Before we start, here is a brief intro you’ll find at the start of all of my blogs!
This is a story-style travel blog featuring my adventure through Southeast Asia in the fall of 2024. I spent 1 week on my own in Laos, then joined a 14-day tour called Ultimate Cambodian Adventure from the company G Adventures, and a final 3-day solo stop in Singapore. You can read the blog in order, or about whichever destination intrigues you! Within my stories, I’ll offer some recommendations and some tips and tricks for a smooth journey. When I travel, I mostly do group tours and the reasons are:
* As a solo woman traveler, it is much safer especially if traveling long distances or to countries that can be dangerous in some areas
*The itineraries are amazing and usually include all of the things you’d want to see and do…and if not, there is free time to do as you wish
*You don’t have to worry about booking transport, finding hotels, etc. Sometimes that can contribute to the adventure, but it’s also nice to sit back and relax and let your Tour CEO be in charge
* And finally…the new people you meet on your tour become your family, and I’ve made lifelong friends in these journeys. For myself, this has equal importance with exploring new countries.
Laos is a serene and captivating landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by China, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar.
It is considered to be a relatively poor country, but it’s seen some growth recently due to tourism, mining and hydroelectric power export. There are 7 million people in this small country, with a diverse mix of ethnic groups. Here you can experience lot of its of natural beauty, like the lush jungles, flowing rivers, misty mountains, waterfalls and so many golden temples that glisten in the sun and welcome visitors to their warmth and tradition. In the mid 1800’s, The French arrived here and you can see some of this influence in the architecture and some older citizens still speak French. During the Vietnam War, Laos was heavily bombed due to parts of the country being occupied by the Vietnamese. It holds the distinction of being the most heavily bombed country in the world, and they are still working to safely remove any unexploded ordnances, which I will talk more about in future blogs. Laos is a socialist state, and openly endorses communism.
Luang Prabang is located in the Northern mountains of Laos; it’s a UNESCO World Heritage city that is rich with ancient tradition and natural beauty. It is known for its well preserved architectural, religious and cultural heritage. Luang Prabang is located where the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers meet, and is abundant in Buddhist temples and monasteries
I’m ready to begin Day 2 of my time in Luang Prabang, and today I am headed out of the city on a day tour I prebooked through Get Your Guide
PRO TIP: you can choose to explore on your own, but sometimes booking a day tour allows you to see more areas and attractions in a short amount of time. I use www.getyourguide.com. This is a third-party company that books the tour for you with the local companies that you may not be able to access from overseas.
The tour I choose is the Cruise to Pak Ou Caves & Kuang Si Waterfalls with Manifa Travel Co Ltd. It will be a 9-hour day; they pick me up directly from the hotel at 8:30am. There is around 12 of us in this group today. Our guide is Phong, and he is super cool and I can tell we are going to have a fun day!
The first stop is a Hmong village exhibition – the Hmong people are an ethnic group that are found in the mountainous and highland regions of southeast Asia. Their cultural heritage is rich, as is shown in this presentation. There is a room that displays a traditional house and living style, as well as everyday tools they use.
One guy plays a traditional instrument called the Qeej, a mouth organ with bamboo pipes.
A woman dressed in traditional clothes shows us how they sew/make clothes, crush rice, make pottery, and one even shoots a crossbow with impeccable aim. There is a very annoying interrupting rooster that is hanging around, crowing constantly. I guess we can’t blame him for rooster-ing!!
The next stop is the Kuang Si Waterfalls, the main highlight of this tour. Everyone has been quiet up until this point, but then a few of us girls join forces and spend the morning together admiring the falls. Stephanie from Canada, Vidheesha from the USA, and Thamoo from Switzerland.
We take a golf cart up to the falls; Kuang Si is a 3-tiered waterfall with a 200-foot drop.
Leading up to this main fall, there are many shallow pools for swimming.
The water is a beautiful turquoise color; it’s so tempting to go for a swim but I’m not really feeling it. If I stand close enough to some of these smaller falls, I get a nice spray of water so that’s good enough for me. None of the girls want to swim either, so we find a picnic bench and sit and have a chat for the next hour. The waterfall park also has a Bear Rescue Centre, so I stop to watch them on the way back down to the van. They are super cute.
