Photos  -  Laos

Central Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. Viantiane draws some unfair reports from spoilt tourists as being a dusty and horrible hole, not fit for the capital city of a country. However, it is full of charm and character, the locals are very friendly, and I found it to be entirely enjoyable.

Looking towards the Arch de Triumphe/Anusawalie/Victory Monument, central Vientiane

Looking northwards from the top of Anusawalie, central Vientiane

Looking across the mighty Mekong River from Vientiane (Laos) to Nong Khai (Thailand). The Mekong either runs through or borders six countries: China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Until recently it was the safest way of travelling through Laos, avoiding bandits and abominable roads. Although Vientiane is undeveloped it pales in comparison to the lack of development through the rest of the country.

Vang Viang. This small and scenic town is four hours north of Vientiane by rattly old buses as hot as ovens. It's sadly filled with dope-smoking backpackers, being rude to the locals and passing their days floating down, and sometimes drowning in, the river in rubber tubes stoned out of their heads.

A large, multi-tiered waterfall (naam tok) near Luang Prabang. I sat down and talked with the local food stall holders and was also invited to join a Lao family sitting in a circle for lunch and beer. The low-down is, Lao people are friendly, and it meant knowing some Thai made the experience so much richer. (Lao is about half the same as Thai, and the Lao people seem to understand Thai better than the Thais!)

A wat (temple) in front of the Palace which is now a museum in Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang is the ancient capital of Laos, and has three temples every metre. It's also on the Mekong and is absolutely charming, from the French-style villas to the cafes. One night there I found the disco, and was it ever such a cool place. A disco in Laos?! The town was unbelievably hot while I was there, at least 40 degrees.

These are some English-speaking monks visiting from another region, photographed by the temple on the hill in the middle of the town.

The oldest and most beautiful temple in Luang Prabang.

This photo is taken from the back of the wooden house I stayed at in Boten. Boten is the border town with China, and it was another world. It's difficult to describe the place... wooden shacks, quietness, absolutely nothing like the modern world. Travel by this stage was in the back of pickup trucks along very rough and windy unsealed roads, crammed in with the locals and their produce.