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]

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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]

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We were slow starters, and got up and went to the tourist office. No consensus again, the options were a trek to villages and a waterfall and fishing. The boys really wanted to try fishing. We went to breakfast to discuss, and Liam really wanted fishing, so went to see another place. They were less than half the price, so we booked. Doon was our guide, and brought Bintong, they were delightful and once they were comfortable with us they were full of smiles and laughing, a little unusual in Laos. They taught us how to through nets, Isabella joined with [View Full Entry]

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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]

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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]

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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]

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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]

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We arrived in Vang Vieng after dark at around 6pm and proceed to find a bed for the night, having discovered that our recommended accommodation was fully booked we ended up in the Vang Vieng Orchid which was perfectly fine, had a nice clean, spacious room with a balcony overlooking Don Khang and the Karsts behind, there were a couple of bars across the river but as most things close around 23:30 - 00:00, it was not a problem. Our room cost us 100,000kip which was pretty much the going rate around the riverside area. Vang Vieng is a strange place, [View Full Entry]

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We get dropped off at the bus station in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Driving through town in our open air shared taxi we were thinking this is more Little Snoring than London. As capital cities go this has to be the quietest, most laid back one on the planet. Even the taxi drivers don't toot their horns or tell you their life story. We landed on our feet with the Mixay Guesthouse as breakfast was included in the price and turned out to be curry ... Paul was in heaven. Our second stroke of luck was turning right out of [View Full Entry]

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Salut a tous! Nous sommes partis en direction de la gare d'autobus vers 7h le ventre vide, puisqu'ici y'a rien d'ouvert avant ca. Et dire qu'on pouvait dejeuner a 5h30 au Vietnam. On s'est rendu a la gare et on a verifie si on avait des sieges sur la gauche de l'autobus, parce que je voulais photographier une marre remplie de lotus que j'avais remarque en revenant de Vanh Vieng, et il n'y a pas de lotus dans les villes. On a ensuite mange du pain et des bananes sechees avec un bon cafe (le cafe laossien est exquis) puis [View Full Entry]

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