Southeast Asia Adventure: Northern Laos and Cambodia

The Trip

Laos and Cambodia are two of the least-visited, least-“touristy” countries in S.E. Asia. Our trip will tour northern Laos and Cambodia, visiting the most important natural and cultural sites in both countries. We’ll have a variety of activities: touring beautiful temples, including a huge Buddhist shrine on the banks of the Mekong River, and the ancient Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia; visiting a rural Laotian village and hiking to caves and waterfalls; boating on the Nam Ou river past forests and villages; exploring the mysterious Plain of Jars in eastern Laos; visiting a wildlife refuge/zoo outside of Phnom Penh and a bird/wildlife sanctuary on Tonle Sap Lake; and witnessing Khmer Rouge memorials in/near Phnom Penh. We’ll learn about environmental/conservation issues in both Laos and Cambodia and have an opportunity to experience authentic cultural performances, including a traditional Laotian opera and traditional Cambodian dance/music. 

Our trip begins in Luang Prabang, ancient capital of Laos, in case you want to arrive early to tour the city more extensively prior to our trip. Our trip ends in Siem Reap, gateway to the many Angkor Wat regional temples and ruins, where you may want to stay after our trip to continue your exploration of the area. We’ll have local, English-speaking guides interpreting the many incredible natural and cultural sites we’ll be exploring, we’ll dine on delicious Laotian and Cambodian cuisine, and we’ll stay in comfortable hotels and lodges. Except for arrival visa fees, alcoholic drinks, and whatever souvenirs you might want to purchase, once you land in Laos, all trip expenses are included until you leave Cambodia. 

Day 1: Upon your arrival in Luang Prabang, Laos, you’ll go through immigration/customs (the current Laos visa fee is $35) and you will be met at the airport and transported to our hotel. We’ll begin our trip with a late-afternoon orientation session at our hotel, followed by a Lao Baci ceremony at a local house, which includes a traditional Lao dance concert. Afterward, we will eat dinner in downtown Luang Prabang and overnight at our hotel, which is located near the night market and Mount Phousi.

Day 2: We’ll begin the first full day of our trip early at sunrise, when we’ll witness the unique (to Laos) ritual of saffron-clad Buddhist monks collecting offerings of alms (sticky rice) from faithful city residents as the monks parade down the streets. We’ll climb Mount Phousi to visit the sacred, gilded stupa there with its incredible 360-degree views of Luang Prabang and the Mekong River. After breakfast at our hotel, we’ll visit the Royal Palace Museum, the city’s oldest temple of Wat Sene, the magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its classical Laotian architecture, and the Ethnology Center to learn about many of Laos’ ethnic cultures. After lunch we’ll head to Khouangsi waterfalls, with their clear travertine pools, where you can swim if you desire. After we visit an Asian bear rescue center there, we'll stop to tour a traditional Lao village and observe hand silk weaving and Saa papermaking. After a full day we'll likely be exhausted, so we can enjoy a well-deserved rest/sleep at our downtown hotel after dinner, although the night market will be nearby for shopping.

Day 3: After breakfast, we drive 2-3 hours to Nong Kaiu, on the banks of the beautiful Nam Ou river. We’ll tour around Nong Kaiu for an hour or so and lunch there, before we board our boat and cruise upriver to overnight in the rural village of Muang Ngoi. We’ll stay at a comfortable, rustic lodge/guesthouse and be able to explore the village and surrounding farming countryside.

Day 4: After breakfast, we hike to visit the Tham Kaang cave, which was used by local villagers for shelter during the IndoChina War in the 1960s/1970s. If time permits, we’ll also visit a beautiful waterfall and villages of the Khmu and Tai Deng ethnic groups, where we’ll eat lunch at a local home. After returning to Muang Ngoi, we’ll take our boat back to Nong Kiau on the Nam Ou River, where we’ll overnight at a riverside bungalow/lodge.

Day 5: Today we will van back toward Luang Prabang. As we approach Luang Prabang, we’ll reach the Mekong River and visit the dramatic Pak Ou shrine overlooking the Mekong that's filled with thousands of Buddha statues left by devoted pilgrims. There may be time in the late afternoon to shop at the nearby night market. Optional traditional Laotian opera.

