The Southeast Asia Travel Specialists Since 1999
A few random pics from our recent Mekong Adventure tour; a 2-week and 1,000-kilometre journey by land and by river through the heart of Indochina from Lao’s laidback and scenic capital of Vientiane to Cambodia’s bustling and fun Phnom Penh. The first stop on our Mekong Adventure after leaving Vientiane was a great local market set up by Hmong women…
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 the famous…
A brief country by country run down of Southeast Asia’s various UNESCO Sites beginning, for no particular reason, with the Laos World Heritage list. Well, it is an easy one to start with since the small, land-locked and sparsely populated nation has the grand total of 2 sites. Having said that a scan through the UNESCO list, (which does seem…
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 all the tourists since mass tourism is fortunately yet to hit this remote part of the country. Whilst the above-ground…
Now you will usually see adjectives such as mysterious or enigmatic preceding the name the 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 so….enigmatic! The stone jars – up to 2m tall and carved out of…
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 so it’s definitely…
A few photos of the spectacular limestone pinnacles area – or ‘stone forest’ – in Khammouane Province of Central Laos. Though much of this region is covered in this dramatic, limestone karst scenery a core section has been designated Phou Hin Boun National Park or National Bio-diversity Area. The following images were taken from a viewpoint on the way to…
Don’t seem to have posted about Southern Laos for some time so to correct that regrettable oversight here’s a few images and a brief description of the fantastic Pakse market, Dao Heuang – one of all-time favourite Southeast Asian markets! There’s the covered area you can see in the background of above photo – dealing in gold, silver, phones, household…
With its enticing and plentiful riverside cafes and excellent (and cheap) beer UNESCO World Heritage, Luang Prabang has to be one of the prime non-beach spots for sundowners in this part of the world so without for ado here’s a small selection of photos of sunset over the Mekong at Luang Prabang. So without further to-do here are a few…
Khao Phra Viharn, or Preah Vihear in Khmer – and the famous 11th-century Hindu temple itself is 100% Cambodian, whatever various lunatic fringe Thais might claim! (Since most of the local Thais in that part of the kingdom – southern Si Saket Province – speak Khmer anyway they could have just kept the original name instead of the cumbersome Thai…
Actually 2 pix today – before and after shots of the Don Khone Nua School on Don Khone in the 4,000 Islands region of South Laos’ Champassak Province. The school was largely rebuilt with donations from All Points East customers. As you can see the original wooden building was falling to pieces and lacked any toilet/washroom facilities at all. The…
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 Phapaeng Falls. 4,000 is, of course, a guesstimate since islands appear and disappear with the dry and rainy seasons making it impossible…