"Laos PDR - Please Don't Rush" a Laos Travel Page by largerama

Chilling in Laos. There aint a lot else to do most of the time and 'time' runs pretty slow in most of the places here although you can see the tourism influence starting to take hold big time in certain places. So, of course, it wont be slow paced for long if the rest of Asia has anything to do with it!!

There is little doubt that visitors to Laos want to spend a little if not a lot of time in Luang Prabang and rightly so. Then there is Vang Vieng and maybe even Vientiane.

Yet, I consider these to be the middle of the country so the question is do you go North, South or both from there? That's a tough question to answer but this should help:

The North has many trekking routes available and new ones open up quite frequently. It is very rural in most parts and towns tend to be not much to write home about. Treks can be organised at the towns such as Muang Xing, Oudomaxai when you get there but the fiercest competition is of course in Luang Prabang. Im not much of a trekker myself but the prices do not seemt that cheap for the cost of living in Laos. I would also argue that a lot of them are getting touristy. Also, in the North are other adventure activities such as mountain biking and white water rafting.

If like me you are into a little of everything when travelling but the real buzz is seeing the local life and trying to absorb the culture but you are not a specialist in any of these adventure activities then the North can largely be a little disappointing. There are many long, uncomfortable bus journeys between towns (as mentioned earlier) that arent that worth the effort. The views of the villages and countryside are nice but I think the far north of Vietnam, Yunnan and off the beaten path in Thailand countryside are much more worthwhile. Also, bear in mind that attempts to go off the beaten track or even the other way round to how most travellers are going along routes can mean large costs especially if that means chartering a boat.

If you go to the North of Laos to dabble in naughty substances, then you are taking massive risks. The industry is heavily corrupt and policed nowadays in most places and Im not sure being uneasy about it before you even arrive is a good basis to begin with. Much safer although admittedly, not as authentic to partake in Vang Vieng.

There are some jewels in the North though having said all this that I think are really worth the travelling. These are Muang Ngoi and the Nam Ou river which runs up to and past Muang Ngoi in the North East of the country.

Muang Ngoi is a rock bottom cheap village (1 USD bungalows) on the banks of the river with a real laid back atmosphere. Here you can laze around all day, enjoy the river, caves or go off wandering on DIY treks through neighbouring fields and villages to see how the folks live. There's no traffic except the boats of course (No, not even mopeds or tuk tuks!!) but of course it's a little basic. Just dont expect anything to do on a night as the electric goes off at around 9 to 10pm.

The trip up the Nam Ou river to Muang Ngoi is beautiful scenery but it is rather long and uncomfy. Even more spectacular is a section of the river north of Muang Ngoi for about 15km. This has arguably, the most amazing landscapes and village scenes of the whole country. The trouble is you will probably have to charter a boat to do it which will be anything from 20 to 50 USD. But get some friends together and bring the cost down. The boat will hold 10 plus people!!

I admit that this was on my first visit to Laos so I maybe a little biased but I loved the South.

As you may have noticed I think Luang Prabang is a great place but the South also grabbed me. There are lovely places to see but nothing that blows your mind in the same way as say, Angkor Wat. In fact it wasn't until I had actually left the South of Laos that I realised how much I missed it. The pace of life, the people and the little bits of things one does each day.

By the South I mean anywhere East of Vientianne and down the thin strip of land all the way to Cambodia.

There is good Karst landscape around Lak Xao which also offers a good independent border crossing to Vietnam. You wont find many travellers on route and the pick ups cum buses you will ride in are a great place to meet the locals and their produce (ie you will be sat amongst the chickens and the piglets!). A little French may help you to speak to the old locals.

The Plain of Jars is weird but a little out of the way. Yet nowadays trips can be organised in Luang Prabang and other hubs. It is interesting to see that area and realise the bombing that went on there because of the Ho Chi Minh trail and its significance in the Nam war.