Laos

I spend a lot of time on this site talking about just how incredible South East Asia is.

This is my easily my favourite part of the world. Most of the time the scenery truly is stunning, the people really are friendly, the culture is utterly fascinating and the food … oh the food.

But, now and again, I find somewhere that I just can’t stand.

I don’t expect everywhere to appeal to me, and nor should it. What I’m looking for in a destination is almost certainly not the same thing as a family on a two week vacation or a bunch of guys on their gap year.

That said, after a year or so travelling in this region, I’ve been unlucky enough to spend time in a few places that for me have almost no redeeming features whatsoever.

These are those places.

Not much happens in a hurry on Don Khon, the larger and even sleepier cousin to the chilled out backpacker haven of Don Det in southern Laos. While cycling around this quiet patch of dirt in the Mekong river I came across an optimistically named waterfall, and other than the rushing river there was absolutely nothing else moving in the midday heat.

Even the fish couldn’t be bothered showing up in the trap at the bottom of the picture. They were probably having a snooze like everybody else…

I have a confession to make. It’s kind of embarrassing really. *deep breath* Ok, here goes I don’t have a motorbike license. In fact, I can’t even ride a real motorbike properly at all. For someone who enjoys the freedom of road trips as much as I do that is pretty pathetic, but the good [...]

There’s no doubt that kids everywhere are cute, but for some reason the miniature citizens of South East Asia seem to be especially photogenic. Whether they’re peering inquisitively at the stranger in their midst, playing with their friends at the side of a dusty road or just splashing around happily at bath time in the river, there’s something about them that made me reach for my camera every time.

Here’s a selection of shots of those pint-sized people from my travels through the region.

As you know, I’ve been doing this travelling thing for a while now. I’d like to think that I’ve got better at it over the years. That I’ve learned stuff, y’know? Don’t book too far in advance, for instance. Packing light is a virtue. Imodium is a tradeable currency in Africa. That kind of thing.

Every time I start getting a bit too cocky, however, I manage to find a way of bringing myself back to earth by doing something especially stupid. It’s a good thing though, I reckon – while travel confidence is vital, travel over-confidence is not. When you start to think you know it all, bad things start to happen.

Here’s just a few of many, many examples…