Day 6: After breakfast, we hop in our van/bus for a long (4- to 5-hour) ride from Luang Prabang to Xieng Khuang, through rural, mountainous northern Laos. We’ll stop to rest and perhaps eat lunch before we check into our downtown hotel in Phonsavan, sister city to Xieng Khuang. This area of eastern Laos was devastated by the “secret war” of American bombing during the Vietnam War, and we’ll visit the Mine Advisory Group (MAG) exhibit office/museum and learn about the continuing tragedy of unexploded ordinance in the area. 

Day 7: After a brief visit to the morning market with tons of fresh vegetables and fruits, we’ll tour some of the Plain of Jars sites. This archaeological wonder contains hundreds of large stone jars scattered over acres of grasslands. It’s still a mystery how/why these huge jars were carved and placed here, but archaeologists suspect possible use as ancient burial grounds. If time permits, we will visit the ruins of a large Buddhist temple that was bombed during the Vietnam War without damaging the large Buddha statue inside.

Day 8: We catch the first of our two trip flights, flying to the Laotian capital of Vientiane on the banks of the Mekong River. Depending on time, we may begin touring some of Vientiane's many cultural sites.

Day 9: Today we tour Vientiane. We’ll visit the Lao National/Kaison Museum, the ancient Wat Sisaket temple, the former royal temple of Wat Prakeo, the sacred That Luang Stupa, and the Patuxay Monument (Vientiane’s Arc de Triumph).

Day 10: We will have our second trip flight, from Vientiane (Laos) to Phnom Penh (Cambodia) today. Currently the flight schedule is late morning/early afternoon, but this is subject to change. Once we get to Phnom Penh, we’ll go through customs/immigration (visa fee required, currently $20 USD). Before checking into our Phnom Penh hotel, we’ll travel south to the Ta Mao Wildlife Sanctuary, Phnom Penh’s “zoo” with many confiscated and trafficked animals and birds rarely seen in the wild. We’ll see gibbons, Malayan sun bears, and other rare animals, such as Siamese crocodiles. Back in Phnom Penh, we’ll enjoy dinner and a traditional Cambodian Apsara dancing show.

Day 11: After breakfast, we’ll have a heart-breaking tour of one of the Khmer Rouge’s most notorious torture chambers, a former school where only seven out of thousands survived. While painful to visit, understanding this devastating Cambodian holocaust will help us make more sense of modern Cambodia and how the country continues to recover from this tragedy. Next we visit the magnificent Royal Palace, which was built in 1866 by King Norodom, followed by the National Museum, which houses the world’s foremost collection of Khmer art. We'll visit a Cambodian environmental organization and learn about challenges/issues and their programs in Cambodia.

Day 12: After breakfast, we head for Battambang, driving by rural villages along the shore of Tonle Sap Lake. We'll tour Battambang, including Wat Ek Phnom, built in the 11th century by Suryavarman I, next to a huge white Buddha statue guarded by peacock trees. We'll visit a local rice paper factory, which makes rice sheets for tasty spring rolls, and visit the fish paste market: interesting but guaranteed to make you close your nose.  We overnight in a Battambang hotel.

Day 13: Today we van from Battambang to Siem Reap, visiting the Ang Trapaeng Thmor Sarus Crane Reserve. The Reserve is a feeding ground to the elegant Sarus Crane and many storks and large water birds.  If time permits after we arrive in Siem Reap, we may visit the Behind the Scenes of Angkor with the German Apsara Conservation Project. Optional Chare Cambodian Circus with theater, dance, music, storytelling, and circus arts performed by economically/socially challenged Cambodian youth.

Day 14: We'll leave Siem Reap in the early (pre-dawn) morning and van/boat to Prek Toal, which hosts the highest number of large breeding water birds in S.E. Asia. January is the high season for bird watching and we'll see thousands of birds there. We'll boat and van back to Siem Reap and have a presentation on environmental issues in Cambodia by the Sam Veasna Center/Wildlife Conservation Society. At dinner, we'll see another traditional Aspara dancing show. 