The next stop on this tour is for lunch, and I don’t know what the place is called but it’s right along the banks of the Mekong with some beautiful views.
It’s so peaceful, and we have a nice buffet lunch – a mix of Asian and Western cuisine. Drinks are included, so how can I not enjoy a refreshing cold beer?
The best thing about this place though is the resident elephants. I try to be very aware of how these animals are kept, and this one seems to be well taken care of. Apparently, there are 13 elephants that live here but we just meet this one. Her handler is there to chop up melons for us to feed her, and she anxiously awaits…and elephants eat A LOT.
After lunch, we’re back in the van for a very windy drive to the next stop, and I need to sit up at the front with Phong. We have a nice chat, and he shows me some pics of his brand-new baby daughter.
We arrive at the dock to board the boat that will take us down the Mekong River. The scenery is just breathtaking.
We arrive at the Pak Ou Caves, which consist of 2 caves within the rocks with many mini-Buddha sculptures which are laid out over the wall shelves.
I can see that it’s a steep hike up a shit ton of stairs to get to the first cave. Phong assures us that it isn’t too bad, and even though it’s SOOO hot, I figure I’ll give it a go. Um yeah, not an easy hike and the stairs are half the size of my legs. Of course, I’m the last one to reach the temple at the top and I’m dripping with sweat and panting like a sloth trying to win a 100m dash.
But it is pretty cool inside the cave!
I make sure I don’t spend too much time up here because I know I need to start walking back down the stairs…it’s just as hard coming down with short legs and old knees. Haha. I wasn’t planning on climbing up to this next cave, but hey, I survived the other one so I may as well!
It’s cool up here too, more Buddha figures.
Back on the boat for our last stop of the day…a place where they sell rice whiskey and we get to sample it. Yay!!! I’ve already tried some at the night market last night, but I’m always open to sample more! And we get to try the snake whiskey…it’s pretty potent.
The snake is trapped in the bottle of the rice wine, drowns, and then it ferments inside and imparts a very unique flavor. You can drink it for pleasure, but they also believe it is good for pain relief, as an aphrodisiac and for male virility.
We get back on the boat, and it takes us over to the Luang Prabang peninsula.
I say goodbye to my new friends and head off to find something for dinner. Overall, it was an absolutely amazing day and I highly recommend doing a tour like this one!
For my last dinner in Luang Prabang I find another restaurant on my list called Tamnak Lao.
https://tamnaklao.la/index.php/luang-prabang/
I’m the only one in the restaurant, so I get a lot of attention from the staff. But also, too much attention. Haha. I order vermicelli noodles with veggies, mushrooms and eggs.
To drink, I find something on the menu that I’ve never heard of and it piques my curiosity. Butterfly Pea juice. It is amazing! Turns out, butterfly pea is a plant whose flowers can be used to dye natural fibers, as food coloring or as a tea/drink.
After dinner I walk back through the market one last time to pick up a couple more things. As I’m walking past one of the food stands, I notice Vidheesha waiting for a snack! She had only done the morning part of our tour today, so it is cool to run into her now. We hang out for a bit, checking out the market. I splurge on this gorgeous hand-woven bamboo purse even though I’m sure I don’t have any more room in my bags for more souvenirs. Haha typical.
If you’ve been to Southeast Asia, you know that massages are cheap and amazing, and offered everywhere. There is a small massage shop across from the hotel so I figure this is the perfect place to end my evening. As usual, I’m the only one here. The experience starts with the girl washing my feet in a small tub of water.
I don’t want to do a full body massage so I go for the “foot and hand massage” which also includes legs and arms. The girl takes me back to the massage bed and I lay down, ready to relax in pure massage bliss. Except this massage is not all that relaxing. She’s pushing down hard on my arms, like with all her weight, and then does this weird pinchy grabby motion up and down my arms. Despite this, the hand and arm part of this massage is still pretty great, and at one point I drift off into a light nap…you know the kind where you feel all fuzzy and weird and don’t realize you’re asleep, but also it’s amazing. Then we get to the feet…. Like, when she’s nicely massaging my feet and calves…wow. And then she yanks on my toes to crack them. Well now I’m awake. Haha. And then she starts punching the bottoms of my feet. Like hard punching. So bizarre. I guess that’s my wake-up call, because the massage is now over. I go to pay the girl, and realize I don’t have enough cash on me. Omg I feel like such an ass. Luckily the hotel is right across the street so I assure her that I will come back to pay. Total price – $10CAD.
