after a few days of travel we both decided that it was time to chill out, relax and do nothing! there is no better place for this lack of activity than Don Det which is a tiny island (about 3km by 1km) in the middle of the Mekong. We found ourselves a liitle wooden hut on stilts ( luke has a fear of these and i had to steer him away from the concrete ones!) with hamocks outside next t the river. the island is so lovely, its the only place i've visited so far where i havent been disappointed by [View Full Entry]

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After a 12 hour overnight bus ride we arrived in the most laid-back capital city ever - Ventiane. We did the walking tour suggested in the guidebook which covered most of the city and it took us just over half a day! The number of westerners here was also a bit of a shock to us after our trip down south. Several temples later we moved onto Vang Vieng - stunning scenery and outdoor sports galore! So beautiful we found it hard to leave. We are now in the UNESCO world-heritage listed town of Luang Prabrang, known as the 'jewel of [View Full Entry]

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Thai - Laos Border The next morning at Chiang Kong we took a Longtail boat to the Laos town across the Mekong River. We were met by our very friendly local guide "Fun". That was not exactly his name but as near as! Steve and I volunteered to change the foreign currency Bhat and Dollar to Laos Kip. The highest value bank note is $1 equivalent, and the f/x 10,000 Kip to $1, so I was left with 4.4 million Kip to hand out to the group! Doesn't exactly fit in your wallet nicely! We met up with our Slow Boat [View Full Entry]

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Vientiane Life in Laos' capital Vientiane rolls along quietly at its own pace. When we arrived at 7 in the morning nothing was open and for the rest of our time there it really felt like the city really switched on. I had my first ever sauna and first ever massage while in Vientiane at one of the local Wats. I don't think I've ever heard my body crack so much. I'm sure that these things are meant to be a bit of a mix of pleasure and pain and while having it I definitely thought it erred towards the second [View Full Entry]

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Another bus trip awaits us. We have caught more buses on this holiday than I care to count. A foggy morning provides a beautiful sight as it crawls gently over the tips of the Vang Vieng mountains. It becomes obvious very quickly that the following 7 hours on the bus may well be very enjoyable. The mist engulfs the tall, staggering mountains. The sight off the long fall cliff is formidable. The constant slowing down to carefully plot a course over the fallen rock and debris is a reminder how dangerous driving on these wet mountains can be. We stop at [View Full Entry]

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Evening everyone, Well we are on day 23 and on the homeward stretch. But to keep you up to date since the last blog (Vang Vieng), we have traveled only a few hundred KM's, but it took us over 7 hours on a bus. Reason : Huge mountians pass to cross, it was amazing countryside, and the view just kept on getting better. See piccys The bus was much nicer than the previous bus we had caught to Vang Vieng, room to move on this one... it always nice when u can streach out on a bus, especially for an 7 [View Full Entry]

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A Week In Laos (31st Oct-7th Nov 2005) Chiang Khong Chiang Khong is the border crossing we used between Northern Thailand and Laos. Got a bus/minivan to the border from Chiang Mai. Buses won't leave Chiang Mai until lunchtime and you get to the border at 6.30pm. The border closes at 6pm! How convenient! We could only see the lights of Laos across the water and would cross the border in the morning. Slow Boat (2 days on the Mekong River) Chiang Khong to Luang Prabang We chose the 2 day, slow boat option along the Mekong River to Luang Prabang. [View Full Entry]

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Not content to sit on a bus like everyone else, we swapped bus seat for moped (and later elephant) for our 5-day 'tour' of Southern Laos. Our first stop was Wat Phou, Champasak, followed by a 100km journey south to a place called Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands). Two westerners on a moped caused much curiosity amongst the locals and we spent most of the journey waving to people. Crossing the Mekong with the bike was a whole different game in itself! [View Full Entry]

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We drive through the extremely thick smog and pollution. This was our last look at Hanoi and it's a relief. I didn't mind Hanoi but the pollution and the chaos was getting too much. Thinking back to how I had to scrub the filth from my feet just from walking around, I was somewhat glad to be leaving. Arriving at the airport an hour before our plane leaves usually would raise some anxiety but 10 mins we are through customs and begin killing time. After an extremely short flight and hassle free customs we are in Laos. The "bible" claims Vientiane [View Full Entry]

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4000 Islands One of the first thing I noticed about Laos is the pace of life and the people. The guys stamping the passports were chilling out wearing t-shirts and shorts (Actually one wasn't even bothering with the T-shirt thing). Once we got past the entry point everyone seemed to chilling out or playing Tackro (kinda like volley ball but without using your hands or arms, it should also be noted that this is the most energetic thing I saw in all of Laos). We jumped into our transort, a converted flat bed truck with a roof but open sides and [View Full Entry]

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