LAOS DISCOVERY

Sabaidee – Welcome to Laos!  Pick up from your hotel and transfer Chiang Khong and Huay Xait Thai-Lao border post. From here our guide will welcome you and help with border formalities and to board a river boat for Pakbeng. Lunch will be served on board. We can stop along the way if you wish to visit some  local villages. Arrive to riverside village Pakbeng late afternoon and settle in to your hotel.

Today we resume the boat trip after a good breakfast at the lodge. We have time to make a short stop to visit the famous Pak Ou cave on the way, before arriving in the wonderful cultural city of Luang Prabang. Lunch will be served on board, as yesterday. We shall cruise downstream towards Luang Prabang and stop just before arriving in the city to watch the incredible sunset from the boat. We then bridge the short distance that separates us from the gorgeous Luang Prabang, where you will be met by your transportation on arrival and taken to your hotel. You shall be given some time to relax before going for dinner with a nice view on the river.

The first half of the day is spent visiting the Museum in the former Royal Palace and the monasteries Vat Xieng Thong and Vat Vixoun. We will then have our lunch at Wat Sean Café (just in front of Wat Sean temple), before driving to the amazing Kuang Xi Waterfalls; along the way you will be given the opportunity to visit the local village of the Lao ethnic minority groups at Ban Ouay, Ban Ou, and Ban Thapene villages. After taking our time to visit the villages as you please we continue on to another waterfall area, where you may want to freshen up in the natural pools or walk along the forest paths. We return to Luang Prabang in the late afternoon just in time for another magnificent sunset at the top of Phousi Mountain and stroll through the lively night market before going back to the hotel.

This day is left free for you to relax and explore the city on your own.

We cycle through Luang Prabang, towards Ban Phanom, a weaving village by the Khan River, and then visit the tomb of the 19th century French explorer Henri Mouhot, the first European to rediscover Angkor Wat and to visit the Royal Kingdom of Luang Prabang. We continue on to Ban Pick Noi village of the Youane ethnic minority and cross the Nam Khan River with a local fishing boat to Ban Pick Nyai village of the Youane & Leu ethnic minorities. The cruise takes us past some rural villages and rice fields to Ban Kokvan village of the Khmu ethnic minority and to a Hmong village, Ban Bohae. Finally, we cruise one and half hour back to Luang Prabang. On this return journey we will pass by Ban Xang Hai, specialized in the production of Lau Lau (Lao Whiskey) and Ban Xang Khong, a Sa paper making village. Traditionally the paper coming from the Sa-trees has been used for Buddhist scripts, temple decorations at festival times, umbrellas, fans and kite making. Today it is also used for a wide variety of domestic and industrial purposes.

Today, you will be taken through wonderful natural sceneries on the way to Xieng Khuang. The journey will give you plenty of opportunities to take unforgettable pictures and visit hill tribe villages. We start this new day by having our breakfast at the hotel, before hitting the road to Xien Khuang. (Approximately 6-7 hrs)
Upon arrival, we directly leave our transportation to visit Site 1 of the Plain of Jars, an impressive archaeological site where hundreds of large stone jars are scattered all over the plateau.

We first have our breakfast at the hotel before starting today’s morning visit in the interesting Central Market in Phonsavan. After this, we shall travel north to Muang Kham to visit Tham Piew cave. This cave is located near Muang Kham town and is locally famous for having provided shelter to hundreds of local villagers, protecting them from the constant bombing during the war years. Four bombs were dropped on the caves in the early 70s, but only the fourth made it inside. All 374 inhabitants were killed. No memorial or monument has been erected. Only the blackened walls remain as testimony to this tragedy. After that we will head back to Muang Khoun and visit the MAG exhibition (Memorial Art Gallery). We have our lunch there and spend the remainder of the afternoon sightseeing in the old capital of Muang Khoun and in the nearby villages, home to the Hmong hill tribe and Tai Dam people.

This morning is left free for you before you being taken to the Airport to catch your flight to Vientiane. Upon landing, you will be met by another guide and transferred to your hotel in Vientiane to check in and take some time to freshen up. After the rest, enjoy the walk along the Mekong river and stroll through Chao Anouvong Park and night market. In Chao Anouvong Park stands the majestic statue of King Anouvong. The park was named after the King who was highly regarded amongst Lao people. The statue was constructed in 2010 during Vientiane’s 450th Anniversary to commemorate the King’s noble contribution to the city of Vientiane during his reign.