I have nothing else to do tonight but sit back and relax at the hotel, in full post massage bliss.
For my final day in Luang Prabang, I decide it will be a great idea to hike up to Phousi Hill. In the heat. It has 328 steps to the top.
I’m feeling pretty confident after I mastered the steps at the caves yesterday, but little do I know this is way more challenging. The good thing is I have lots of time, so I can take it slow. The hill is located right in the middle of town, and is a local religious site with many Buddhist shrines up top.
I’m only halfway up and already I’m loving the views.
There are two ways to get to the top, so I decide to go up one way and down the other. At the top is the Wat Chom Si, a golden pagoda topped with a 7-tiered parasol.
I am able to find some shade up here while I rest, and then it’s back down – which as I’ve mentioned, is often harder and more dangerous (chances of falling). I try not to worry as I take in the cool Buddha statues and small temples.
There is one of a reclining Buddha…
And one that houses the footprint of Buddha…here is a pic but it’s kind of hard to make out what it is. All I know is Buddha had big feet.
My next stop is the Royal Palace Museum; the palace was built in 1904 for King Sisavang Vong and has distinct French Colonial and Laotian style.
There is no photography allowed, so you’ll have to trust me when I say it’s a cool place to check out. Also, it gets me out of the heat and there are tons of giant fans in the museum. Yay!! There is the collection of prized art pieces, paintings and portraits, and the crown jewels. Among the palace grounds is the Haw Pha Bang temple; I don’t go inside but instead I sit in the park on a bench under a tree and soak it all in.
After my rest, I end up at a small museum called TAEC – Traditional Arts and Ethnology centre. It’s mostly a collection of costumes and traditional wear; the museum also operates as a fair-trade handicraft shop and a learning centre.
My final stop is over in the Old Quarter; there are many old European style buildings to have a look at.
My main reason for coming over here is to visit the UXO Lao Visitors Centre, where there are displays of real-life bombs that were recovered after the war.
A very large percentage of the bombs that rained down on Laos still remain here unexploded. This continues to have a devastating impact, with many causalities and injuries occurring regularly.
In this small museum, you can learn about the history of the bombing of Laos, and read survivor stories and also learn about how they are working endlessly to clean up the “bombies”.
After this visit, I stop at the park dedicated to President Souphanouvong.
As I’m heading back to the hotel, I spot a store called JC Mini Mart, and I figure it might be fun to have a look inside. And it does not disappoint!
It’s definitely a big sheet of seaweed, but is that what will happen after you eat it? Haha.
Check out these designer bags…I really want the Christine Dinq one but I know for sure I do not have room to bring it home.
The perfume section…since I sell perfume for a living, I get a huge kick out of this.
I still need to have lunch so I try out a random place called La Silapa – Italian and Laos food.
I sit inside because they have air con, and it is icy cold in here. I order the pasta Bolognese and a local Luang Prabang beer.
When I’m finished eating, I take my beer outside and sit on the patio for a bit, because it’s a little more exciting than sitting in an empty restaurant!
The hotel has arranged a van to take me back to the train station, and I feel like it’s cutting it close when it arrives an hour before my train leaves. But no problem, I gotta trust the system. As I’m going through security check in, my bag is pulled aside and they take away my snake whiskey. I’m SUPER pissed, because I can’t understand why they are taking it and all they can say is “snake”.
What I hadn’t realized is that the whiskey is a prohibited item because it contains an animal. You’re not allowed to bring any animals, alive or dead, on the train. Seems silly, but what can I do. After the 2-hour train ride, I am picked up by my buddy Tommy from New Champa Hotel , so it’s cool to see him one last time. My final dinner in Laos is at a bustling place called Day2night.
I have the pork and shrimp spring rolls…
And play with the most adorable resident kittens.
I spend the remainder of my evening repacking my suitcase, to get ready for tomorrows departure for Cambodia!
Laos has been absolutely amazing, and I’ve enjoyed very minute of my time here. I highly encourage you to include this country on your itinerary when visiting Southeast Asia!!
Everywhere On Earth With Erin 