After Thailand, Laos can be quite the back to the roots experience. Tourism is still developing, and with the exception of Luang Prabang, there are very few tourists during the low season. Don’t get us wrong – we love it! Laos is landlocked, and therefore, unlike all of its neighbouring countries doesn’t offer a beach vacation. If you need to refresh yourself, it’s waterfalls and, if you dare, the Mekong river (eeeeek). You can expect stunning landscapes, delicious food, and cities and villages lined with pretty temples. Three weeks are certainly not enough to explore Laos.

Itinerary

Coming from Chiang Rai, Thailand, we started our trip in Laos in the border town of Huay Xai. From there, we travelled to Luang Prabang with a slowboat, which took two days. We spent a week in Luang Prabang, before continuing south to Vang Vieng. We spent two nights there, and one night in Vientiane, from where we took the night bus to Pakse. After one night in Pakse, we spent two in the Bolaven plateau, and at our return another night in Pakse. We ended our time in Laos with three nights on Don Det, 4000 islands. Our pace was quite fast, as our friends were there for less than two weeks. This was fine, but it would definitely be nice to travel south at a slower pace and, if possible at all, avoid the dreadful night bus to Pakse. Next time, we would also love to explore the north a bit more.

Top 3

So many wonderful things in Laos! The three below hold a special place in our heart.

Tad Lo

This small village, where we spent our first night on the Bolaven loop, was just magical. Particularly the sunset and how the village and the river got so busy at that moment, only to fall almost completely quiet once the daylight disappeared.

Kuang Si Waterfall

What a stunning waterfall! Every time we turned a corner we were in awe by the size and beauty of it. You can spend such a wonderful day here, hiking, swimming, picnicking.

Luang Prabang Night Market

As said before, this place is touristy, but we loved the atmosphere – and the food!

Special Mention: MandaLao

This day spent with elephants was one of the highlights of the entire trip, it just seemed a little unfair to put it in the top 3, because it’s so expensive. But if you can afford it, do it!

Things to skip (maybe)

Vang Vieng Night Market

Generally, the town of Vang Vieng isn’t that great, but the night market really wasn’t worth even the short walk. Few food options, not particularly tasty, and also the atmosphere didn’t make up for it. Opt for the riverside for dinner. As for shopping, you can do better in Luang Prabang and Vientiane.

Phat That Luang Monument

It’s the Laos national monument, so it may be high on your list. However, compared to other attractions like the Sisaphet temple or COPE, it’s not that interesting and it’s really out of the way. Wouldn’t make the detour again.

4000 islands

For us at that specific moment, the 4000 islands were the perfect place to be as we wanted to do nothing, and there we could do it without feeling like we were missing out. In high season, if you feel like partying, taking drugs, and meeting people, this seems to be the place. In low season, if you’re fine idling in a hammock or on a sun chair, you’ll be happy here. As for activities, you can bike around and see some dolphins and that’s about it. If you manage your expectations accordingly, you’ll be ok. If we’d been here on a short term vacation, we’d probably have been a bit disappointed by the 4000 islands.

Food

Lao food is in many ways similar to Thai food and we ate quite well. Our favourite discovery was sticky rice (which we only knew as dessert before). Lao noodle soup is delicious, too. For vegetarians, there’s not always a whole lot of choice. One of our favourite meals was the one we had during our day with the elephants, where our guide had brought little packages wrapped in banana leaf, each filled with a different tasty treat. He showed us the traditional way to eat, making a ball with sticky rice and scooping up the dishes. Yum!

Will we be back

We hope so! We feel like we’ve seen quite a bit of Laos, but as said before, a slower pace would be nice, and there is the north to be explored. There is also an area similar to the Bolaven plateau called Thakek which is supposed to be amazing.

Budget

We spent about 1500€ in Laos, of which around 400€ on hotels (average 20€/night) and 350€ on food (17.5€/day). 230€ went into transport, and over 300€ went into “entertainment”, of which the elephants take up the major share. We also had to pay a visa of $30/person for Laos. The numbers are a bit distorted for hotel and food as we were with our friends and sometimes paid for them and vice versa. Hotels in Laos were generally among the cheapest we had during our entire trip.

What else?

Coffee

Lao Coffee is delicious and the coffee industry is growing bigger. We sent a couple of kilos home with our friends, so it is waiting for us and will be, together with the Indonesian Coffee, a wonderful reminder of our adventures.

Water buffaloes

These guys are just everywhere and they are so friendly (well, the ones at Laos Buffalo Dairy at least, we didn’t go near any others). They are a key element to any Lao landscape.

Busses

Busses are a bit of a wild ride (quite literally) in Laos. You may buy a ticket for the fancy bus, you never know what you get until your vehicle is in front of you. It mainly depends on the demand – if there’s not enough people for a coach, you’ll get a smaller bus or a minivan, that’s how it is. Most trips were ok, with the exception of the night bus to Pakse – not fun at all, so do try to avoid it. Unfortunately, the only alternative (besides driving yourself) is taking the plane. Here’s to hoping that Laos will build a railway system soon!