Blogs from Pakxe, South, Laos, Asia - page 4

100cc of Honda 4 stroke power - No faster than 90km/hr - Averaging 30km/hr… You don’t want to go any faster. Off the main road there are potholes, when there’s good roads there are other hazards… young children running across the road, ducks, chickens, cows, dogs, buffalo, other cars, motorbikes, chickens, roosters, snakes and pigs. The need for concentrating is at a premium. After 3 exhausting days this was the best activity I did in Laos. Pakse in the south of Laos is the last major city before you hit Cambodia. At first glance it is a nothing place. A major transport hub, it is the start and finish point of a brilliant motorbike journey to the Bolaven Plateau. $15 a day to hire, it takes in another part of Laos. This is the less hidden ... read more

We've only been in Laos for nearly three weeks but i feel like i really belong.... could this be my spiritual home or was the milkman a little darker and shorter than i recall? Top five reasons why I was born (to be) Lao 1. My dancing fits. Village disco at Hmong New Year and we're ALL doing the stiff chicken with the stuck out bottom 2. Unbelievably I'm ok and can work with 'Lao time'. A bus at 8am means any time from twenty five to eight to anything in the eighth hour. It makes sense and it genuinely doesn't bother me (really!!) 3. The humour fits. Funnies about monster tuk-tuks, wild jungle rattan to make chairs WITHOUT the spikes, would never work at 'home', but here they go down a storm. Especially when hand ... read more

Ethelassa ollaan. Aloitettiin valuminen tanne Vang Viengista tiistaina. Jalleen paastiin kokeilemaan uutta menopelia. Neljan tunnin reissu Vang Viengista Vientianeen (Laosin paakaupunkiin) taittui sawngthaewlla... ..eli kyseessa oli avolava-auto, jonka lavan paalla oli katos. Todella og tyyli matkustaa. Matka meni nopsaan, mutta teki jalleen hallaa meidan tottumattomille prseille. Vientianessa oltiin pari yota ja koska paakaupungissa oltiin, asumusten hinnat olivat kohillaan. Otettiin 2h huone, ilman omaa kylpparia, tvta, ilmastointia, ja ilman oikeastaan mitaan muutakaan 7 eurolla yo. Pari paivaa Vientianessa vierahtivat levatessa, mekong-joen varrella hengaillessa ja massaillessa. Kaupungista loytyi nimittain ensimmaista kertaa koko Laosissa, todella freesi kauppa, josta puolestaan loytyi herkkuja, joiden paivaykset eivat olleet viela menneet umpeen!!! Juotiin esim. MAITOA!! ensimmaist... read more

So we took a sleper bus overnight from Vientiene to Pakse, in the south. Sleeper buses are great, all busses should be sleeper. It's basically bunks on a coach. Mike & I were in a double bunk on the bottom. What a way to travel. If aeroplanes were sleeper, the journey to Australia would be nothing. Although I guess it would be a bit awkward if you were traveling alone and had to share a bed with a total stranger! Arriving in Pakse we got a tuk-tuk to town and rather by accident checked into a pretty nice guest house. It had aircon and clean sheets! Non stained/torn sheets are hard to come by around these parts. It was expensive, but we went with it anyway. It had a balcony which was a real sun trap ... read more

Hey Hey Hey! As we wait for our laundry to dry, let's blog! We made it to Laos! We decided to shell out some money and save a lot of time by flying to Laos instead of waiting for a visa in Cambodia, then taking a three day bus trip to the border. We flew with Laos Airlines, and about thirty minutes after taking off we were landing in a new country. We certainly enjoyed our time in Cambodia, but felt it was high time we saw Laos, a place universally lauded by other travelers. Every single backpacker we have asked about Laos tells us more or less the same thing, "You're going to Love it, Laos is so CHILL." (emphasis added.) Unsure exactly what "chill" means, we embarked on our quest to find out ourselves. ... read more