Blogs from Luang Namtha, North, Laos, Asia

Saturday, we are mixing up the days, we thought yesterday was Thursday, but in fact Friday. Definitely Saturday today though. Up early, breakfasted and determined to get amongst the hills and mountains for our Jungle trek (without guide). Cooler day so far, and with an early start hope to do a 3 hour round trip to some spectacular caves in these limestone Karsts. With the aid of hobomaps, we roughly plan our intended route. Although humidity low, the Sun soon starts to bite. Luckily, we reach the jungle after only 30 minutes. We had passed a lookout point enroute but declined the near vertical bamboo ladders rising probably 700 ft , moving on the same track, the Jungle is dense and well shaded but the path is well trodden and here that is important, because you ... read more

Après cette petite semaine tranquille la mouvance ce remet en route ! Luang Prabang - Muang Xai : Pour cette étape ce sera un bus pour ce remettre sur le chemin du nord, petit coucher de soleil dans les hauteur de la ville au temple en haut de la colline ! C'est la que je retrouve pars hasard Erwan, nous repartirons donc à vélo ensemble le lendemain et pour quelques jours ! Muang Xai - Namor: 60 km Nouveau départ à vélo dans les montagnes ont profite du paysage, mange à ville et passe au marché pour des provision pour le soir ! De la ont ce plante la tente à côté d'une rivière et au programme du soir petite sorte de ratatouille ( Courgette, Aubergine, Haricot ,Tomate, Choux, oignons ... ) Namor - Luang Namtha: ... read more

Møjn! Nogle vilde dage i Champasak var overståede og vi havde brug for at komme til civilizationen igen, næste stop hed Luang Prabang i det nordlige Laos. I fugleflugt er turen egentlig ikke så lang, men halvdelen af ruten går via den smukke, men ikke så rare, vej gennem snoede grusstier i bjergene, 22 timer ialt i bus. "Route of death" bliver den også kaldt da der er indtil flere busser der er styrtet over kanten. Vi valgte for en gangs skyld komforten og tog et fly - 45 minutter så var vi der. Rart :) Luang Prabang, som er på UNESCOS verdens naturarv liste, ligger indhyldet i et flot, bjergrigt landskab og er en gammel by, kendt for den fine blanding af Lao byggestil blandet med Europæisk kolonistil. Der ligger også flere templer i byen ... read more

Once again we say goodbye to one country and hello to another. See you again China. Crossing the border into Laos was fairly straight forward as the trip went. The time it took to leave Chinese immegration took much longer for us than the other travellers and locals crossing the border. We had the whole bus waiting for us getting irritable due to the extra processes needed to check whether our passports were genuine. Many people were being let through and we were told to stand aside like we had done something wrong. After waiting patiently for 10 minutes after we should have been let through we asked the duty manager if something was wrong with our passports (calmly may I add) and got shouted at agressively and told to step back. Chris told P to ... read more

The bus trip to Luang Namtha was back to our usual standards, cramped with extra people sitting in the aisle, hot and sweaty. The scenery was beautiful as we wound our way up towards the northern border of Laos, China and Myanmar. The area is famous for trekking in the jungle and visiting hill tribes. The villages in the mountains retain their own animist beliefs and local customs and there are over 20 unique ethnic tribes. There are similar trekking experiences in Thailand and Vietnam but this area has not been on the tourist as long. The region is particularly important in Laos as the Nam Ha jungle was designated as the first national park in Laos and is also one of the biggest parks in the country. Luckily for me, Luang Nam Tha town is ... read more