Laos and Cambodia

Our journey begins in Laos and starts like all the others: with that flying object. We leave Italy on a flight that will take us to Luang Prabang, our starting point in the north of the country. Even the foil-wrapped food heated in the microwave seems delicious. We’re far too excited!

Well, here we are! We’ve arrived in Luang Prabang, and we’re pretty wiped out from jet lag, but nothing can stop our excitement for Laos. We head to the hotel, freshen up, and spend the afternoon strolling around Luang Prabang, a lovely little town overlooking the Mekong. We sip a cold beer by the river, and together with the Tour Leader we have a trip briefing. Once the briefing is over, you’ll have a clear idea of what we’ll be doing over the next few days and the plan for making it through (just kidding…).

Ready? The magic of Laos is about to begin. We’ll have dinner together at a local spot nearby, then it’s off to bed. Tomorrow, the most beautiful journey of your life begins.

We’re starting in grand style. Our day begins with the Tak Bat ceremony, a daily spiritual tradition in Laos. At dawn, Buddhist monks dressed in their orange robes walk in single file through the streets, collecting food offerings from the faithful. This ceremony symbolizes the connection between the monks and the local community, and we are delighted to take part in it.

Then we go on to visit the Royal Palace and Wat Xieng Thong, an iconic temple with extraordinary mosaics and golden roofs. In the afternoon, we get ready for a truly special experience: have you ever walked alongside elephants? We visit an ethical elephant conservation center, the first in Laos to ban elephant riding for tourism purposes and the only one working to expand this practice across Asia. It is a wonderful project that we are proud to support (take a look at the extra activities section).

We end the evening with a visit to the night market, where you can browse countless local handicrafts and souvenirs. Then it’s time for another group dinner at a cozy local spot before heading off to bed!

You asked for the hoe? Now get hoeing! What? You didn’t ask for it? Well, you’re getting it anyway. Today we’re heading out to till the soil and plant rice. No, we’re not joking.

We’ll visit a local farming family at an organic farm to see every stage of rice production, discovering traditional cultivation techniques along the way. Then we’ll learn how to work with bamboo, another essential natural resource in Laos.

After spending the morning in the rice fields, we’ll have worked up quite an appetite, so it’s time to grab something to eat. With full stomachs, we’ll hop into a Tuk Tuk and head to the incredible Kuang Si Waterfalls. Here, we can swim in the natural pools and enjoy the beauty of the surrounding landscape.
We’ll return to town, but the day isn’t over yet: those who wish can enjoy a lovely Mekong cruise with an aperitif or dinner on board (take another look at the extra activities section).

Then guess what? Dinner out at a local little spot, and off to bed. Laos really wears us out—in the best possible way.

Laos is beautiful, but we still don’t truly know it in depth. To understand it a little better, we need to spend time with the people who have lived this country every day, all their lives. We’ll spend two days here (and the night, too!) with a local family in Muang Soune, a picturesque village nestled among the hills. We stay with a local family and do everything a family would normally do together: prepare meals, go fishing, gather mushrooms in the rice fields, and teach English to the village children.

We are in complete contact with the local culture. This immersion offers us a unique and authentic opportunity. And this is a real family through and through: Kam welcomes us into the home where she grew up and where her children now live. A wonderful experience, wholesome and genuine. We have dinner together, share stories, and then get ready to lose at cards: Kam’s uncle is really good, and he seems to enjoy nothing more than watching you lose badly.

Tonight we’re sleeping here. Can you imagine how amazing that is?

We wake up to what feels like a trillion roosters crowing in their own way (and each one at a different moment, totally out of sync). This morning we take part in the temple’s morning prayer and visit the surrounding village, perhaps with a walk or a bike ride. We have lunch and say goodbye to our Lao host family, because in the afternoon we return to Luang Prabang, where we enjoy our last little dinner here in the north.

Tomorrow we set off again, continuing our road trip south to discover the culture and wildlife of Laos. Goodnight!

We wake up, have breakfast, and then get ready to catch a train. This train will amaze you just as it amazed us: ultra-modern, highly technological, and incredibly advanced. A total contrast with the reality of Laos (thanks, China, always building in such understated and low-impact ways). We take this Chinese high-speed train and head to Vang Vieng. The journey lets us reach the city in a reasonable amount of time, since the roads are in terrible condition, and enjoy the afternoon hopping from one temple to another—or simply relaxing by the pool.

We have dinner along the colorful streets of Vang Vieng, full of people... well, full of people in Vang Vieng—couldn’t resist.

Anyway. Let’s get ready for tomorrow’s full immersion in exploration. Good night!

