Dan's Adventure

As soon as I crossed the border into Thailand from Laos I jumped into a tuk tuk and then a bus to Chiang Rai. Like Udomxai in Laos, I had heard that it was one of the best places to go trekking in northern Thailand. After a few hours walking around the tour agencies in Chiang Rai my hopes had been dashed and I was already planning an early start the following morning to go to Chiang Mai. Every tour agency in Chiang Rai offers treks lasting from 1 to …

Trekking in Laos promised beautiful landscapes, untouched forests, remote villages, an abundance of wildlife and very few other tourists. I arrived in Udomxai from Luang Prabang hoping to set out on a trek from there as it had been touted on several websites as being a great place to start from due to its proximity to hills and hill tribes. Udomxai is one of those places that most people just pass through so it is very rare for the treks organised by the tourist office to actually take place. When …

Rivaling the sun bears for being the most dangerous at Tat Kuang Si, these children were being kept safely behind bars whilst their mother sold grilled bananas at the stall between them and the bears.

Luang Prabang is a fantastic city, its pretty small and has an incredibly relaxed feel about it. I spent a couple of days just wandering around and could have stayed for a few more.
Temples

Temples and stupas are found on almost every corner in Luang Prabang, most of which are very ornate. The city is home to the largest number of monks in Laos and every morning they can be seen walking the streets collecting alms.
Markets

Every night the main street through Luang Prabang is filled with stalls as the night market …

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 …