Blog posts related to Unexplored - The Far North
Lao E-visa A new online, Lao E-Visa system is now in place and valid for entry at the following immigration points: Wattay International Airport, Vientiane, Luang Prabang International Airport, Pakse International Airport and land crossings at the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge Vientiane and the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge II, Savannakhet. (Note it is not available at the Friendship Bridge IV, which connects…
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…
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…
The Black Tai The term Tai describes the broad ethnic group (the Tai-Kadai linguistic family) which includes the Thai (Siamese), Lao, Shan, Northern Thai, Thai Lu, Red Tai, White Tai etc who occupy a wide band of Asia from the Assam region of India, through southern China, Burma’s Shan States, Laos, Northern Vietnam and of course Thailand itself. We touched…
The Ou River The Nam Ou, or Ou River, flows south from Phongsali Province in the far north of Laos, to join the Mekong at Pak Ou (famous for its cave temples), just upstream from the ancient capital and UNESCO World Heritage Site Luang Prabang. The river is far less frequented by visitors than the Chiang Khong to Pak Beng…
Sunday Walking Street The famous Chiang Mai Sunday Market – known locally as just Sunday Walking Street – is a vast affair stretching from the tourist hub of Tha Pae Gate as far as the ancient temple of Wat Phra Singh in the Old Town as well as, taking in many of the side streets along the way. (In fact,…
Northern Laos Tour Photos A few Northern Laos tour photos for your perusal with Wi having just crossed the Mekong at Chiang Khong this morning with her group on a Northern Laos and the Golden Triangle tour and now heading north into Laos where their first stop will be Luang Nam Tha. After spending Chinese New Year in Chiang Mai…