Laos Itinerary and Recommendations

Hotels

Luang Prabang – 7 nights – 3 in an Airbnb outside of town.  Message for details – recommended for location but not for host. 4 in the city, another Airbnb which was at Tui Cafe and can be booked as a walk in.  Highly recommended.  Clean, great breakfast and perfect location.

Nong Khiaw – 3 nights.  1 in NongKhiaw River View which I do not recommend.  Hot with sun all afternoon, not clean, out of main drag of town, no English speaking staff, breakfast was a stale roll and dried out fried egg.  2 nights at Arthith Guesthouse.  Great location and views.  It was booked do line but when I went and asked I was put in their second building which was fine.

Muang Ngoi 3 nights – Nicksa Bungalows.  Was fine.  Don’t expect much – it is a small village on the river with very basic amenities.  Go upmarket if you want a clean working shower and reasonable room.  The view as to die for though.

Vang Vieng 3 nights – Sky Hotel – highly recommended. Clean, pool, rooftop to watch the balloons, good breakfast, friendly and helpful staff, good location.

Vientiane – 2 nights – LanXang Korea Hotel – do not recommend.  Very noisy if you are in a room on the side with the bar, had to be moved.  Breakfast all Korean.  Good location though.

Other

I did not go South in Laos, it is a long distance, bad roads, and somewhere it is better with a travel buddy or partner.  There are some 'loops' to see the countryside from Pakse and Thackek, but most people do them on scooters.  Not me.  Hiring a car and/or driver was expensive $240USD for 3 nights.  Not something I wanted to do solo.

There are the 4000 islands which are on the Mekong and a place you can 'chill'.  However I heard there isn't much to do there, and a lot of weed around.  To be honest, there are nicer places I think to chill, so I didn't go.

I have worked out on this trip that some places are not worth the effort to get there.  Will write a blog post on that at some point. 

Hua Hin, Thailand, another place to retire?

I spent 6 nights in Hua Hin.  It is 3 to 4 hours in a private car, public bus, or on the train, from Bangkok.  One of the closest and easiest beaches to get to on the mainland from Bangkok.  I had read online before leaving Australia, that it is one of the larger expat communities in Thailand, along with Chiang Mai.  I spent 10 days in Chang Mai and thought it would be a great place to live.  See https://karenstravels22.blogspot.com/2025/01/chiang-mai-as-place-to-retire.html.

I think Hua Hin could also be a place to live.  There were some downsides, from what I saw from such a short acquaintance with the place.  Hua Hin has quite a seedy bar girl, fat white western men looking for sex culture.  Admittedly I was staying in a hotel right in the centre and it was in your face, but being such a small place, the sex culture is concentrated in a few short streets.  It would be a mecca for single older women, if only the hundreds of single men I saw wandering around weren’t just looking for paid sex with a young Thai woman! Or even a relationship, if that is what you could call it.

The other thing about Hua Hin is that the places you might want to go are stretched out along the road between Cha’am in the North and South of Hua Hin City.  You would need a bike or car or pay a lot riding on Grab cars or bikes to get around.  Chang Mai is more compact and walkable. 

There are many positives.  A great beach, with many hotels and cafes lining it, where you can sit on a lounger in the shade (for a fee), enjoy the water views, even use one of the big hotel’s swimming pools.  

There is a lot of night life, and on Facebook a number of expats groups, including women, arranging socials, bookclubs and so on.  

There are Thai local markets, like the Tuesday market and morning market and more touristy ones, including the weekend Cicada, with local crafts and arts, and a clean eating areas, music and a general Western feel about it.  

I guess when deciding between Chang Mai and Hua Hin, it is a case of beach or mountains.  Or maybe do a bit of both!

The age old question, wing it or book ahead?

In the 80’s, with no smart phones, or world wide web, there really wasn’t much choice about booking ahead.  I travelled with my handy Lonely Planet Guidebook, fronted up at a hotel, asked if there were rooms and the price, and just stayed as long or as little as I liked.  When I set off on this long trip, I thought that I would be able to easily wing it, stay if I like a place and move on if I didn’t.  It hasn’t quite turned out that way.  Because it is so easy to book online, and there are now so many more tourists than ‘back in the day’, very busy tourist sights or routes, get booked out way in advance.

A good example is the train in Sri Lanka from Kandy to Ella.  Supposedly one of the most scenic train routes in the world, tickets are at a premium.    They only come on sale a month in advance online, but are snapped up within minutes of going on sale.  It is believed that it is local travel agents and local operators buying it up and then on selling. For a normal tourist, trying to navigate the website alone, it is impossible to buy them. There is actually an enquiry into who is booking all the tickets. You could try winging it by buying a seat first thing in the morning, which I believe is available, but it is chancy.  You would have to find a bus or a private driver if you don’t make it on. 

