Laos

After our three months in Thailand it was time to get back into travelling mode, so we hopped over the border to spend one month in laid-back Laos. We crossed the Mekong into Huay Xai, then journeyed east to Luang Namtha and on to the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage City of Luang Prabang. Next we visited the capital Vientiane, followed by what used to be the crazy backpacker town of Vang Vieng and the  mysterious Plain of Jars in Phonsavanh. To end that trip, we visited Sam Neua, where we saw the Vieng Xai caves of the Pathet Laos. Once we’d travelled through Vietnam and Cambodia, we returned to Laos to explore the south, including the beautiful Four Thousand Islands, Pakse and Savannakhet before heading back into Thailand.

It feels strange to have finally left Asia after spending almost two years there. For us, travel has been inextricably linked with this part of the world. When I think of backpacking my mind conjures up images of long, cramped bus journeys and never-ending terraces of rice, gold-carpeted beaches and heaving cities full of motorbikes and street markets. I think of wading through soupy, humid air, the smell of citronella insect repellent, incense from temples, and spices from road-side food stalls; I hear beeping horns, crowing roosters, prayer calls and the lapping of the sea.
One of the things we can’t quite get used to in Asia is the corruption which forms an ordinary part of everyday life here. From knock-off goods to rigged taxi meters and other tourist scams, travelling is a whole different ball game here compared to in regulation-crazy Europe. While we’re now resigned to the fact that we’ll be charged tourist prices everywhere we go, we’ve found that making overland border crossings in South-East Asia presents some of the most frustrating examples of corruption.
After our three months in Thailand it was time to head across the Mekong into Laos. Altogether we spent about four weeks in the north visiting the UNESCO World Heritage site Luang Prabang, the mysterious Plain of Jars in Phonsavan, tubing in Vang Vieng, cycling around Luang Namtha and learning about the secret war in Laos. We later spent two weeks visiting the south of Laos where we saw the most popular three of the Four Thousand Islands, the unremarkable Pakse and motored around the waterfall-packed freshness of the Bolaven Plateau before returning to Thailand.
So far, Laos has been our cheapest country to travel in, costing nearly £5 less per day than its closest rival Indonesia. We spent 44 days travelling in Laos altogether; about four weeks during November in the north of the country and another two weeks during February in the south.  Overall, we had quite a chilled out and relaxed time in Laid-Back Laos, visiting plenty of waterfalls and temples and although the country is land-locked, we still managed to find time to see some islands! Here's what we spent during our six-week stay in Laos.
Despite being so close to Thailand, Laos is a whole different animal when it comes to getting around. For a start, there are no trains in Laos, the roads are very often just dirt paths and most buses are rickety, old and crammed with locals, luggage and livestock. We had some of our worst journeys while travelling in Laos, here’s how we got around the country.
After our peaceful stay in Four Thousand Islands (minus the stomach aches), we had some time to kill before we were allowed back into Thailand. According to our Lonely Planet, the quiet, colonial town of Pakse seemed like the ideal place to hang out for a while before hopping over the border – how wrong we were.
Just as we were about to abandon ship, the engine of our crowded longboat sputtered to life and we set off across the moss-coloured surface of the Mekong, skirting around tiny grass-topped mounds. In less than ten minutes we hit the shore of Don Det with a soft bump and disembarked, trudging up the sandbank onto the one dusty road that runs the circumference of the island.  We had arrived in Si Phan Don, also known as Four Thousand Islands, the area in southern Laos where the Mekong River is at its widest, surrounding hundreds of sandy islets and some larger inhabited islands.
Can you imagine what it would be like to live in a cave, surrounded by cold rock and the sound of bombs crashing just metres away from you? How would it feel to creep out after nightfall to farm and cook while your children studied in an underground school? Well, that’s exactly how thousands of people lived during the American bombing campaign in Laos – Andrew and I took a trip to the historic caves in the north of the country to learn more.
Thousands of heavy stone jars, up to three metres tall, litter the green and yellow plains of Xieng Khouang in Laos. They’ve been there for thousands of years, grouped together in clusters spread across 90 different sites, their purpose shrouded in mystery. For me they evoke images of Stonehenge, a cluster of ancient pillars assembled in a circular pattern, located back in England. Many people believe Stonehenge was built to serve as a clock or tool to calculate the arrival of solstice, while others think it was an ancient burial ground or important spiritual area.  Similar mysteries surround the Plain of Jars in Laos.
While travelling in Laos we learned the sickening truth about the secret and illegal war the American Government waged on this small, impoverished country. We saw the scars left by a merciless nine-year bombing campaign and met people who, despite having suffered so greatly, still welcomed us into their country with smiles.