Holiday snaps - Day 1. Wat Phu & 4000 Islands

Wat Phu Champasak

Megaliths and Mystery

Standing for possibly thousands of years, the upright slabs of stone at Hin Tang, in Hua Phan Province, Northern Laos, are eerily silent about where they came from.

Chao Anou - Hero

Looking across the Mekong towards Eastern Thailand, a giant statue of King Anouvong stands with one hand on his sword and other pointing across the river. Perhaps it’s a welcoming handshake but it looks like he is about to karate chop a block of concrete. Most Lao people I have asked think he is saying “that's mine, give it back”.

Tai, not Thai

I've long been fascinated by the Tai people. No, not Thai, Tai. The Thais are Tai but so are most Laos and the Shan in Burma and lots of people in Assam (India) and some in Nagaland and the Dai and Black Tai and White Tai in Vietnam and of course there are still lots in China and some still around the foothills of the Himalayas.



Some Lao boys with Tai blood in their veins