Other train journeys can be hard to book.  The best overnight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai gets booked out a month in advance.  I tried to book an overnight sleeper train from  Vientiane to Bangkok, no luck at all.  Finally, you can get the public boat from Thailand through to Luang  Prabang in Laos on the day, but risk it being very crowded. If you want one of the private, more comfortable boats, booking in advance may be necessary. 

Finally, on my last minute decision to overnight in Pai, in Northern Thailand, I found out I had to book my return  van before I left or risk not being able to get back to Chiang Mai when I wanted to.  As it was, my friend and I booked the last seat each at 2 different times to return. 

It seems therefore, that the popular transits from one place to another might have to be decided in advance.  That really cuts into the ability to wing it.  My solution was to have set dates to work around, so the flight to Chaing Mai – booked  in advance and the Mekong slow boat – booked in advance – and then give myself freedom to change dates within those parameters.  Which I did.  

With the availability of accommodation on line that you can cancel, up to a certain date, I have booked hotels on booking.com or Agoda with several different dates and options, allowing me to choose whether I wanted to stay 2 or 3 nights after I arrived.  That worked some of the time, until I forgot the cancellation date for Vang Vieng and so realised I had to stay 3 nights or lose money.  Luckily that worked out ok because I hurt my knee and needed to rest on the third day!

At 63, I am not comfortable turning up somewhere without a room booked at all.  I did that in my 20’s and could sleep in the railway station (Rome) or on the streets (Pamplona) or on an overnight train going one way and returning back the following morning! I could also walk around with my backpack for as long as it took.  Now, I have a small backpack and carryon size wheely suitcase.  I am not prepared to walk around all morning pulling it over uneven steps in the dust, to find an available room, that I like, at the price I am prepared to pay.  So far on this trip, I have not turned up anywhere without at least one night’s booking.  

I have been able to amend my dates somewhat though. I arrived in Muang Ngoi in Laos with 2 nights booked, fell in love with it and booked a third in the same hotel at the same price.  I was lucky that it was available, otherwise I would have been able to move.  I had arrived in Nong Khiaw, the town up river that you get to Muang Ngoi from, and had only one night booked because I knew I was leaving the next day.  I did not like that accommodation, so had tentatively booked a place in person, but had not paid.  I wasn’t that keen on it and knew there was a better place to stay, that was booked up online.  I turned up after getting off the boat back from Muang Ngoi, and luckily again, they had a room for 2 nights.

So in answer to the age old question, that I see posed in a number of Facebook groups I am on, I think it works as a mixture of the 2, book some, wing it for others, and only you can know for the places you are going, and with experience and research, where you can do what!

Minor inconveniences with long term travel (as a woman)

Before anyone sets off on a long trip, there are a myriad of things to organise:  Health insurance, what to take, what to pack it in, contingencies for all sorts of weather, and toiletries.  All the advice is to pack light, and I took that on board.  So much so, that when I got the opportunity in Bali, I sent a lot of stuff home with a guy at my hotel who lived near friends in Sydney.

As far as toiletries were concerned,  I took small silicon bottles of my face cream (Nivea Soft), hair conditioner, small toothpaste, a few flossing stick things and deoderant.  Most hotels I have encountered in the world supply shampoo, so all I took was a half bar of shampoo for emergencies.

Even in my ‘normal’ life, I don’t use a lot of fancy stuff, no manis and pedis, get my hair cut at cheap places and rarely wear makeup. 

In Bali, I needed to get my hair cut.  I have baby thin wavy hair and so all it needs is a trim and layer.  Well, in Bali it is hard to find someone to trim your hair.  Now if you want a massage, tattoos, mani, pedi, it is easy.  Haircut not so much.  Ended up in a small massage place with someone who said she had only 3 months training but had been cutting hair for 25 years!  I had to take the risk.  It turned out ok, with instruction and asking her to keep layering more after she stopped.  I think my next cut will be due in Sri Lanka, so that might be an interesting experience!

I did not know that getting Nivea Soft(for my face) in South East Asia would be so hard.  They have all sorts of Nivea here, but it is all labelled brightening, or whitening or with fancy bubbles.  I don’t want any of that stuff on my face!  Just pure moisturiser with nothing added.  Just like at home.  

After traipsing into what felt like every pharmacy and department store in Bali and Thailand, I had to give up.  What was my solution?  Firstly I bought some baby cream which obviously has no harsh chemicals in.  That was not moisturising enough.  So then I bought the blue tin of the really think Nivea, far to heavy for my face, but mixed the 2 to make a semi decent moisturiser.  Firstly I mixed it in my hand, then found it would emulsify better in the silicon travel bottle with lots of shaking!  Problem solved!

