Blogs from Phongsali, North, Laos, Asia

Am Morgen meines Geburtstags fruehstueckten Dino und ich Bananenpancakes am Fluss Nam Ou und beobachteten einen chinesischen Strassen-Bau-Bagger der am anderen Ufer rote Erde hin und her wuchtete. Dann stiegen wir zum Anleger hinab, wo unser hellblaues Holzboot schon bereit lag. Drinnen sassen bereits zwei laotische Geschaeftsmaenner, ein Vater mit seiner kleinen Tochter und einem originalverpackten Kuehlschrank, ein junger Typ mit Gitarre und zwei Franzosen die enttaeuscht dreinsahen, als sie uns ins Boot klettern sahen. Wir nahmen mit angezogenen Knien auf niedrigen Sitzbaenken Platz und nachdem sich das Boot gefuellt hatte, klemmten wir sehr kompakt zwischen den Pos unserer Sitznachbarn fest. So stachen wir in See. Unser Motor war ein launisches Geraet, das hustende Laute von sich gab und stets erst beim fuenften Versuch ansprang. Jedesmal ueberkam mich eine gewisse Unruhe, weil un... read more

Our guide La, picked us up from the Ancient hotel in a minibus with driver Pra (?). We drove for perhaps an hour over narrow paved roads heading northward and eventually alongside the Nam Ou River which we would travel down a week or so later. Initially parallel to the Mekong River, then the Nam Ou and then at Huai Kan, we headed north west towards Udom Xai. The roads were now dirt, getting quite rough and steadily steeper. In some places we were surprised that the little Hyundai minibus which was not 4x4 was able to do the job. At least the air-conditioning worked. On the road to Boun Tai the villages got progressively poorer, the jungle thicker and the number of pigs and chickens, greater. This was a long trip, probably 10 hours. By ... read more

Happy Memorial weekend to those of you in the States. Well it's time for another travelblog. Some of you received a miniblog a few days ago (if you would like to be included on this list please let me know and I'll add you - mini blogs are sent via emails). It is time for me to be moving on so I wanted to write about a recent trip to Phongsoli, Laos. It had been a couple of years since I was in Phongsoli and I wanted to do a trek to an Akha village. phongsoli hasn't change much (if at all) in two years, still no ATM machines though "they" said there will be one in a few weeks. I think they said that last time. There is one decent guesthouse which is next to ... read more

As always I hope you and yours are doing well. This is the 4th and final blog on laos titled hill tribes. Currently I am in northern Vietnam on a 3 day motorcycle trek. Today is day one and if tomorrow and the next day are the same as today I should have a few great photos to share, anyway, onto the hill tribes. The first hill tribe trek that I took left from Muangngoi on the Nam Ou river. First, let me mention that they are called hill tribes because they live on the “tops” of hills. We walked for a few hours with our guide before stopping in a village for lunch. From there it was about a four hour walk up to the Seang savang, a Khmu village. We arrived shortly before dusk ... read more

Our visa were sadly running out, we have to move, next destination Phongsali. We had to go through Oudomxay, where we spent one night before heading up north. And what a surprise it started to rain, don't tell me the wet season is starting, it is not due for another month... but why would that surprise us... and surely as it was raining I had the privilege to have my first encounter with leech, while the bus stopped for pee brake... bitch, you not getting piece of me...however I could not kill it as had no means of how. Arriving at Phongsali, was bit of a climate shock, from such a heat into drizzling and cold. The views must be amazing, but not when the visibility is about 5 meters... Next day we wondered round the ... read more