The Southeast Asia Travel Specialists Since 1999
Current Sites Laos’s latest addition to UNESCO’s prestigious World Heritage List – inscribed in 2019 and to our minds, long overdue – is the Megalithic Jar Sites of Xiengkhuang, commonly known as the Plain of Jars. Usually associated with adjectives such as mysterious or enigmatic the site consists of over 2,000 giant jars, carved out of solid rock and scattered…
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 Thailand’s Chiang…
Cambodia – Street Photography by Jeff Perigois. Getting those picturesque photographs of Cambodia’s sublime landscapes or spectacular, atmospheric shots of jungle-clad temple ruins is a relatively straightforward task. You’ll need someone to ensure you get to the right place at the right time then hope for a fortuitous monk to stroll past the stone carvings or an old ox-cart to…
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…
One of the best times of year to visit! We can only guess that the absence of visitors during the rainy season in Southeast Asia is down to their own preconceptions of what a monsoon period in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos etc must be like? Constant torrential rain, unbearable heat and humidity, impassable roads and permanent ankle deep (or worse) water?…
“But the coffee doesn’t taste the same as at home”. How manky times have we heard that? Funny, (funny peculiar), how someone travelling half-way around the world would expect certain things to be different yet hope, (assume), that other things would be the same. Now the people have to be different; the photogenic orange-clad monks are essential, heaven forbid if…
Thanks to Dan and Becky for some excellent photos of Laos they sent recently taken on last year’s Northern Laos and the Golden Triangle tour. Glad you guys enjoyed the trip and thanks for the pix! Thanks again for the pix. Details and full itinerary of our Northern Laos and the Golden Triangle tour can be…
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…
A selection of Wi’s Golden Triangle photographs from her recent tour – the first part of our Northern Laos and the Golden Triangle tour from Chiang Mai to Vientiane via the UNESCO sites of Luang Prabang and the Plain of Jars. On departing from Chiang Mai and heading north, the group’s first stop was the local hill-tribe market near Mae…
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…
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…
As we see it a tour of Laos or Vietnam, should include a tour of Lao and Vietnamese food so here’s a brief rundown on the All Points East meal thinking, or as we’ve titled it, responsible eating in Southeast Asia. Local food and meals are an essential part of any culture therefore an essential part of enjoying new and…
Although the ambulant Akha street vendors of Khao San, Tha Pae Gate and other tourist hot spots are very successful and the Lisus in Pai night market do well in the high season, across Southeast Asia it’s the enterprising and commercially minded Hmong that dominate the hill-tribe handicraft market. Their bright colours and bold patterns can be and have been,…