luang Prabang. Free the Bears is an international charitable organization started by an Australia woman with a goal to rescue bears kept in captivity and rehome them in safe sanctuaries throughout Asia … Continue reading →

Safety in a developing country aka close your eyes and pray!

There are many articles on keeping yourself safe when travelling in a developing country but I want share some of the things I have learned about safety from these wonderful places! Things I have learnt about using a motorbike – you can get 3 or sometimes 4 people on one as a woman (and you … Continue reading →

Say what? (funny signs and spellings)

One of my favourite things about travelling in a country where English isn’t the first language, is the spelling and language on signs and menus. But bonus points for trying and extra points for the amusement value. Here are a small sampling of some of the ones we took the time to photograph in Laos. … Continue reading →

A Laos-y Christmas

So never having been a great fan of the whole crap circus that seems to come along with Christmas, this year we decided to go to Laos instead. We politely declined all invites with a “sorry, but we are going on holiday”, while secretly thinking we dodged yet another bullet. So why Laos? Because it’s … Continue reading →