As I arrived in Luang Namtha I met Justin and Rhys, good lads, they suggested we group up and get a room together. They were booked in on a two day jungle trek through the Namtha valley, I decided to join them.
On the first day a guide took us into the jungle for the start [...]

Luang Prabang is a perfect little town, completely unspoilt and relaxing. I took a boat ride to a cave full of Buddhas and a tuk-tuk to the most amazing waterfall I’ve ever seen. Words can’t describe what my crappy 2 mega-pixel camera can.
I strolled round the night markets, watched Slumdog Millionaire in my hostel (8/10) [...]

Everyone in Laos, or even SE Asia for that matter, has heard of Vang Vieng. This is because of the notorious tubing activity down the Nam Song river. Before I can get involved I need to give my foot time to heal.
In the meantime I hire a mountain bike and get out of town. The [...]

Alive, and still able to wiggle my toes I awake in Pakse. I decide that a trip to a Thai hospital is for serious injuries only. I will make do with the clinic located in the Australian embassy in the capital if Laos, Vientiane. I book a sleeper bus and leave at 8 that evening.
The [...]

Sticking to the rule I set myself, I took a Sawngthaew (pick-up converted to carry human beings) to Pakse. Then another one to Pakse. Then another. Each one claiming to be going to Pakse. It all worked out in the end, cheaper and with more chickens than on an AC VIP bus for tourists. The [...]

A couple of hours North of Don Det is Champasak. I stayed in a bamboo bungalow with a resident frog in the bathroom.
The thing with living out of a bag is that you lower your standard of hygiene a little, you have to. And the thing with that is that you get used to living [...]

My bus to Don Det in Laos arrived an hour late, and it wasn’t a bus. I climbed over containers of fuel, crates of Coke and boarded the old Sawngthaew. A Sawngthaew is a small pick-up truck that’s been converted into a people carrier with 2 benches facing each other. It has a metal frame [...]

I remember years ago when my Dad went to America. I was fascinated by the Dangers And Annoyances section in his guidebook. Its still the first page I turn too when reading about far away countries today.
While eating breakfast this morning, I read an old guidebook of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos from the early nineties. [...]