The Southeast Asia Travel Specialists Since 1999
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 of the…
A few photos and brief description of a boat trip down the Ou River northern Laos. The Nam Ou (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 up-river from ancient capital and UNESCO World Heritage Site Luang Prabang. The river is far…
The tiny mountain-top town of Yuanyang lies just south of the steep Red River Valley in the southern reaches of Yunnan Province, not far from the Vietnamese border. Actually been there 3 times without seeing another foreign tourist, yet it is one of the most spectacular, and certainly photogenic landscapes in that part of the world! The rice terraces have…
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 the party travelled north…
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…
Interesting article on Vang Vieng Laos by friend and colleague Jason in Vientiane. Seasons greetings from Vientiane Laos. My name is Jason and I am Adventure Travel Manager for Viengchampa Tour in Laos. I was asked by Mark a considerable time ago to contribute something about Laos to his excellent blog. Having been caught up in high season here, 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…
So, weird food of Southeast Asia!? Well, durian, rats, birds’ nests – fair enough, but there are a host of other weird and wonderful food and drink items to be found in S. E. Asia. Some that will have you asking where you can buy a kilo to take home, some that will leave you totally indifferent and others that…
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…