Hike or bike across the river in Chompet

Hike or bicycle alongside the river through a few small Hmong villages and past a few temples (10,000 kip admission) and a cave. Beware the children at the temples with the ticket-takers, especially at the temple with the white stairs leading to the water opposite Luang Prabang. They will swarm over tourists' backpacks, and money will later be found missing. Enquiries to police and village officials will not be fruitful. Island map

• outdoors
• family

Getting there

take the ferry across the Mekong River; go to the riverside next to the national museum, where the slow boats arrive; fare is 5,000 kip