Dan's Adventure

At the end of the mahout training we paid a visit to Tat Sae. This waterfall was not anywhere near as impressive as Tat Kuang Si, a multi tiered waterfall 30km outside of Luang Prabang. Tat Sae is dammed at the top and at the bottom there are several man made tiers where as Tat Kuang Si is all natural. Some of the lower falls cascade into large pools perfect for swimming in, providing a nice break from the heat. After a quick swim we climbed up to the top …

“Pai, Pai” I shouted as my elephant lowered her head and started munching on some trees, the command of keep walking was useless, she interpreted it as keep on eating. “Pai, Pai” shouted the mahout who was walking alongside. She diligently stopped eating and continued along the track into the jungle. I tried out other commands, I told her to go left, I told her to go right and eventually I gave in and just told her to keep on eating, that was the only one that had any effect.

I …

Throughout Vietnam and Cambodia motorbikes fill up with fuel from little roadside stalls which sell litre bottles of fuel.

Vang Vieng is a backpackers mecca in Laos. The town is filled with guest houses, bars and restaurants, many of which show Friends and Family Guy on repeat. These restaurants are invariably filled with people lying spread out on the bed like seating either too hung over or too stoned to move. The locals refer to this area of Vang Vieng as falang town and many have actually relocated a few kilometres along the road. Away from the restaurants with the same same menus, there are some nicer places such …

Vientiane it is very quiet for a capital city. Like the rest of Laos, everything is very laid back, there is no need to rush anything, its just very relaxed. Everything in Vientiane is within walking distance and can easily be covered within a day. I however had a few days to spare as I was getting a visa for Thailand from the Thai Consulate. Visas are issued on arrival at the border in Thailand but when arriving overland, they are only valid for 15 days which would make a …

I left Don Det on boxing day and had yet another day of eventful travel. A packed longtail boat to the mainland and then onto a minibus that broke down straight away. Eventually we got to Pakse where I had five hours to kill before my first experience of sleeper buses in Laos. Sleeper buses in China and Vietnam were very difficult to sleep on, not only due to the crazy driving but the fact that the beds were both too short and too narrow. When I got on the …

On my second day at Angkor, I managed to drag myself out of bed and cycle out to Angkor Wat in time for sunrise.

Si Phon Don, four thousand islands, is located in most southern part of Laos just beyond the border with Cambodia. The number of islands depends on the water level of the Mekong river, the majority are no more than small sand banks, but there are three larger inhabited islands. Don Khong is the most northern and the largest, whilst Don Det and Don Khon are further south and have in recent years become a bit of a backpackers destination. I headed to Don Det.
Don Det is the livelier of the …