Laos

Laos
sucked me in immediately. On the rare occasion I wasn’t
surrounded by temples, I found myself in one leafy paradise after
another; a mix of mountains, palm trees and the Mekong Delta.

While the capital of Vientiane is a good place to start a trip,
it’s not as lively as the northern cities of Vang Vieng and Luang
Prabang. There are plenty of places to sit, drink coffee and absorb
the laid-back city vibes, so get a Lao massage, sample local
cuisine and soak it all up. Wat Phat Luang, Laos’ most important
national monument, is a little out of town but well worth the
journey.

Next up was Luang Prabang, an 11-hour bus ride north of
Vientiane. A mesmerising place with sleepy streets and riverside
temples – 33 of them, to be exact. The Kuang Su waterfall was
particularly memorable, with cold turquoise water that you can swim
in after a steep climb to the top of the waterfall.

While there are many foreigners in Laos, I got the sense that I
was surrounded by long-term travellers rather than tourists. Many
people from Europe and America had been living there for several
years but no matter how long they’d been there, everyone seemed to
be taking the time to fully immerse themselves in the country.

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