Hooked On Asia

The Vat Phou Temple complex in southern Laos is over 1000 years old and according to UNESCO “bears exceptional testimony to the cultures of south-east Asia, and in particular to the Khmer Empire which dominated the region in the 10th–14th centuries.”

This World Heritage site sees relatively few visitors and so I was vey interested to read this piece in the New York Times by Thomas Fuller who recently visited the area following in the footsteps of Frenchman Antoine Fayard, his maternal great-grandfather, who built and designed roads, dams and canals across colonial Indochina.

Fuller explains that “On the Laotian side of the border (with Vietnam) it was not difficult to understand the pioneer ethos that motivated the French to explore what had been a black hole in the knowledge of European travelers until the mid-19th century.”

He then goes on to draw parallels between his great-grandfather’s journey and his own: “He had servants carry him by palanquin or rode his white horse with a retinue of 25 coolies, often hacking his way through the jungle and carrying a revolver as protection against bandits.

I took crowded buses, or taxis and……ate at greasy foodstalls lit by fluorescent tubes, downing countless bowls of beef noodle soup and luke-warm Beerlao.”

In my experience Laos, and certainly the south, is still something of a “black hole” but this time in tourism terms. World Heritage status does not necessarily mean that the world will beat a path to your door. In all my years of tailor-making tours for individuals around Asia rarely was I asked to include Vat Phou in the itinerary.

However, when I was, I like to think that the arrangements I made for my clients were more akin to those of Fuller’s great-grandfather than his own.

Vat Phou Cruise Boat at Night

Yes, for sheer romance, I would usually create my clients’ visits around the cruise boat named after the temple, Vat Phou. This vessel was originally a ferry that carried teak wood between Vientiane and the south of Laos: with assistance from the World Bank it was converted into a comfortable ‘floating hotel’ in 1993. The Rosewood superstructure is mounted on a flat barge of 6mm steel and there is accommodation on board for 24 passengers in 12 airconditioned cabins.

The 3 day/2 night river cruise starts and finishes in Pakse and includes Champasak, Vat Phou Temple, the 4,0000 islands, Khon Phapeng waterfall and Khon Island with its colourful French colonial houses. For me, river cruises (and train journeys) capture the romance of travel and given the choice would be my preferred mode of transport.

The cruise schedule is:

From 01 November to 30 April:
Departures every Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday on a cruise down or cruise up

From 01 May to 31 October:
Departures every Saturday for cruise down and Tuesday for cruise up

This limited scheduling does make it that much harder to include the programme in a 2/3 week vacation and indeed I would usually plan the whole itinerary around the cruise; but when it worked it was worthwhile.

Laos, in general, does not have the tourist infrastructure of its neighbours (Thailand in particular of course) and that is probably why the country does not attract so much attention. But then from the traveller’s point of view, is that such a problem? What do you think? Would you rather work a little harder to reach sites like Vat Phou or would you rather they were more accessible?

Is Vat Phou Temple a black hole or a hidden gem?