Vientiane, That Luang, a temple / Stupa, Patuxai, a kind of Arc de Triumph with nice views of the city, Buddha Park (about 20 km away), you can go into the ‘Globe’ statue and discover the inside, also good view of the Buddha Park from the top of the Globe. Joma Bakery for great breakfast.
In the far South (combine with entry or exit to Cambodia) Si Phan Don, 4000 Islands, Don Det, beautiful, huts on the river for just 1 or 2 $. Beware of ‘happy’ meals and cakes…
From Pakse go to Bolovensplateau, mountainous area. Stay in Tat Lo at Tim’s Guesthouse or at least get the hiking info and map there.
Vang Vieng is a lovely laid back town on the river. Here you can go tubing or kayaking. In many restaurants they show Friends or Simpsons reruns over and over, pretty funny for with your meal.
Vang Vieng had a bad rap for a while with drug using tourists. Right now it is slowly getting back to normal. Keep it like that. Kamphone Guesthouse very nice, shower with hot water. Organic Farm Cafe nice food.
Luang Prabang, second biggest city of Laos. Wat That Guesthouse very nice rooms with private bathroom and friendly hostess. Royal Palace and National Museum, nice buildings and museum. City is nice to bike around in as well, you may even feel like checking out the country side surrounding it as well. Wat Phousi (yes, you pronounce it the way you think you pronounce it…), temple up on the mountain (328 steps up), very nice for sunset. Night market in the evening, and very early in the morning (06.00) monks begging round in the tradition of Buddha, Pak Ou caves by boat trip, caves with lots of Buddha statues (do the upper one first, then the bottom one, everybody else will do it the other way around. The bottom one is nicer.) and little visit to a village on the river. Do Tat Kouang Si waterfalls and the Kouang Si Butterfly Park by a private tuktuk (it’s about 29 km south of Luang Prabang) so you have the time to check both out. The waterfalls are amazing, it’s a beautiful tropical paradise with different pools and waterfalls. About 200 meter before the entrance to the Waterfall park, is the Tat Kouang Si Butterfly Park, operated by a Dutch couple, Ineke and Olaf. There are lots of butterflies to see, and they have several other things to see and do as well. Beautiful handmade clothes at Anakha.
Slow Boat from Luang Prabang via Pakbeng to Houai Xai. Takes 2 full days (approx 9 hours each day) on the boat. Also possible to do the fast boat, but not safe… In Houai Xai, when staying at the Taveesinh, try and get a pink room. Also the Gibbon Experience office is across the road from Taveesinh. The Gibbon Experience is an amazing jungle experience, ziplining between high (very high) trees, staying in a treehut, and hopefully spot some gibbons. I’m afraid of heights, and no, it wasn’t easy, but together with some supportive people around you, just go for it! Feel the fear and do it anyway! And it may sound silly, but get a fanny pack to keep some valuables and a bottle of water on you while you’re zipping from tree to tree. Totally retro, shall we say?
If they offer it, you may want to get the 2 person hut. There are different huts, with different number of beds (even up to 11), but if you’re just with 2 people, you can get the private hut if you speak up quickly enough (before another couple claims it).
Louang Nam Tha – North part of the city is nicer to stay in, with lots of restaurants in the vicinity. The south part is about 7 km away. Stay at Zuela Guesthouse. Rent a bike with a map of the area, and go to the waterfall, the river (you may have to cross the river walking (up to 3 ft / 1 meter deep), like I had to do, I did not find a bridge or so) and a restaurant, before heading back to north Louang Nam Tha via the south part of the city.
From Louang Nam Tha you can organize a Jungle Trekking in Nam Ha National Park, stay one night in a guesthouse in Nalan Neua Village on the Ha river, and the next night in a jungle hut. Make sure you tuck in the mosquito nets under the mattress to have a good night’s sleep without any bugs or spiders. Authentic Lao lunch picnic on banana leaves. Wear good shoes, and know it can get a bit muddy and slippery. Also the nights can be quite cold, especially for the jungle hut night, so bring warm layers.
Muang Sing close to Chinese border. Go to Tailu restaurant. Ask the lady owner for her specialties of the day, she doesn’t speak much English, but it’s fun trying to communicate with her. She’ll whip up something good. Have a Lao coffee, very strong with half an inch (1 cm) of sweetened condensed milk, delicious! Phou Lu Guest House Travel-Eco-Tourism II has very nice bungalow style rooms.
Go via Nong Khiaw to Muong Ngoi, stay at Vita Guesthouse, very friendly hostess, middle of nowhere, fun walk from Muong Ngoi to a small village called Bannaka along a cave with a well, and a creek. When you get to the rice fields, go via the fields to the village you see over there.
Organized 2 week tour with gibbon experience and jungle trekking, via … (what 333travel used)
Eat and drink: Beer Lao, jungle meals cooked in a bamboo trunk, in Muong Ngoi: great thick pancakes (literally a cake made in a pan, juicy inside, crispy outside) with chocolate, banana, jam etc. Lap or Larp is also a traditional Lao meal, a meat salad that you eat with sticky rice. Make little balls with a dimple in it of the rice, and scoop up some of the lap, to eat it together. Khao Soy, thick noodles in soup with a Bolognese kind of paste.
