Mekong Adventure Laos Tour

Lao waterfalls March, being the dry season, might not be the ideal time of year for Lao waterfalls but come May and June when the rains start they’ll be filling out, flowing fast and back to their lushest best so here’s a small selection of waterfall photos taken at sites included on our Mekong Adventure, Lao tour itinerary, beginning with…

Laos World Heritage List A brief country-by-country rundown of Southeast Asia’s various UNESCO Sites, beginning, for no particular reason, with the list of Laos World Heritage sites. It is an easy one to start with since the small, land-locked and sparsely populated nation has the grand total of 3 sites. Having said that, a scan through the UNESCO list, (which…

Laos recommended reading and viewing Well, mostly a Laos recommended reading list since we can’t find many movies set in Laos, half-decent or otherwise, and haven’t come across too many good documentaries either. There are numerous books on Lao history, the majority of which fall into either the 19th-century French explorers’ accounts or the Vietnam/Indochina war period categories. Studies of…

Konglor Cave Incredible really is the word for the amazing Konglor Cave system, situated amongst the dramatic karst scenery of Hin Boun District in central Lao’s Khammouane Province. Reminded of us of the spectacular scenery of northern Lao’s Vang Vieng but without the number of visitors, since mass tourism is fortunately yet to hit this remote part of the country. Whilst…

The Plain of Jars Laos You will usually see adjectives such as mysterious or enigmatic preceding the name Plain of Jars, Laos, with the reason being – since a stone jar in itself is not so mysterious –  that archaeologists can’t agree on their date or even their actual purpose, therefore – enigmatic! The stone jars – up to 2m…

Phu Asa Phu Asa or Asa Mountain is a sandstone outcrop lying close to the village of Kietngong in South Lao’s Champassak Province. The forested hill – part of Xe Pian National Biodiversity Zone – is topped by a flat, bare rock outcrop with a gentle access slope to the northeast and steep drop-offs on the other sides. The mountain’s…

The Champassak Ferry The old fashioned rickety Champassak ferry that carts passengers, motorbikes and trucks across the Mekong between Champassak and Ban Muang don’t run much anymore. The recent completion of the spanking new road to Pakse along the west bank of the Mekong has drastically reduced the need for the car ferry. Time was when ferries would sit at…

Nang Sida Lying just a kilometre away from the Lao World Heritage site of Wat Phu, the Angkor-period temple of Hong Nang Sida does tend to get overshadowed by its prestigious UNESCO-listed neighbour. After hiking up and down the steep steps at Wat Phu, few visitors will be bothered to head off into the dusty surrounding scrubland to visit one…

Khone Phapaeng Falls Longest, tallest, widest, biggest….superlatives can be deceptive and statistics vary enormously, but the little-known Khone Phapaeng Falls in Champassak Province of Southern Laos is certainly right up there on the list! Just downstream of the picturesque Four Thousand Islands‘ region – along the Lao-Cambodian border – the entirety of the Mekong River goes over a 65-foot escarpment…

Four Thousand Islands Laos’ Four Thousand Islands, or Si Phan Don, region lies just to the north of the Cambodian border in the far south’s Champassak Province. Here the Mekong River widens and shallows dramatically before crashing over the spectacular Khone Phaphaeng Falls. 4,000 is, of course, a guesstimate since islands appear and disappear with the dry and rainy seasons…