What I thought was going to be only a quick one night stopover in Vang Vieng, Laos, turned into several days as I realised that there was so much more to this popular backpacker town than drunken tubing. The town itself is pretty much as expected - lots of backpackers, bars, guesthouses and laid back [...]
Patuxai is an impressive war monument that sits in the center of Laos' capital city, Vientiane. The word "Patuxai" translates to Victory Gate, and the French influence on Laos is quite apparent in it's design, despite the typical Lao architecture. As I walked along Avenue Lang Xang from the Presidential Palace, I couldn't help but [...]
This week's travel photo is of some gates at Pha That Luang - a huge Buddhist stupa in Vientiane, Laos. Pha That Luang is the largest stupa in Laos, and as I walked along the road from Patuxai I could see the golden stupa shining bright in the sunlight.
This week's travel photo is of the road heading south towards Nong Khiaw in Northern Laos. Nong Khiaw is a peaceful little town that is a great place to visit if you really want to get into the slow pace of the country. I didn't do much besides lie in a hammock with a book [...]
I walked down the last few steps of the path from Mount Phou Si and entered onto the street. The muddy brown waters of the Nam Khan River flowed lazily by on the other side of the road. I waited for a tuk tuk carrying a family of four to drive past before crossing the [...]
This week's travel photo is of a boat at Pak Ou Caves, near Luang Prabang on the Mekong River, Laos. I took this photo while heading upstream on the two day slow boat journey to the Thailand border. More about Pak Ou Caves The Pak Ou Caves, located about 25 kilometers north of Luang Prabang, [...]
In Laos' sleepy little capital city, Vientiane, there is a large area of land along the Mekong River front that has been set aside as parkland. Every evening that I was in the city, I went down to the river front to sit and watch the beautiful sunset over the river. Locals and tourists a [...]
This week's travel photo is of a collection of Buddha statues located in a museum building of Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang, Laos. There were statues of all shapes and sizes located around this building. Some looked really old, others were newer, but there were certainly too many to count. More about Wat Xieng [...]
Two kids laughed as they ran beside me as I cycled down a muddy dirt road. All around me were bright green rice fields with tall limestone karsts rising up above them, and white fluffy clouds drifting over in the sky. I was in the countryside surrounding the popular backpacker town of Vang Vieng in [...]
Pha That Luang isn't actually a temple, but a grand stupa (chedi) in the heart of Vientiane, and I think it deserves a post of it's own along side the temples of Laos. Walking up to Pha That Luang According to the Lao people, legend says that Pha That Luang was originally built [...]