Day 15: The entire day will be spent visiting the temples of the Angkor Wat complex and surrounding area: Angkor Thom, Srah Srang, Ta Prohm, Ta Nei, and Ta Keo. We'll time our visits to minimize the number of other tourists at these temples and ruins. Our farewell dinner will be at a restaurant serving Khmer cuisine.

Day 16: We’ll be transferred from our Siem Reap hotel to the airport, unless you decide to extend your tour of the Angkor Wat area after our Sierra Club trip ends.

Getting There

Each participant is responsible for making his or her flight reservations to Luang Prabang, Laos for the beginning of our trip and from Siem Reap, Cambodia after our trip. Your trip leader will share travel plans of trip participants in case you might might want to fly over/back with other trip participant(s). Luang Prabang (beginning of trip) and Siem Reap (end of trip) have many interesting things to visit in case you want to extend your S.E. Asia trip before/after our Sierra Club trip. Please be aware that if you fly east-to-west to Asia you will lose a day flying over and gain a day flying back, and that it frequently takes a day or more to fly either way, so please plan your flights accordingly. Please do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until notified to do so by the trip leader.

Accommodations and Food

We’ll be staying in comfortable hotels and (occasionally) rural lodges/guesthouses/local homes during our trip. Laotian and Cambodian cuisine is delicious and easily accommodates vegetarians.

Trip Difficulty

Our Sierra Club S.E. Asia Adventure trip is not strenuous, but you’ll enjoy our adventure more if you’re in good physical shape without significant physical disabilities. All physical activities (walking/hiking) are optional and you can stay at our hotel/van if you’d prefer not to join us for any of them. We’ll be walking up many steps while visiting temples/ruins, and the hiking to caves/waterfalls and the Plain of Jars may be over uneven ground.

Equipment and Clothing

We’ll be frequently moving our gear from our hotel to our van/bus and back to our hotel, so it will be handy if you have luggage that is easily transported. The weather in mid-autumn in S.E. Asia is usually warm/mild, in a transition period from summer rains to winter dryness, so it’s important to bring raingear just in case. Layered, lightweight, quick-drying clothing will be easiest to wear and (if necessary) wash during our trip. In addition to your larger luggage/pack/duffel, you’ll need a day pack large enough to carry your daily essentials (water, first-aid kit, extra clothing, etc). You’ll also want to have well-broken-in hiking boots and (if you use them) hiking poles.

References

Books:

• Fadiman, Anne, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures.
• King, Ben F., A Field Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia. Covers Burma, Malaya, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Hong Kong.
• Robbins, Christopher. The Ravens, Pilots of the Secret War of Laos. Asia Books, Bangkok, 3rd ed., 2000. (Originally published by Bantam Books, London, 1988.)
• Robson, Craig, A Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia.
• Scott, Joanna C., Indochina's Refugees: Oral Histories from Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
• Stuart-Fox, Martin, A History of Laos.
• The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia.
• The Lonely Planet Guide to Laos.
• The Lonely Planet Southeast Asia Phrasebook.

Periodicals:

• White, Peter T., "Laos Today," National Geographic, June 1987
• O'Neill, Thomas, "The Mekong: A Haunted River's Season of Peace," National Geographic, February 1993

Maps:

• The Lonely Planet Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia Road Atlas
• Rough Guide Map, Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos, 1:1,200,000.

Conservation

One of the unique aspects of Sierra Club outings is the inclusion of an environmental and conservation element. The leader will be sending you pre-trip information (both electronically and via snail mailings) about environmental issues in Laos and Cambodia. During our trip we’ll have local representatives discuss with us environmental challenges (both successes and problems) and the leader will facilitate a discussion of environmental issues in our hometowns/regions.

Evacuation and Travel Insurance

The Sierra Club provides evacuation insurance to all participants on international trips. Since this coverage does not include any trip cancellation or interruption insurance, we suggest you purchase another policy separately to provide coverage for your trip and other travel costs. This policy also does not cover pre-trip and post-trip travel. Please note the evacuation insurance provided does not cover claims resulting from any pre-existing condition that occurs within 60 days of the trip departure. If you have specific questions about this exclusion, please review the insurance brochure. For information on purchasing a separate policy, please see our travel insurance page.