Laos

And now you will probably ask yourselves: and what the hell do they eat in Laos? Though there is much less variety in the dishes than in neighboring Vietnam or Thailand, Laos does have some typical dishes that you will most likely find on every menu.

What else do you need in life than a cozy bungalow with riverviews, a hammock and a good book to switch off an relax a bit?  We went to Si Phan Don (literally 4000 islands) to find exactly this...

On the way down, we stopped in Pakse, the main city in southern Laos which is the gateway to the Bolaven Plateau. We rented a motorbike again to explore the waterfalls and coffee plantations on the plateau as well as a temple in Champasak.

After Vang Vieng and a night in Vientiane we continued our way down south to Thakhek, a city that does not offer much itself, but is a popular stop for doing a 3-5 days motorbike loop exploring beautiful landscapes and many caves on the way.

The little town of Vang Vieng became known years ago as a paradise for rave parties, these days the place is for outdoor adventurers and cave explorers.
The capital Vientiane is nothing special compared to Luang Prabang, but you have a good selection of reastaurants over there.

After the adventurous and very authentic trek in Phongsaly, we went on a chilled boat ride down the Nam Ou river to arrive at the small, yet beautiful town of Luang Prabang to do sightseeing, relax and celebrate Alex' birthday.

 

Time to leave Hoi An and Vietnam for Laos. Airliners that we are, we took the opportunity to fly in order to reach Dien Bien Phu (plus it saved us a bottom pain 48 hours bus journey). The journey took us from Danang airport (30 min away from Hoi An) to Hanoi and then connecting to DBP. The next day we travelled to Phongsaly where one of the most authentic experiences was just ahead of us…