In the morning time, we take a sightseeing tour of Vientiane, and start off by visiting the Wat Sisaket, the oldest temple that survived the Siamese war of 1828. Its cloister contains more than 8000 Buddha statues. The second temple you will be taken to is the Ho Prakeo, the former home-temple of the Emerald Buddha statue or Pra Keo from the early time of Lane Xang Kingdom until the 18th century. Today it contains a collection of Buddha statues, antiques and all artifacts found in and around Vientiane.

You will then be taken to That Luang Stupa, the single most important monument in Laos, which was built to cover the original small stupa containing a piece of Buddha’s chest bone, That Luang stands as the main and most symbolic stupa in Laos. It’s also our national symbol and is famous worldwide as a sacred place, hosting major national Buddhist ceremonies. It’s also the biggest stupa in Laos. Last but not least you will be taken to the Patouxay (Arch de Triumph), built quite recently in commemoration of those who died during World War II and the independence war. It has now become the symbol of Vientiane. After lunch, we continue the sightseeing tour to Carol Cassidy, a traditional weaving and natural dying gallery where all processes will be presented to you from A to Z. We then visit the Buddha Park on the Mekong, where you can see Buddha statues in modern style shapes. This park is known to possess the largest Reclining Buddha in Laos! They were built by a Lao man after his study in India, in order to teach the following generations about religions worldwide. A larger park was built in Nong Khai, Thailand where his body has been kept.

In the early morning, you will be transferred to the airport to catch your flight to Pakse. You will be met upon arrival by our guide and drive for about 40 minutes to a local tea and coffee plantation. Here you can observe the different processes of making green tea and roasting coffee. Please feel free to taste the finished product! After that we drive to the 120 meters Tad Fan waterfall. After some time to relax and photograph the fall we trek through the dense forest where we can see may different species of birds. With some luck, wild monkeys and goats will appear. We then stop for a delicious picnic lunch in the middle of the forest, take a stroll along the Tad Yeaung waterfall to enjoy this beautiful swimming spot (do not forget to bring your clothing to change if you wish to swim) before trekking up to Tad Yeaung through coffee plantations. Our vehicle will be waiting for us there and will drive us to the highland area of the plateau to visit the local market at Paksong, the Lao coffee capital and home of many Mon-Khmer minority groups. There you will learn and experience how coffee is made, collected and roasted in the farm. We then head back to the main road and stop on the way to admire another gorgeous waterfall, Tad Phasuam. You will be given the opportunity to visit a few ethnic minorities of Southern Laos on the way (Laven, Taoy, Aluk, to name a few), as well as visit the ethnic museum, where you can see them in their traditional houses. We then make our way to Champasak in the evening and stay there overnight.

What better way to start the day, than visiting the Khmer temple ruins of the World Heritage Site, Wat Phou, in the early morning? We get back to the hotel for breakfast before crossing the Mekong to Ban Moung. From there you will reach Ban Na Kasang, after a 2 hours drive. A boat will be waiting for you to take you through the majestic 4000 Islands and finally dock in the island of Don Khone to check-in at the hotel and enjoy lunch in a restaurant on the riverside. After lunch, we cycle to the old French wharf and along the old French railway line to Liphi falls. From here we will swap our bicycles for Kayaks and paddle downstream for about 20 minutes to see one of the world’s rarest mammal species, the Irrawaddy Dolphin. We spend some time on the Kayak to relax, watch and photograph the Dolphins as you please. From here we will jump on motorboat to Veunkham, a car will be waiting to take us to the biggest waterfall in Southeast Asia, Khone Phapheng. We then make our way back to Ban Na Kasang where a motorboat takes us once more to Don Khone after this wonderful but intense day.

We leave Don Khone in the early morning back to Pakse (2.5 hours drive) to catch our flight to Vientiane. The remainder of the afternoon is left free, and dinner will be booked for you at the locally famous Khop Chai Deu restaurant, at 19.30 (on your own account.

Today marks the end of your memorable adventure through Laos. After breakfast, you will be transferred to the Airport for your flight.