Now onto the next problem.  My heels.  At home I look after my heels, regularly filing off the hard skin.  Packing light, does not include heel file. I dfidn’t even thing about taking one actually.  Fast forward several months and I thought I had stepped on a nail or cut my foot.  But no, the hard skin that had not been taken care of had cracked.  Badly.  That tin of thick Nivea cream came in handy for another purpose, I put it on my foot and wore socks to bed to try and soften my heels.  It worked a little, but I had to then go and find a foot file and carry it with me.  Packing light and getting rid of most things doesn’t always work!

I’m going to have to replace my knickers/panties (depending on your country of origin) soon.  I brought 5 pairs with me, and I wash them out most nights while in the shower, with soap or body wash.  They are starting to complain and get small holes or the elastic is not so elasticy. Lucky a friend will be meeting me on a trip in May and she might be able to bring some new ones from Kmart.  

Watch this space for the next issues that come up, as I am sure there will be more the longer I am away from home!

Impressions of Laos

Laos is the first new country for me on this trip.  Although I went to Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia in 1986 and had only returned to Bali, I have been on holidays to most of the other South East Asia countries.  Not as a backpacker, wandering without a tight schedule, but on a highly organised trip to fit it into the available time.

Laos was the last SEA country I wanted to visit.  It has not disappointed, but it is harder travel than some of the other SEA countries.

The positives, for me, are the scenery, the friendly people, fewer tourists and backpackers than Thailand, cheaper than Thailand, not so much rubbish as Bali and slightly different culture. I also managed to get to slightly more out of the way places, which I always like. 

I'm not so keen on the food, but in the North, where I stayed, there is a heavy Thai influence, including the food, so I could eat a lot of Thai, or Thai like food!  It was also interesting to see the food the Lao's eat, not that I would have had any (bbq rats, squirrel, bugs, little birds, and lots of innards.  Nothing goes to waste here). 

What was harder was the quality of the accommodation, particularly the plumbing.  They mostly have 'wet' bathrooms here, which essentially means that all the water goes all over the floor (except of course the toilet water!). Many a hotel the sink pipe just ended before it hit the floor and emptied out onto the floor.  There are often no doors or lips in the showers, so all the shower water ends up on the floor too.  All draining out of a hole to god knows where.  I tended to have hot dribbles, cold powerful showers, or good showers with a head that would not stand up  anywhere so had to be hand held.  Few were decent.  

At least with this one the toilet was raised up!

Hardly any of the plumbing here can take toilet paper, so there is a 'bum gun' which I have never mastered the art of using, and then toilet paper is just supposed to dry you off.  It doesn't really work well. You put your used toilet paper in the bin in the bathroom,and it isn't always emptied daily.  So if creature comforts are your thing, you will have to spend a lot of money on top notch hotels, where available.

The roads are very very bad, dusty, full of potholes.  For example a train trip from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng takes 1 or 1 and a half hours and the equivalent trip by road 5 hours!

I think the Lao people are not used to the high tourist numbers, or do not have enough staff, because often the service was terrible or non existent.  One place I went in Nong Khiaw had about 8 people there and one other lady wanted to order.  She went to the kitchen and the cook shouted out 'I am too busy' several times and loudly.  Then proceeded to ignore her.  I didn't stay to try and eat something! 

In Muang Ngoi, the smallest place I went to, we were told that the people are trying to make money from the tourists, which is perfectly acceptable, but often open too many businesses and can't find enough staff in such a small isolated place.  Hence the really slow or  sometimes non existent service.

There is a very heavy Chinese influence here. The relatively new China Laos high  speed train (2021) has brought Chinese tourists and business people to Laos. There are casino's, condominiums for the Chinese, many Korea hotels and restaurants (stayed in one in Vientiane). It is pretty overrun and I had the misfortune to be in Luang Prabang in Chinese New Year and it was packed.  Not pleasant. 

I debated long and hard whether to go to the  South of Laos.  It is a long country so going South involves either flying, or going on long, bumpy, hard bus journeys.  When you get there, the only thing to do in 2 places are 'loops' which have waterfalls, nice scenery, caves, countryside and so on.  However most people rent scooters to get around.  That is not an option for me.  I can't drive them, have terrible balance, the  roads are bad and .... and... No more needs be said.  To hire a car and driver just for me would be too expensive.  And, to be honest, I've seen all those things before and they have to be pretty good to warrant travelling such a long way to see them.  More about the payoff having to be worth the journey in another blog entry.

The other place is called 4,000 islands.  Laos is landlocked and the only chill, beach type place to go is Don Det on the 4,000 islands. I looked it up, and although it looks quite  nice, it is not a beach, doesn't have much to do, and most importantly is a very long way to go for something that can be found in a number of other, easier to access, places.  More on choices made as a solo in another blog entry.

So I stayed in the North, and thoroughly enjoyed it, apart from hurting my knee on a walk, and Vientiane, which as everyone says, is pretty boring!

One day I might come back to see the South, but it will be with someone else.