Last day in Laos PDR holiday

It is the last night in Laos... we celebrate our trip with a night out!

sporting my Hmong head piece,

Laos PDR holiday, HASH

Yes, I am a hasher, and now I got the chance to hash with the -all gentlemen's club- of Vientiane hash house harriers... we weren't there!

view from across the hotel, Mekong river and Thailand across it!

the hashers

Touring Vientiane [Laos PDR holiday]

Viantiane is the capital and largest city of Laos, situated on the Mekong river near the border with Thailand. Our hotel was situated by the riverside with fantastic view of Thailand (literally across the street -that if you walk and swim the Mekong river). Vientiane became the capital in 1563 due to fears of a Burmese invasion. During French rule, Vientiane was the administrative capital and, due to economic growth in recent times, it has now become the economic center of Laos.

Flying back to Vientiane [Laos PDR holiday]

Receiving alms [Laos PDR holiday]

another early morning to see the monks receiving alms, visit the market and climb the Phousy to see the pagoda....

Luang Prabang [Laos PDR holiday]

What else do you do when you visit one of south east Asia country?

Take a cooking class! Yup, here I am learning how to cook Laos delicacy,

enjoy the picture after the jump!

Sabaidee Pbeemai! [Laos PDR holiday]

I have hundreds of these two weeks Laos holiday photos, and I am not afraid to share it with you guys,   

enjoy the picture after the jump,

Dinner at Vansana Hotel [Laos PDR holiday, Luang Prabang]

the beautiful Vansana Hotel, check out their website for your next trip visiting Laos

http://www.vansanahotel-group.com/

Songkran festival [Laos PDR holiday, Luang Prabang]

dress code: colorful, flowers, and a touch of traditional

The Water Festival is the New Year's celebrations that take place in Southeast Asian countries such as Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand as well as Yunnan, China. It is called the 'Water Festival' by Westerners because people splash / pour water at one another as part of the cleansing ritual to welcome the New Year. Traditionally people gently sprinkled water on one another as a sign of respect, but as the New Year falls during the hottest month in South East Asia, many people end up dousing strangers and passersby in vehicles in boisterous celebration. The act of pouring water is also a show of blessings and good wishes. It is believed that on this Water Festival, everything old must be thrown away, or it will bring the owner bad luck.

Laos PDR holiday - Vangvieng

Nam Ngum river by the cave, very popular for tubing

local cuisine

sugar cane and salads 

please pimp my ride!

the Tham Phu Kham cave

and by night, we are partying.....

thank you for reading the bits,

xxx

Laos PDR holiday, Phonsavan

The Plain of Jars is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. Scattered in the landscape of the Xieng Khouang plateau, Xieng Khouang, Lao PDR, are thousands of megalithic jars. These stone jars appear in clusters, ranging from a single or a few to several hundred jars at lower foothills surrounding the central plain and upland valleys. The Xieng Khouang Plateau is located at the northern end of the Annamese Cordillera, the principal mountain range of Indochina. Initial research of the Plain of Jars in the early 1930s claimed that the stone jars are associated with prehistoric burial practices. Excavation by Lao and Japanese archaeologists in the intervening years has supported this interpretation with the discovery of human remains, burial goods and ceramics around the stone jars. The Plain of Jars is dated to the Iron Age (500 BCE to 500 CE) and is one of the most fascinating and important sites for studying Southeast Asian prehistory. The Plain of Jars has the potential to shed light on the relationship between increasingly complex societies and megalithic structures and provide insight into social organization of Iron Age Southeast Asia’s communities.

There are some plain of jars, this one was open because it is safe from land mine that was plant there during the war.

a short stop for a picnic lunch

the open window toilet

the view from where I "sit"

arriving at the Plain of Jars

If you are curious what Plain of Jars is, you can read Visiting the Mysterious Plain of Jars in Laos

Hmong kids

Laos PDR holiday, Vientiane -Bankeun

enjoy the picture after the jump,