Laos in November

I had the opportunity to visit the country of Laos with some of my family for two weeks in November. My brother was getting engaged and I was going over there to be a part of it and to visit relatives there. As much as I want to travel, I don't always get a chance to travel to far away vistas because of lack of time and money. Yet Laos is part of my heritage and this trip was going to be my first time there, so those reasons were big factors in going. This trip was likely a once in a lifetime trip.

For at least a week before the trip, I was trying to prepare for it in terms of getting things together for packing, but it turned out that the packing came together the day before and of the trip. It wasn't easy getting things in order and completing all my work before going on a trip for two weeks. I was literally working right up to when I had to leave the house to go to the airport, but I made it work. Phew, what a relief. I didn't know much about Laos, except that it's one of the most bombed countries from wars and that it is one of the least "Westernized" places.

We arrived in Vientianne, the capital of Laos, and being driven around it looked like the area was fairly well developed. We stayed in a hotel for a few days and the accommodations were rather nice. I took over 5000 pictures, so it wasn't easy choosing selects and highlights. I'll share 36 photos from my trip in this post. Here are three photos from Vientianne.

We spent most of our time in Laos in the countryside town of Luang Prabang, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is quite a difference even between the lifestyle of Vientiane and Luang Prabang, as Luang Prabang has a more relaxed and practical atmosphere. Life seems simple here and much of the culture hasn't seemed to change over the years. There are tourists everywhere you look. By day a visitor can find a number of activities and tours, and at night one of the best things to experience is the night market where goods are sold. We were fortunate to enjoy sunny and warm weather while there, yet it rained for a couple days toward the end of our trip. We enjoyed good food daily and for those missing Western style cuisine, there were several restaurant options. It was a nice to be able to live a simple and quiet lifestyle for the week and a half we were in Luang Prabang. No wonder they call it the gem of Southeast Asia.