Day 9, Jan 1, 2010. Last night, we had a new year eve dinner with our friend from Canada at Blue Lagoon Restaurant () here in Luang Prabang. Our new year dinner course meals were very good and delicous... Today, we woke up around 7:00 am and went for a long walk along the Mekong and the Nam Khan rivers, visited many temples along the way and walked through the morning market. We ate lunch at one of our favorite lunch restaurant (). It was our third time eating at this place since we been he [View Full Entry]

---

---

Chiang Mai, Tailandia, a 19 de abril del 2009. Saludos de nuevo. Despues de un mes de recorrido, regreso a los brazos de la adictiva Tailandia. Lamentablemente por cuestiones de tiempo no podre ir a Birmania, pero bueno, la lucha se le hizo. Bien, paso a remitirles fotos de esta pequena ciudad que se encuentra en el norte de Laos y tiene 20 y tantos mil habitantes (por ahi me encontre un sitio que decia que tenia 100 mil habitantes, pero han de haber estado dormidos cuando yo fui). En los planes iniciales de hace a@os, solo previa visitar Vientiane, pero [View Full Entry]

---

---

December 28th. Some history: For those who know me, I love elephants. When I was leaving for this trip to Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam many had asked me if I would be doing anything with elephants or researching any agencies working with elephants. I had no plans to do so. For past information on some of my visit/reviews, check out some of my blog entries including the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand, and PAWS in California, as well as the work being done by Help In Suffering in Jaipur, India. I have quite a bit of personal experience with visiting a [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ok.......so after sad goodbye to Vietnam we left Hanoi for Laos. All the sensible people booked flights while David, Tash, Pat and I climbed aboard the sleeper bus for probably one of the worse 24 hour bus journeys. It was fine until halfway more people got on the bus - I woke up on the floor in between the bunks with 2 people sitting in my bunk, a huge tantrum/tears, hellish border crossing and seven hours later we arrive in Vientiane for much needed showers and food! We spent two nights in Vientiane, that was enough for us really, we saw [View Full Entry]

---

---

Sai-ba-dee!!! I've had the best time and experience whilst visiting Laos - it's been amazing! Such a beautiful and lush country with such friendly people, you just can't go wrong! On arrival at Luang Prabang airport at nightime (from Hanoi) it felt a little odd. I guess new places always seem a little different at night time. Well, on arrival the airport was tiny and when exiting it felt deserted. However, after the shortest journey from the airport to the town (which was like 5 minutes) we arrived at our Guest House greeted by its owner. I swear we're completely fluking [View Full Entry]

---

---

I think it is about time I wrote a new entry. The last week I have been preoccupied with going to and being in Laos. After the trekking in Chiang Mai I had to push myself a little in going again. Everytime you meet new nice people and then you are going away again. I can't say it is always easy. Today it is monday december 21st and I am Luang Prabang. I have just said my goodbyes to my brother Simon and my niece Yasmine. So I am feeling a little sad, after all you never know when you will [View Full Entry]

---

---

We had been concerned about how to get a slow boat down the river. The Thais said boats went from their side, we should be there at 8.00 the next morning and pay them the £4 to go down the river including getting a Laos visa. All untrue! The guidebooks are not clear and when you arrive at the river on the Thai side there are many fellow travellers hanging round, confused and asking each other do they know what to do. We can be definitive on the way by boat Houayxai to Louang Prabang: The slow boats go only from [View Full Entry]

---

---

Corry was unwell through the night, so we changed the plans for the day. We left him to sleep and went for breakfast. We went to a cafe and had this fabulous breakfast, with baguettes that were so good, how bread should taste. Corry then joined us and we walked through town, did the shops on the opposite side this time. We went to one of the tour places and organised a tuk tuk instead of the trek, two villages and a temple over 3 hours. The first village was mainly silk weaving, one place had a full demonstration setup which [View Full Entry]

---

---

Note to self, eat before taking malaria pills Waking up early as per what seems to be normal right now, I went for a run, came back showered and packed, all before Adrian got out of bed. Knowing I was flying into Laos in a bit I decided to take my malaria pill before heading down for breakfast. Needless to say I will never do that again. By the time I go down and ordered I was already running back up the stairs, and getting that pill out of me again. After about 30 mins sat in front of the toilet [View Full Entry]

---

---

In Northern Laos lies the Province of Luang Prabang, resting on the banks of the ever flowing Mekong River - the fourth country on its journey to the South China Sea. Luang Prabang is a world heritage site and has been since1995, it deserves its status as it’s a very pretty town, the government has preserved the old French colonial buildings and has allowed / funded their renovation unlike other parts of Laos such as Savannakhet. Judging by the large tour groups and bus loads of people, families and those not instantly recognized within the ‘backpacker’ fraternity pepper t [View Full Entry]

---

---