You’ve booked flights to Southeast Asia? Awesome! This is quite possibly the best idea of your life. You’re going to have an amazing time, but in order to be a savvy traveller, you need to avoid the most common mistakes that so many first-time visitors to Asia seem to make…
Tag: Laos
Ultimate guide to celebrating New Year’s Eve in Southeast Asia to help you find the best parties
Although New Year’s Eve in Asia is actually in April, the locals still think that the Western New Year is a great excuse for a party and you’ll find plenty to do in each of the major cities on the Stray route. Plan your trip so that you end up in one of these party-places on […]
Why I Chose Hop-On Hop-Off Travel to Explore South-East Asia
One travel blogger’s confessions about why a hop-on hop-off tour makes for the most valuable travel experience. Tasha of Backpackers Wanderlust Stray’d with us on the Mekong Pass and told us what she really thinks…
Lone Buffalo, Laos – A Foundation for the Future
At Stray, we believe that travel is a two-way exchange between travellers and locals. It’s important for us to give back to local communities in return for the incredible things that they teach us about their cultures. Find out more about Lone Buffalo, a not-for-profit school in Laos and how Stray makes a difference with […]
The Best Places to Celebrate Songkran in South East Asia
In many countries, New Year is celebrated with fireworks but in Southeast Asia it’s celebrated with… water! We’re not talking about a splash here and there, but three whole days of the biggest outdoor water fights in the world! Locals and backpackers alike take to the streets armed with water pistols for Thai New Year […]
Stray Days – Stories from the road. Straying with Gemma!
Gemma Daniel, originally from Wales in the UK, quit her job to travel for a year and a half. She spent 4 months travelling around Asia on a Stray Tour and even celebrated her 26th birthday on the Stray bus in Bai Xep! She’s planning to keep travelling around the world but we managed to […]
Top 5 Tips for Celebrating Songkran and Pi Mai Lao
If you’re lucky enough to be travelling through Thailand or Laos between April 13-15 this year, be prepared to experience the wet and wild one-of-a-kind water festivals known as Songkran/Thai New Year and Pi Mai Lao/Lao New Year.
No Pain, No Gain! Stray does the Ultimate Challenge for a Worthy Cause
Get… set… go! They issued the challenge and we accepted, even if that meant a whole lot of pain! Call us crazy, we even offered to pay them for it – but it was all to raise funds for a worthy cause…
Riding the Slow Boat in Laos
One of the many advantages of travelling with Stray Asia is private transportation. Along the Mekong River, Stray takes a 2-day slow boat trip, run by a local family. This allows us to travel at our own pace with plenty of room on the boat for both people and food, in stark contrast to the […]
A Village Homestay: Visiting Ban Lad Khammune with Stray
The giggles were everywhere. They started on the concrete stairway leading up from the boat jetty. We’d just arrived at a small village along the Mekong River in Northern Laos, and the children were the first to greet us.
Why Hop-Off in Luang Prabang in Laos?
Spiritual capital, slow boat end-point and UNESCO heritage city, Luang Prabang is a completely unique destination in Laos. It has a rare combination of French colonial history, traditional Lao village life, and a potent Buddhist influence through every street, and is a place you could easily spend two weeks or more. Even if you can’t […]
5 Reasons to visit Laos, one of the least-visited countries in Southeast Asia
Sometimes the greatest surprises are hidden in plain sight. Laos is one of the least-visited countries in the region – but why? Here are just a few reasons why you should visit Laos now!
More reasons than ever to Stray in Laos
Laos has been named the World’s Best Tourism Destination 2013 by the European Council on Tourism and Trade (ECTT) for its “perfect record of promoting clean, ecological and social orientated tourism”. Laos, officially the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam […]
Homestays: Experiencing The Real Laos
The children huddle together in awe of the giant 6’3” figure looming over them. The giant spreads his arms, threatening to devour them in one swoop. The kids are giddy, their excitement palpable; they know what’s coming next. “My…name…IS….BAZZA!” the giant roars. The kids squeal with glee and eagerly wait for the giant to do […]