In my opinion, Vieng Xai is by far the best stop on Stray Asia’s new Long Thaang loop.  How can you beat spectacular limestone karst mountain scenery, lakeside beer salas, and cool historic sites?  The main draw of Vieng Xai though is the extensive cave system that formed an underground city for Pathet Lao Communist forces during the Second Indochina War. 

Hintang Archaelogical Park: Land of the Big-headed Giant

On the way from Vieng Thong to Vieng Xai one of the cool places we stop is at Hintang Archaelogical Park for a walkabout.  The site is comprised of a collection of random standing stones that date from the 10^th to 11^th century BC- so pretty much it is like Stonehenge only with a bit of Feng Sui done.

Wohoo!  Stray Asia’s new Long Thaang Northern Heritage Loop has just opened!  On this trip we explore Laos’ more remote patches near the Vietnam border, stopping at Secret War caves, archaeological sites with literally Giant histories, and hot springs along the way.

Usually when you think sacrifice you think of a) ancient Mayans being sore losers and killing the captain of the winning team during their ritual ball game or b) ancient Egyptians sacrificing anything and everything for the good of mankind.  However, among some ethnic groups in Laos animal, fortunately not human, sacrifices are still a part of daily life.  This past time in the quiet, peaceful waterfall village of Tad Lo the stars aligned in our favour and we had the fortunate chance of happening upon a ritual water buffalo sacrifice.

Bangkok baby!!!! After almost 30 days in Laos it’s good to be back in civilisation- Boots, Mickey D’s (aka McDonalds), Gourmet Market in Siam Paragon where you can buy fresh kalamata olives straight from Greece (major weak spot)... Despite all the live music bars, massage parlours and ping pong shows every now and then you just need a break from the city and the endless calls of “Tuk tuk?  Where you wanna go lady? Fish spa?”.

Whoop, Whoop!!! It’s Saturday night in Luang Prabang!!!!  Unfortunately you can’t really expect a historical colonial French city to have a happenin’ nightlife though, even if it is the 3rd biggest city in Laos.  Pretty strict 11pm curfew laws, regularly enforced by the police, keep bars in town from staying open much later than 11.30pm (bartenders even give you plastic cups around 10.50pm as a subtle hint they want you to leave).

Every year on March 8th men throughout Luang Prabang, and many other areas of Laos, are seen showing appreciation for, and sucking up to,  their other halves by giving them a day off work.  To celebrate women, husbands and men take over the housework, do the cooking, and look after the kiddies for a day while simultaneously making sure their partners are pampered.  Throughout Luang Prabang in particular, ladies throughout the city are seen getting together at social events and parties thrown at private homes and even on the streets (with all the food - hopefully- being cooked by men).

After filling up on Charlie’s (a friendly guesthouse owner in Chiang Khong at the Thai Border), pancakes we’re off on a windy four hour drive to Luang Namtha, our first stop in Laos.  Luang Namtha is about the closest on the trip we get to China, a measly 90 km. from the border.  Because of its proximity to China (and Thailand), the city serves as a centre of commerce between China, Thailand and Laos.  You can also get to China via public bus from Luang Namtha as long as you already have your Chinese visa (they are not always happy to see foreigners at the border crossing in the Chinese casino town of Boten though...)

After an early morning wakey wakey time (7am departure...practically dawn) we leave big city Thakek for the small town of Tad Lo- known for its waterfall and for being an entryway to the Bolavan Plateau (coffee, tea, and waterfall capital).  Today’s one of our longest drives - almost 7 hours! - but we break it up by stops at local markets and the famed chicken, whiskey and toilet village (which is worth dedicating this entire blog to).  Literally, this village is known across Laos for its grilled chicken (head and feet still on...sometimes you even get one that looks like its giving you the finger for eating it...) 

Every year on the full moon day of the third lunar month (usually in February) Buddhists all over Laos gather for Makha Bucha day to venerate Buddha and his teachings.  Makha Bucha day marks the four auspicious occasions, which happened nine months after the Enlightenment of the Buddha at Ve?uvana Bamboo Grove, near R?jagaha in Northern India. These four marvellous events were:

Who knew a quiet border town could also be a centre for fine dining? Thakek’s Mekong riverfront boulevard is lined with top notch quaint cafes serving local delicacies ranging from roast duck to spicy appendix (Still haven’t figured out whose appendix…) to be savoured while watching the sun set over Thailand.

After leaving the wilderness of Tad Leuk, we cruise down the road a few hours across windy mountain roads and through tobacco and rice fields to the small, peaceful village of Ban Kong Lor- a mere 2km. from the famous 7km. cave through which you can take an AWESOME 1.5 hr.+ (depending on seasonal water levels…) boat ride.  Although most people come to Kong Lor just for the cave, the village itself is pretty sweet since it is a centre for traditional methods of tobacco growing, weaving, WINE production, and so on which you can experience through a homestay with one of the local families (usually about 50,000 kip or $11ish USD / night).  Since everyone was feeling the luxury of a guesthouse after a night in tents, we merely meandered around the village for an hour or so to get a sense of village life. Fortunately during our stroll we encountered a local brewer of Lao Hai, sticky rice wine (who also ended up being one of the potential homestay hosts…talk about destiny).

I’m gonna start by giving a hopefully not that confusing rundown on how I got hooked up with Stray Asia and ended up in Southeast Asia (from the middle of nowhere Wyoming...) then go into some highlights of my last few months working as a Stray Asia guide.  I’ll toss in some pics as well to make reading about me more entertaining. 

A lot of travellers will go to Cambodia through Southern Laos. I’ve mentioned before that you can do this from Don Det in the Four Thousand Islands but also from Pakse. If you are doing this then you are probably going to see Angkor Wat near Siem Reap. If so, then stop by Wat Phou. This is a large temple complex closely associated with Angkor Wat as it was the capital of the Khmer Kingdom prior to Angkor Wat.

New Years in Konglor. Why not?

I've decided to say 'twenty eleven' instead of 'two thousand and eleven'. Just so you know. You should too. Now that that important issue is out of the way....