Adventure Laos

Visiting a temple near Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is a very touristy town. However, we didn't come here for the happy hour and all night partying and pricey tourist restaurants and cafes. We came because we wanted to do adventure tours through the Lao countryside. We opted for the Lao triathlon: bicycling, kayaking and elephanting.

Bicycling from Luang Prabang

First off, we rode mountain bikes along a stretch of what will probably one day become a motorway and is currently a road construction zone. The ride took us from town into the suburbs and out into remote villages.

Bicycling along a road under construction

Next, it was an elephant ride through a jungle.

Riding an elephant

And finally, kayaking back down to where we started.

Kayaking on the Nam Khan river

After an adventure packed day we took advantage of the happy hour bars in Luang Prabang for some local beer tasting.

Lao beer tasting

Slowboat to Luang Prabang

Dinner with my family on the banks of the Mekong

I'm making another round of Laos with my family. When I was here by myself four months ago I didn't get around to riding the slowboat to Luang Prabang. This is supposed to be an unforgettable experience in Laos so we decided to do it.

Slowboats at the pier

It turned out to be such a disappointment. I imagined the slowboat to be full of local people with their stuff, the boat itself was supposed to have uncomfortable wooden benches and I somehow imagined that it would go slow.

Fancy seats inside the slowboat

It was nothing like it. There were about a dozen local people on the boat while the rest were all tourists. The seats looked like they came from an old bus and they were spaced so closely that the experience was like sitting in economy class in an airplane. The boat had a huge and loud motor that propelled it along the Mekong at a decent speed. There was a bar where we could buy drinks.

Children approach during one of the slowboat's stops

And thus we spent the better part of two days, crammed in those seats with very little legroom. Although the ride was tedious, we enjoyed the scenery along the way and had a nice time spending the night in a village where the boat stopped for the night.

View of the Mekong from the slowboat

I guess doing the slowboat is an experience not to be missed, not because it is so fantastic but simply because if I hadn't done it I would never have known that I didn't really have to do it at all.

My favorite landmarks in Laos

Wat Xieng Thong

There are so many beautiful temples in Thailand and Laos, it would be pointless to visit them all. After a while, they all begin to look more or less the same. They all have lots of gold paint, Buddha statues, and marigold offerings. Yes, I finally figured out why they cultivate marigolds around here. They use the orange blossoms to adorn the temples.

Luang Namtha stupa

Every once in a while, a temple or landmark intrigues me so that I take a closer look. The stupa in Luang Namtha, for example. I was told that this is a new stupa, rebuilt where the old one was destroyed by an American bomber in 1966. What I found interesting is that they left the remains of the old stupa and built the new one next to the old one, perhaps leaving the old one as a reminder.

Detail on Wat Xieng Thong

In Luang Prabang, I was drawn to the Wat Xieng Thong, because it’s different from the usual golden temples. This one is covered in emerald colored glass instead of the usual gold. The outside walls are detailed mosaics in tiny pieces of colored glass, depicting everyday life. Beautiful.

Arc de Triomphe of Vientiane

And in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, where the French influence can’t be missed, with the baguettes and croissants, wine shops, restaurants serving salade Niçoise, and so on, the most prominent landmark has to be the Lao version of the Arc de Triomphe. They say that it’s just a heap of ugly concrete, but looking from afar, it’s surrounded by a well-manicured garden and I like it.