Footnotes from Laos
As we headed to Cambodia, we put together a few remaining thoughts about the wonderful land of Laos. The Hmong tribe There are many tribal villages that have been resettled by the Lao government, and…
Back to nature at the Kingfisher Ecolodge, Xe Pian Laos
We’ve just stayed at the Kingfisher Ecolodge within the Xe Pian protected forest just about 50 miles from Pakse. It’s been a wonderful experience similar to one we enjoyed earlier this year, the Selva Bananito…
Time and timelessness: Traveling on the Mekong River, part 2
We’ve been moving southward in Laos, following the direction of the Mekong River, and we find ourselves once more spending many hours on its waters. Here at the southern end of the country, the river…
Street smarts
The snide way of starting this post…What’s more street smart than the average American 10 year old? Answer: any Lao village two year old child, or its chickens, cows and pigs. The not so snide…
Wat Phou, a preview of Angkor Wat
At Champasak, just south of Pakse, we saw our first Khmer temple complex ruin, a primer of sorts for the main event near Siem Reap, where we plan to hike and camp. The Angkor people…
Laotian dreams
One guide inLaos shared his aspirations with us by the end of our time together. In his early thirties now, with two children and the intention to have a third, he is aiming for a…
Urns and Bombs – the unending cycle in the Plain of Jars
There is one main purpose of visitors to Phonasavanh. It’s the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Plain of Jars. This area is a very wide plateau, part of the high mountain plain here, full…
Giving thanks
So there's not a turkey in sight, no mashed potatoes, no gravy. It's just a regular workday here in SE Asia and a regular travel day for most of the people we've met, since we've…
The long and winding road to the Plain of Jars
You’ve got to be crazy to drive from Luang Prabang to Phonasavanh and the Plain of Jars. For 260 kilometers, or about 160 miles, you drive a two lane road through incessantly twisting terrain of…
Cycles and Falls
(There are three posts we've made recently; don't miss the other two!) So we haven’t biked in three weeks, except for the precarious trip on level ground through Bangkok (see our post). But here we…