Laos: 5 weeks of highlights (a countdown)

Laos is the country I spent the longest uninterrupted time in: 5 weeks. (Even though the visa on arrival is only valid for one month – but I went to the consulate to add a week to it. That way, I could travel as long as possible with my American travel buddy, whom I met back in Cambodia and now came all the way from Vietnam to travel through Laos with me).

As far as transportation was concerned, I traveled through Laos by bus, which was the main way of getting around. Sometimes these would be tiny buses that could get a bit cramped, but mostly the traveling was just fine. Except for one time: on the trip from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang we almost ended up in a ravine. We were driving through a thick fog, the quality of the road surface was in a very poor state and to make matters worse, it started raining. At some point, our minibus couldn’t move forward anymore. Worse even: every time the driver tried to, the bus would only slowly but surely slide backwards, towards a ravine, that disappeared into the fog. We were all getting pretty scared at that point, but somehow we just sat there like we were frozen. Then my travel buddy snapped out of it and insisted that the driver opened up the door so that we could get out. We all hurried onto the road and shook off the huge scare. With the bus now being released of its extra weight, the driver managed to manoeuvre it out of its precarious situation.

There, I got the scariest travel story out of the way! So now here are my top 8 experiences in Laos, not in a chronological order but counting down to the best one.

8. Vientiane

More chill than Bangkok and Phnom Penh but less bubbly than Hanoi, the Laotian capital Vientiane is not a very memorable place. However, we spent some very carefree days there, enjoying a good hotel and especially a night at a Belgian Beer Café, where I could introduce my American travel buddy to Belgian beers. His first but definitely not his last!

Streets of Vientiane

7. Savannakhet

This little town was well off the tourist trail for the simple reason that there is not that much to see there nor in the immediate surroundings. The reason for my stay in Savannakhet was meeting up with my American travel buddy who would arrive there by bus all the way from Vietnam. I spent several days there with my Dutch travel companion before happily reuniting with my Texan. What I liked the most about Savannakhet, was the night market which was basically like an outdoor food court with little plastic tables and chairs and a significantly low amount of tourists.

Savannakhet’s ‘night market’ by day

Market in Savannakhet

The market was organised in the context of the boat races on the Mekong River that weekend.

6. Vang Vieng

A true backpacker’s haven, Vang Vieng is close to many natural sights like caves and a river you can go tubing down. It’s actually very small for being one of Laos’ tourist hotspots, which just goes to show that tourism here is still a bit underdeveloped compared to the neighbouring countries. I was thinking that this is what Siem Reap must have felt like some 20 years ago.

Riverside in Vang Vieng

Around Vang Vieng

Inside one of the nearby caves

5. Bolaven plateau

Before my American travel buddy joined me, I explored the south of the country with my Dutch travel companion. Southern Laos boasts some incredible natural sights, many of which can be found on the Bolaven plateau. We saw some amazing waterfalls, to name one thing. I would love to come back and explore this region better one day.

A pair of mesmerizingly beautiful waterfalls we got to witness from up above

One of the local villages

Another waterfall…

… and yet another waterfall.

4. 4000 islands

Crossing the border from Cambodia into Laos, we directly arrived in the area that is nicknamed the ‘4000 islands’. There probably aren’t as many as that, but still quite a lot. The islands are all on the Mekong river, which is brown-coloured in the time of year that I was there. And still, Don Det (the island I stayed on), was a little piece of paradise, with little pathways leading from the cute village onto the countryside, palm trees everywhere, the river always near… With some fellow travellers, we rented bikes and had a great time exploring.

One of the village paths on Don Det

I only found out much later that this is actually the widest waterfall in the world! The Khone Phapheng Falls, on Don Khon Island. They sure don’t boast much about it on site, only a message to warn you about the danger of the slippery rocks 🙂

Beautiful landscapes on Don Det

I found out on Don Det that I was actually at 9595 km from Brussels. A distance I had entirely covered overland!

3. Luang Prabang

Although Luang Prabang turned out to be the most touristic place in all of Laos, it was nothing like some of the crazy other tourist hotspots in Southeast Asia. I found it to be a very pleasant little town to linger in. It has quite a French (colonial?) feel to it, but then again, some of the absolute prettiest temples that I have visited in Asia are also to be found here. The food is equally amazing: we enjoyed a lot of Asian, French and especially fusion cuisine. I still sometimes make gnocchi with green curry at home, based on a delicious meal I had in one of Luang Prabang’s cosy restaurants. Strolling around the night market was definitely another highlight, as were the day trips that we took from Luang Prabang: kayaking down the river, amazing waterfalls and an improvised little trip on a rented motorbike into the very untouristic countryside.

Luang Prabang’s main street

Royal Palace

Luang Prabang at night, with its many cosy and good restaurants

One of the residents at the sunbear sanctuary near the Kuang Si Waterfalls

Kuang Si Waterfalls

2. Thakek Loop

A lot of tourists who visit Laos don’t have enough time to squeeze the Thakek Loop into their schedule, but we did and we haven’t regretted it one bit. For four straight days, my travel buddy and I were out in the country with rented motorbikes, staying in little guesthouses, riding through stunning landscapes dotted with karst mountains, visiting caves, waterfalls and local villages. In between all of that, we somehow became travel boyfriend and girlfriend and probably that’s why I will never forget that day in Sanhak Guesthouse when I learned how to play Texas Hold’Em Poker, when we shared ice cream and chocolate, and when I truly came to realize that I was actually in very special company.

In order to visit this cave, we had to find the local boatman and pay him in order to take us into the cave, tucked away behind the green foliage.

Local kids having fun on the water

Beautiful scenery along the way

You never get bored on the Thakek Loop

Encounters on the road

Riding through a village

Our bikes, loyal companions for four days

I would often stop for pictures, testing my travel buddy’s patience; but seeing images like this, can you blame me?

In order to admire these waterfalls, we had to overcome a huge and deep puddle with our motorbikes, then figure out a trail from some old wooden arrows through rather thick jungle, then climb over rocks towards the back of another waterfall, before this view would eventually appear. We did this excursion with a little group of other travellers from the guesthouse (which was probably the safest thing to do). There was nobody else there except for us. The best day of the Loop without a doubt.

1. The Gibbon Experience

Not only was this the absolute highlight of my 5 weeks in Laos, it easily was one of the absolute highlights of my entire 7 months trip. How could sleeping in a tree house in the middle of the jungle and ziplining through trees and over the forest canopy for three days in a row be anything else but an incredible experience?
The Gibbon Experience is such an amazing concept: part of the money you pay for your participation goes directly into conservation projects for the natural area where the tour takes place. This means that you get to explore this region in a responsible way, but also in the most spectacular way!

On our way to the jungle

Hiking through the jungle

Inside the treehouse, which my travel boyfriend and I shared with 3 other pairs of travellers. Being a nice little group of 8 in total, we had an absolute blast playing werewolve here at night. Amazing memories.

View from the treehouse. This is also what we would see from some of the ziplines. Truly breathtaking.

This treehouse was our home for three days and two nights. The only way to access is was via… a zipline, of course.