Laos report

[Beachlover]

I once spoke to a guide of those tours with a beer or 2-and he told me, nearly half of the subscribers skip somewhere during the cheap Gecko/intrepid tours as they find it more adventurous and discover that in Thaild/Lao etc it soooooooooo easy to do on your own, even for nervous 1st time types.

I'm not surprised but personally never saw that happen, probably because the times I used them involved trekking and remote stuff where you can't exactly leave halfway through.

To be honest, for trips that don't involve trekking or remote stuff, i.e. if you're only going through cities, towns and beaches, you're better off doing it on your own or getting a bunch of mates together. Organising your own stuff is more rewarding and you get to explore and learn more.

One other thing is you should check what the group sizes are... for stuff like this, small groups of 10-12 max are best.

There is also STRAY adventures, offering moreorless same-same, and also all types of bike tours around and in BKK-brand new ofice on Ratchdamnern, also close to Khao Sarn. I thuink this is NZ. They run own minibuses in Laos between major tourist places, like they do in NZ.

These guys? http://www.straytravel.asia/ Cool... Never heard of them.

[CambodiaOut]

I agree, the Lao guys are hot. Not as out as in Thailand or Cambodia, but plenty to find. Check out http://www.cambodiaout.com , click on Laos, and you can find out where to go.

have fun

[aarancam]

I got the info from surfing the net. I also think I might have read it in a guide book - Loney Planet??

Hey a447. Love your stuff. You seem knowledgable about Asian things. How easy would it be to get my Laos boyfriend to Oz?

[fmolder]

Gaymassage in Laos seems pretty cheap. Is it everywhere like that? How much for a "commercial" guy sleeping over?

[FarangRuMak]

Thanks to all of you who have posted here-very helpful.
It's a long time since I was in Vientiane but reading this makes me want to go back.
I remember a bar with an outside Terrace called "Chai Yo" as in "Lao Chai Yo!
It was near the museum.
The male staff were stunners.
I wonder if it's still there.
Anybody know?
The French love for arches, wide boulevards and parks has rubbed off on the Cambodians, Vietnamese and Laoations. (Siem Reap has numerous small parks and Pattaya has none)
I don't think the arch in Vientiane looks too bad...it's a Commie work in progress.
I had hoped that when Obama went there that he might have started a real clean-up of all the unexploded US ordnance that prevents farming along the Cambodians border region but I don't think he did.

[christianpfc]

Hey a447. Love your stuff. You seem knowledgable about Asian things. How easy would it be to get my Laos boyfriend to Oz?

Please not again! Haven't we been through this ad nausam on all forums?