After two unforgettable weeks in Cambodia, we're tackling our last country in South-East Asia: Laos.
We imagined Laos as a country still well preserved from mass tourism compared to its neighbours. We were looking forward to discovering this country, but at the same time we had absolutely no idea what to expect: what landscapes would we discover? what would we eat? what culture would we encounter?
We invite you to join us on a journey to the heart of Laos!
Our favourite place
Tanguy chose: Don Det
We spent four days on Don Det, one of the 4,000 islands. Here, it's great to relax in a hut on the banks of the Mekong, cycle around the island, swim in the waterfalls and watch the sun set over the river while enjoying a good pad Thai and a Lao beer.
Dune opted for : Nong Khiaw
Nong Khiaw is a tiny village in northern Laos, surrounded by mountains and crossed by a pretty turquoise river. As in Don Det, we stayed in a hut on the banks of the river. During daytime, we hiked to the top of the mountains to take in the view of the village and then returned home to watch the sunset from our accommodation. A holiday that was both sporty and relaxing!
What's for dinner ?
We didn't make any culinary discoveries in Laos. The dishes eaten here are very similar to those in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam: amok, green papaya salad, laab, sticky rice, khao soi, phô... These dishes are in fact regional specialities.
We ate our first bobun in Laos, and it was delicious: fresh, flavoured with mint, parsley and coriander, and topped with fried egg rolls. We recommend the Phonheuang Cafe restaurant in Luang Prabang, which offers delicious vegetarian options at very low prices.
At the Toon Poh restaurant in Nong Khiaw, we also had our best peanut curry, which is very close to our favourite Panang curry, tasted in Thailand.
Finally, the French colonisation of Laos has left its mark on Laotian cuisine: bakeries can be found in every town. So we had plenty of the delicious pastries, coffees and breads of Laos.
A lovely meeting
We spent two days and one night in Fasay Garden, staying with the family of Saï and Eck, who offer an immersion into village life. Their project is to give English lessons to the children of the village, who rarely have the means to go to town to learn, and also to provide school supplies to the surrounding schools. Part of the profits from their homestay is therefore dedicated to this activity.
What's more, Fasay Garden is just 200m from the famous Kuang Si Waterfall, so you can visit it before it opens! Eck and Saï teach you how to cook sticky rice and fried bamboo, offer you the opportunity to take part in the daily donation ceremony to the village monks, take part in their English lessons, swim in the village waterfall... Sai and Eck receive many visitors every day, and put their heart and soul into providing a good experience for their guests but above all into improving education in their village. Their dedication is remarkable and very inspiring.
To contact them: Fasay Garden on Facebook // +856 20 54 379 966 on WhatsApp
Cost: 800K kip for two people for one night and two days, including meals (2 lunches, 1 evening, 1 breakfast).
Laos is an incredible country to visit for both sports enthusiasts and siesta lovers. The landscapes are made up of high peaks, waterfalls and rivers where it's good to cool off, as the temperatures in Laos, deprived of the sea breeze, can be very high. Thrill-seekers will be won over by the country, which offers cave exploration, hot-air ballooning, kayaking and buoyancy.
However, contrary to what we thought, Laos is not at all unspoilt by mass tourism (which is almost exclusively French!), and at times we even had the impression that there was more of it than in Thailand, for example (which is not the case). This is due to the fact that tourists in Laos almost all follow the same route, and that there are fewer accessible tourist destinations than elsewhere.
We were preparing our one-month Chinese visa, and between planning the itinerary and the stress of obtaining the visa, we were already immersed in the rest of our trip. This certainly affected our immersion in Laotian culture.
join us on our journey!
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