30th April 2005 to 2nd May 2005

 

The initial idea to go to Laos (or written and pronounced "Lao" when in Laos - don't ask me why) was suggested by my client as a project trip after we had successfully finished the project we were working on.  That was three years ago.  A few delays here and there... and my, how time flys... we finally made it there.

 

First (second, and subsequently third) impressions of Lao were that it reminded me of Chiang Mai (a northern city of Thailand).  I mean to name a few things:  they speak Thai; their written characters are very similar to Thai; and the food is very similar too, ... the only noticeable thing is the French colonial influence in the buildings and their cooking - in that regards it's not that different to Vietnam.

 

For this particular trip, we chose to focus our attention to Luang Prahbrang, deemed a world heritage site, which is located on the Mekong river and about 435km north of the capital Vientiane.  By that I mean Noon organised everything, and I (and the rest of us) just showed up at Bangkok airport and enjoyed a hassle free tour.  Thanks Noon.

 

Anyway, Noon had organised our whirlwind three day trip to focus on four main areas.  In no particular order: the local villages; the Kuang Si falls; the river cruise down the Mekong river to see the Pak Ou Caves; and the various temples (three albums worth - also known as Wats).  For more details on each, just click into each album.