The Laos journal is where the planning starts: how to reach it, how long, how to do the alms round properly, and how much beyond Luang Prabang is worth the time. Read here, then move to the things-to-do and tours pages.
Articles
Laos travel guide
The practical foundation: Luang Prabang day by day, the railway, the slow boat, the visa, the money, the UXO history and the routes north and south.
- Start here
- 11,000 words
- Railway and slow boat
- Updated 2026
South-East Asia travel guide
Laos against its neighbours: how it joins Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, the season, the costs and the Indochina loop.
- Add-on logic
- Costs in AUD
- Slow boat from Chiang Rai
- Indochina loop
Asia temples and heritage
Luang Prabang among the twenty great sites of the continent, with the alms-round etiquette and the season.
- Alms round done right
- Wat Xieng Thong
- Nov–Feb
- Two nights minimum
Asia itineraries
Cambodia and Laos in 10 days and the Indochina loop in 21, with the railway and the flights, and night-counts.
- Night-counts
- LP 3 nights
- Railway to Vientiane
- Fly to Hanoi
Why a Laos journal
Laos is the country people add to a Thailand or Vietnam trip for three nights and come home talking about, and the questions before booking are about how to reach it, how to do the alms round without being part of the problem, whether the slow boat or the railway is the way in, and how much more than Luang Prabang is worth the time. The journal answers those, then sends you to the things to do page to choose and the tours page to book. The Laos-specific articles are being written; the four above are the Asia-level guides with the Laos sections.
What we are writing next
Luang Prabang in three days · The alms round, done right · The slow boat vs the railway · Vang Vieng after the party · The Four Thousand Islands · Nong Khiaw and the Nam Ou · The Plain of Jars and the UXO story · Laos with older parents · Laos and Cambodia in ten days · What a week in Laos costs · Lao food for the uninitiated.
Where this leads
Blog attracts, things to do informs, tours convert — in that order.