Laos

As I collected tons of valuable information in this forum, and thanks to this forum I could completely plan all my 10 day trip in northern Laos, here are some info for future travelers (Chiang Mai – Luang Namtha – Muang Ngoi Neue – Louang Prabang).
First of all Northern Laos is an amazing place, beautiful fully forest covered mountains, very kind and nice people, never cheating, always helpful, plastic/ can/ paper nowhere beside the road, so very clean. Go there and spend some money which is a…

Hi,
Is it possible(or desirable) to get to Kong lor cave area from Vientiane in one day using public transport, and how could it be done if possible,
Cheers

I can't seem to find the rules of this airline and if a person can change dates or cancel with or without penalties. any experiences with this airline out there.

Hello--

I am a solo traveller who will be in LP and VV over Christmas. Can anyone recommend a nice budget guesthouse where I can meet other travellers? Are reservations required, or is it like Thailand, where budget places don't take reservations?

Many thanks!

Does anyone know the best way to get from Chiang Mai in Thailand to the Nam Tha province (either Muang Sing or Luang Nam Tha) in Northern Laos? I'm really interested in doing some eco-trekking in this region seeing as I'm not thrilled about the touristy rafting/elephant/etc trips I've found in Thailand. Is there a way to get there that doesn't involve too much time or backtracking?

Secondly, can anyone say if this out-of-the-way destination is worth it for a trek, or should I just stick to doing…

Any ideas where to get a Laos visa in London? As far as I can tell the closest embassy is in France. I'm assuming you still can't get the Laos visa on arrival at Voen Kham from Cambodia (you couldn't when I was in the area earlier this year). There won't be enough time to get the visa in Bangkok or Phnom Penh.

Cheers.

How has Laos changed over the last few years.
My girlfriend and I were there in 2002 for 1 month and 2003 for 1 month.

What's different?
How is Don Det know?

Would love to hear from you guys.

Thanks.

Travelling on the slow boat Huang Xai to Luang Prabang - any suggestions for guesthouses at Pak Beng? Will be there at start of Janurary 2008, should we try to book over the internet - can we book over the internet?

I want to get a boat from Muang Khua to Luang Prabang along the Nam Ou river in late March 2008. Lonely planet guide indicates the river levels could be too low from mid-Feb to May/Jun for speedboats. Does this mean that 'slowboats' (which i presume are still motorised) can travel this section all year round?

On the other side of the spectrum from my post below, we also would like to do a village homestay for a night or two. I've dug around a bunch on a lot of sites, and I get that it's usually best to coordinate something through a local guide/eco-tourism company, but I'm having a hard time finding any info on where/how to do so. The new LP guide raves about how important they are, but then only mentions one place to do them in the North (Ban Hat Khai). There's practically no mention of them (in…