Imagine waking up at dawn, cursing your tiredness, climbing into a colorful hot air balloon, freaking out a little, and floating over all of Vang Vieng as the sun rises. Above the clouds and green hills. That’s the kind of incredible wake-up call that’s surprisingly common around here. And we highly recommend a hot air balloon ride (take a look at the extra activities section).

After landing and enjoying a big breakfast, we keep exploring the area with a visit to Nam Xay View Point. It’s an amazing lookout, with a motorbike parked at the top for photos (and honestly, you’ll wonder how they even got it up there). The photo setup is a bit over-the-top, but the natural scenery is absolutely worth it. We can get there either by scooter or by tuk tuk—we’ll decide as a group!

Tired and drenched in sweat because yes, the trail up to the viewpoint is uphill, we head back down and make our way to the Blue Lagoon: an oasis of crystal-clear water where we can swim surrounded by unspoiled nature. We return from this little paradise to town and enjoy the evening.
By now we’re pros at finding great little local spots for dinner. We’re completely wiped out from the early wake-up call, or maybe from the tough climb. Or probably both. Time for bed—come on, let’s call it a night.

Do you remember the Chinese high-speed train? Well, we’re taking it again today as we travel from Vang Vieng to Vientiane. Once we arrive in the capital, we’ll take a look at That Luang, Laos’ most important national monument. Just in time to then catch an overnight bus that takes us straight down south to Don Det, one of the 4,000 Islands.

Make yourself comfortable — tonight we’ll sleep while we travel. We’re taking a night bus, the kind with all the fluorescent neon lights and the distinctive flair typical of Laos. But what really matters to you is that you’ll sleep in a real bed. That’s the beauty of night buses: you travel while you sleep, saving time.

As if by magic, we wake up in the 4,000 Islands, and after taking a rickety little boat across the Mekong, we land on Don Det. Don Det is serene, peaceful, and sleepy, famous for its laid-back atmosphere and picturesque scenery. The most popular sport here is swaying in a hammock—something we absolutely have to try today.

So, between one sway and the next, we take walks around the area to see an old French railway and a few waterfalls here and there. In the evening, we enjoy dinner at one of the local restaurants, feasting on typical Lao dishes. And of course, a nice BeerLao, which by this point in the journey you’ll know very well.

We absolutely loved Laos, but we want more: we want to head to Cambodia. And it deserves just as much. That’s why today we’re getting ready to cross the border. The journey is long, but otherwise what kind of Asian road trip would it be?! After crossing the border without getting ourselves arrested, we make ourselves comfortable on a bus that takes us to Siem Reap. We’re in Cambodia, ta-daaah!

We arrive in the late afternoon, and the only thing left to do to recover is take a dip in the pool before heading out for dinner.

Wow, what a day! Seriously, what a day! Today is our first day in Cambodia, and it’s going to be incredible. We’ll spend the day exploring the temples of Angkor: Angkor Wat, Bayon Temple, and Ta Prohm, the one from Tomb Raider. You know those ancient temples covered in tree roots and tangled vines hanging everywhere? Yep, those ones! We’ll spend the day hopping from one thousand-year-old temple to the next.

Then in the afternoon, on the way back, we’ll stop to visit Apopo, an NGO that trains rats to save human lives. What?! We explain it all in the “Sustainability” section below. It will leave you absolutely amazed.

We’ll head back to central Siem Reap and enjoy the evening strolling around town.

We’ve done so much on this trip. There are only a few things left, and we’re doing them today! This morning, we’ll take some time to decide how to spend it, guided as always by our saintly Tour Leader, who has been looking after you all along.

We can go visit a lotus flower farm (check out the extra activities section). Or we can take part in a water blessing ceremony at a temple together with Buddhist monks (head to the extra activities section for that too). Or, if you prefer, we can enjoy one last stroll through the markets of Siem Reap, and maybe even treat ourselves to a nice massage.

In the afternoon, we’ll head to Tonle Sap Lake to visit one of the floating villages in the area: the local community will welcome us, and we’ll experience a unique way of life, lived in harmony with the water.

In the evening, we’ll return to Siem Reap for a big end-of-trip celebration on Pub Street. The name says it all. We’ll enjoy our last Asian night with spring rolls, noodles, and a few beers. We’ll probably already be crying tonight.

Sooner or later, this awful day had to come. And unfortunately, it has arrived. We head to the airport, say goodbye to Cambodia, and get ready to fly back to Italy.

Between hugs and tears, we begin to realize just what an incredible experience we have all shared together. It was everything you imagined, and then some.

We’re in Italy. And we can tell because it’s one of the few places in the world where they ask us for €2 to use a luggage trolley. Ahhhh, home sweet cursed home.