Lao tour

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…

Vang Vieng When we first turned up in the small town of Vang Vieng, (must have been 92 or 93?), it was as close to paradise as anywhere we’d come across on our backpacker trail across Southeast Asia. An idyllic, bustling little market town for the surrounding Hmong villages and set on the banks of the Song River opposite some…