Imagine rows and rows of mouthwatering sizzling barbecued meats, fresh salads, salted fish, and yummy coconut pancakes…
Our Favorite Laos Street Foods
When it comes to eating out in Laos, the food markets are a treat! Whether you’re visiting the gorgeous Luang Prabang, the capital, Vientiane, or adventure hub, Vang Vieng, we guarantee there’ll be several excellent local street food stalls that you need to check out. Not to mention the fact that it’s an inexpensive way to dine.
Generally, the whole street food scene in Southeast Asia is a thing we highly recommend all travelers immerse themselves into – particularly in Thailand, Vietnam, and of course, Laos! In this article, we run through some of the best Laos street foods that made us super happy during our trip here and needs to be on that culinary Bucket List of yours!
Barbecued Meats
There are many stalls selling barbecued meats. But unlike elsewhere in the country, the street food in Luang Prabang has been adapted for foreigners. In Laos, every part of the animal is eaten, so eating in a more local restaurant was hard for us – congealed pig’s bl00d in your noodle soup, anyone? Or chunks of pork fat or other insides…?
The Gay Islands of Laos are amazing!
Si Phan Don, also known as the “Four Thousand Islands”, is an archipelago on the Mekong river where to enjoy a heavenly and relaxing holidays! Are they Gay Islands? Well, if for Gay we mean Happy, Queery, Laid Back, then yes, these are definitely Gay Islands 🙂
There are different ways to get to Si Phan Don: the archipelago is just an hour bus or car ride from the border with Cambodia. I organized my trip from Siem Reap, in Cambodia, after the visit to the astonishing Angkor Wat. I left Siem Reap on board of one of the many minibuses organizing the crossing border.
Crossing the Border Cambodia – Laos
In 5 or 6 hours car ride you arrive into Laos. The border crossing is a a folkloric experience. We had to get off the bus, walk to the custom border, form an orderly queue, pay the fees (legally and illegally due) for the visa to the agents, and then wait. And wait. And wait.
Wait for? Oh what a question! Wait for the time needed to get a visa and a stamp on passport of all the people (no more than 30 of us) eager to enter beautiful Laos. It was a very hot (and long!) afternoon. The whole process (that could potentially take no more than 15 minutes in total, for all of us) took more than 4 hours: as I already knew, the discretionary military power is very strong… But hey we managed it in the end!
I stopped in Vientiane on my way to Malaysia after a tour around Cambodia and Southern Laos in December last year. I arrived in the big Laos capital after spending a few days in the beautiful area of the 4 thousand Islands in the Southern part of the country, where I chilled and relaxed while enjoying its beautiful outdoors!
Vientiane lays on the big, beautiful, and quite Mekong river, as quite as the life of the city itself. You can spend plenty of time walking along the Mekong, sipping a drink, stopping for a cafe in one of the many bars and restaurants facing the riverside, having an ice-cream, and still not getting tired of it! As you can imagine, due to its position, Vientiane is a very hot city during the day, which makes this kind of refreshments even more enjoyable!
The best moment to enjoy the Mekong river is the sunset: find a nice spot along the riverside, possibly further from the chaos of the city center, and enjoy the best moment of the day! The sun sets down just in front of the river, such a romantic view!
Green living is a growing trend, which has expanded exponentially over the past few years. Travellers are now planning their holidays and booking hotels based on their eco-friendliness.
The tourism industry has evolved with many hotels and attractions changing their habits to match the growing demand to be eco-friendly. Today we introduce 5 of the best green spots around the world with a bit of help from our friends at the Travel Ticker team.
#1 LAOS
Tourism in Laos has really taken off in the past decade with tourists heading in their numbers to places like Vang Vieng and the UNESCO protected Luang Prabang. There’s more to the country of course, with a lot of undiscovered beauty, particularly in the more remote South.