LAOS  Last of the Last Golf Destinations in SE Asia

Heading north-east all the way from Bangkok some years ago, I finally came to the ‘end of the road’ at the river bank of Nongkhai, Thailand. Looking down, the mighty Mekong River ran low from left to right, a stout and worn wooden board sign beside me vaguely said ‘Immigration Check-point Nongkhai’. There were no buildings around nor stamp-happy officials in sight, no barbed-wire fencing either. The post had long been abandoned.

Across the river, just a mere couple of ‘stone’s throw away’, the riverside road of Vientiane stood parallel and level, empty…except for a few commercial or perhaps military vehicles. That was in the days of the Pathet Lao; except for limited visits by people living along the river sides, the country was literally cut-off from much of the rest of the world.

Someone appeared from nowhere and asked if I was interested in an illegal dash-across for a fee of a hefty $350, under cover and would only do it at night! Hmm…perhaps I looked like one possible candidate spotting the then well-trimmed physique of my pre-golf days with an old military haversack on my back (There were none of the back-packs of plastic material so ubiquitous these days anywhere), or may be my attire suggested I could be one of the two in Mad Magazine‘s ‘Spy vs Spy’ as it was after all still in the days of the cold wars, both James Bond and James Coburn were still well and alive!

Fast forwarding the political events to the recent saw the Aussies come marching in and built the first ever connecting bridge between the two countries. The Friendship Bridge soon became not only an icon of a new Lao but also one that embraces the rest of the world…not least golfers and golf property investors!

Amidst the euphoria following the country having made such a quick and about turn, and in the process becoming a darling of the international aid communities, rumours were rife with all sorts, not least the infamously hilarious ‘Vertical Airport’ in the center of the city.

But Laos moves on.

Today, Vientiane boasts of no less than 5 golf courses – Click for Golf Courses in Laos – in and around the city with some rivaling in standard with some of the best known in Southeast Asia but costing much less in green fees while there are more on the drawing board! Just some time back, our groups visiting the city had to be contented with playing mainly at the then partly completed course at Nam Ngum Resort. Today, there’s an array of courses that one can choose from to fill in the ‘work days’ of their tour.

If you are game for something new, come join our tours – You won’t be landing at the ‘Vertical Airport’, there’s the new Wattay International Airport just 3 kilometers from city center. Contact Us! —>

LUANG PRABANG: Of What Chiang Mai Should Have Been Like!

With trepidation, the city with a UNESCO World Heritage status opened it’s first golf course recently to make ‘more complete’ a tourist destination presumably. One may reasonably assume there just might be more of such additions to be introduced as popularity for the heritage site gains traction. With all the best wishes, we hope the old city of Luang Prabang shall remain as it has been and not be reduced to what the old walled-city of Chiang Mai (Muang Kau) is today.