The Southeast Asia Travel Specialists Since 1999
Sambor Prei Kuk; – the earliest known Khmer city in Cambodia is a superb site, yet one that’s largely overlooked by visitors to the kingdom. Dozens of decorated brick towers dating from the 6th and 7th centuries – some ruinous, some still remarkably well preserved, are scattered through picturesque forest some 30 kms north of the provincial town of Kompong…
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…
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 flat top…
The old fashioned rickety Champassak ferry that carts passengers, motos 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 the ‘dock’ (well…
Lying just a kilometre away from Wat Phu, the small Angkor period temple of Nang Sida, Laos, does tend to get overshadowed by it’s prestigious UNESCO World Heritage neighbour. After hiking up and down the steep steps at Wat Phu few visitors are going to be bothered to head off into the dusty surrounding scrub-land to visit a ‘lesser’ temple…
Not quite sure why the ‘powers that be’, (guess that’d be TAT – Tourism Authority of Thailand?), decided to call this region – the area where the 3 countries of Laos, Cambodia and Thailand meet – the Emerald Triangle but they have done. Yes, it very green, but then so is most of Southeast Asia! Anyway, it’s got a ring…
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…
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…
King Suryavarman I acceded to the throne of Angkor in 1006 after a 4-year struggle with rival claimant Jayaviravarman. Later inscriptions do backdate his reign to 1002 – presumably to delete any traces of his pesky antagonist – but Jayaviravarman, ensconced in the imperial capital, Yasodharapura, and a close relative (possibly a brother) of the previous monarch Udayadityavarman I and…
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…