Bokeo Laos

Remove this Banner Ad

Tormented Tiger

Tormented Tiger

Premiership Player
Veteran
Jul 6, 2003
3,722
7
Norfcoat
AFL Club
Richmond
Other Teams
Team Stoner
Going in March after a 2 year delay. Finally gonna do the Gibbon Experience :thumbsu:

Been watching youtube clips [youtube]05Mqx_qTSvA&NR[/youtube]

Anybody has any info on what to expect would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hope it all goes well for you. Where else are you going while over there ?

We're flying into Hanoi then almost straight away into Laos for 5 days then back to Hanoi for a week with an overnight stay on a junk in Ha Long. From there a week in Hoi An then down to Siagon and then a week at a beach down that way. After working my clacka off around the house over x-mas I can't wait to get going.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Gonna try and cover quite some distance. I plan to start up north in Bokeo and cruise down the mekong to vientiane, then onto Luang prabang, with a visit to vang vieng in between. Phonsavan, where the "plain of jars" is located, is the next stop and then I'll slowly make my way down to Si phan don in the south. It's supposedly really beautiful down there.

I haven't really planned extensively, so if someone has any travel tips for Laos, let me know. Uh, maybe the mods can make this into a thread encompassing all Lao travel?
 
siamang said:
Gonna try and cover quite some distance. I plan to start up north in Bokeo and cruise down the mekong to vientiane, then onto Luang prabang, with a visit to vang vieng in between. Phonsavan, where the "plain of jars" is located, is the next stop and then I'll slowly make my way down to Si phan don in the south. It's supposedly really beautiful down there.

I haven't really planned extensively, so if someone has any travel tips for Laos, let me know. Uh, maybe the mods can make this into a thread encompassing all Lao travel?
Click to expand...

I have been to Laos twice. However, I have not had the time to be all that adventurous on either trip. On the last trip, my wife and I only got to Luang Prabang and Vientiane.

On my previous trip, I managed to get to the Bolaven Plateau, which was spectacular and a welcome cooler change from the searing heat (I went in May, one of the hotter months). The only problem is that I didn't really plan well enough and spent too much time in Pakse, which is not very special but it's necessary to go through it to see much in the South.

A couple of tips from my experience:

1. The bus ride from Pakse to Vientiane is uncomfortable and long but bearable;

2. Lao Airlines has a pretty poor record and my wife was terrified by the flights between Vientiane and Luang Prabang but we managed to get there and back in one piece;

3. Beware of Lao health services. I hit my head on a low awning in Pakse, splitting it and drawing a lot of blood. I went to the local hospital after seeing the look of horror on the faces of locals. They stitched me up without any anaesthetic and, because of the language barrier, without me knowing much of what was going on. When I later attended the Australian Embassy's clinic in Vientiane, the doctor was astounded that there was no infection;

4. Luang Prabang is one of the prettiest places on earth. If you have time, just sit back and soak it up. Once you have, then go and do all the activities the town offers;

5. Have a steam bath and get a massage at a wat in Vientiane (I forget the name of it). It costs virtually nothing, the steam bath is dark as the night and you end up sitting around in a thin piece of silk (along with quite a few locals).

6. Eat at the riverside places in Luang Prabang and Vientiane. They don't look like much but the food is fantastic. Particularly, go to Louis's in Luang Prabang, order from the back page of the menu the day before you dine (this allows them to go to the market the next morning to ge the ingredients fresh). You will sit in an unstable chair at a rickety table but have a great feed with a fantastic view of the Mekong at sunset; and

7. The pace is much, much slower than here, Vietnam, Thailand and almost any other place in the world. Relax and take it all in.

That's all I can think of at the moment. I hope some of that is helpful.
 
MrMeaner said:
3. Beware of Lao health services. I hit my head on a low awning in Pakse, splitting it and drawing a lot of blood. I went to the local hospital after seeing the look of horror on the faces of locals. They stitched me up without any anaesthetic and, because of the language barrier, without me knowing much of what was going on. When I later attended the Australian Embassy's clinic in Vientiane, the doctor was astounded that there was no infection;
Click to expand...

Thats advice I'll take with me or atleast remember. Only spending 1 night in Vientiane but will also remember the food overlooking the Mekong. Cheers :thumbsu:
 
My gibbon experience officially begins tommorow!

When I was in the office making a booking, another group had just returned from their trip. This guy was telling me it was the experience of a lifetime and that there were plently of gibbons clearly visible!
Not everyone gets that lucky, and sightings of wild populations of anything are never guaranteed, but now i'm pretty excited.:thumbsu:
 
Luang Prabang is an amazing place. The night markets are fantastic and the street vendors that sell baguettes stuffed to the brim for about $2 aren't bad either. As someone mentioned earlier, the riverside restaurants in Luang Prabang are fantasic. The waterfalls are something else in themselves, though the water is bloody cold.

If you're going to bus it between the cities, I can't tell you enough to take the minibus. Not only are they more comfortable, you don't have multiple heart attacks with a rickity, old, overloaded bus on narrow mountain roads.

Laos is almost perfection. Enjoy every second you have there.
 
.Shotties. said:
Luang Prabang is an amazing place. The night markets are fantastic and the street vendors that sell baguettes stuffed to the brim for about $2 aren't bad either. As someone mentioned earlier, the riverside restaurants in Luang Prabang are fantasic. The waterfalls are something else in themselves, though the water is bloody cold.

If you're going to bus it between the cities, I can't tell you enough to take the minibus. Not only are they more comfortable, you don't have multiple heart attacks with a rickity, old, overloaded bus on narrow mountain roads.

Laos is almost perfection. Enjoy every second you have there.
Click to expand...

Luang Prabang sounds great but just found out we'll be flying over it. Won't even get to do the bus trip. :(
 
Survived the Gibbon Experience. Did the Waterfall trek which is further than the Classic trek with less chances to see or hear Gibbons as we found out this info when we were heading back. Ohh and the waterfall is not that much of a reward when you get there. :mad:

The treehouses and zip lines were safe, strong and sturdy which left you in no fear and able to enjoy the veiws. The toilets have amazing veiws with the added fun of balancing on a sqat porcelin bowl next to a 70 mtr drop. Hanging by a single strap zipping over valleys 200mtrs plus up gives you a real buzz. The longest wire we went on was 500 mtrs long. There is an art to gliding which I was lucky to pick up quickly and left me only once pulling up short and having to drag myself in. All in all it was a great experience.

Laos itself I found disappointing. Cut and burn agriculture has left the country covered in a smokey smog. The capital Veintiane was a dry dustbowl with not much to offer while Houay Xai was like an old single street western cowboy town. With the Chinesse daming the Mekong to feed their electricity grid it leaves no water to catch a fast boat anywhere. Them buggas are really doing some damage. Still even though we didn't really see alot of Laos I think I've seen enough. Next time I think we'll go see more of Cambodia.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

In the Bokeo National Forest the locals like everywhere else in Asia eat everything that moves. The Black Gibbons were on the verge of extinction when a french dude came up with a plan to save the Gibbons. The plan was to set up an Eco-Freindly Tourism Trek in the wilds of Bokeo. The locals work as guides and help maintain the ziplines which brings cash into the villages in which they can buy alternative food and stop eating the Gibbons. The Trek is a 3 day trek with 2 nights sleeping in treehouses. During the trek you have to zip line (flying fox) across valleys and into and out of the treehouses. You walk up and down mountains and if your'e lucky you will catch a glimpse of the gibbons. We did the waterfall trek which has less to no chance of seeing the rare Gibbons but on the Classic trek there is a good chance atleast hearing the Gibbons singing in the morning. Hope this helps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top