The Telegraph

January 2013 – Laos: The magic of the Mekong

“… I jumped on board and within seconds we were chugging up the extended sand bank to the aptly named La Folie, a wonderful little oasis consisting of 12 tastefully decorated bungalows in lush surroundings, a bar with dark wood furnishings and walls of Fifties-style posters advertising Vermouth Martini, Sandeman Sherry and Kalini the Great Magician. There was also a swimming pool, from which I enjoyed views of a perfect sunset over the Mekong. Across the water lay the splendours of Wat Phou, an extensive temple complex built by the Khmer civilisation some two hundred years before attention was turned to Angkor Wat. The visit there was to come later; as, too, was an early-morning cycle ride around the car-free island, punctuated by wide-eyed smiles and cries of “sabaidee” (hello!).”