Okay, tried to update this a couple days ago but the Lao internet is not the greatest.... So here I am in Laos, it took around 24 hours, 4 different buses and a motorcycle to get me here, but it was all worth it. The people here are very very friendly and everything is so much more laid back than anywhere else I have been in Asia so far. I've been in Vientiene for the last couple days now but will hop on a bus to Vang Vieng in a few hours. Vientiene is the capital city, and largest city in [View Full Entry]

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During our 3 days of travel to Laos from Thailand (6 hours on a bus followed by 2 days on a very slow overpacked boat )we got a taste of the undoubtably slow pace of travel and the laid back lifestyle that the lovely country of Laos has to offer. We reached the pretty city of Luang Prabang which lies along the Mekong River and found a nice guesthouse by the river. Luang Prabang has many good cafes and restaurants housed in colourful french colonial buildings but after the 11.30pm curfew is enforced it quietens down and the only place you [View Full Entry]

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I can't remember the last time I was at a party this cool! I LOVE IT HERE! This little village is now highly frequented by westerners who come here for the tubing, and it has certainly lived up to its reputation! This is completely "Erin-styled" fun! Get this: You get a tube and get driven by tuk-tuk (motorized rickshaw/3 wheeled motorcycle) to the launch point where you get into the river and float down until the first bar where you will be fished out by men/ young boys with a combination of sticks, ropes and small tubes. They pull you to [View Full Entry]

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We left Pai on Friday morning. On the Wednesday night we went to a bar where a fantastic band - mixture of Thai and Ferang (foreigners) played - Paul described them as Asian Kila and that's about right - there were a plethora of instruments - guitar, Bongos, Skin Drum, Didgeridoo, Bouzouki, Greek lyre, mandolin, Thai flute - anyway , they were great. The next night we went to a place just across the road where a 3 piece band played the hits of yesteryear and today with great enthusiasm and dubious lyrics. We were up early the next morning to [View Full Entry]

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Saibadee from Laos, although we're now actually in Vietnam. Laos is a country whose calmness can only be really appreciated when you experience the opposite. For instance a busy bustling city like Hanoi, which is where we are currently. Our route into Laos was over a bridge called the 'Friendship Bridge' spanning the Mekong river between Nong Khai in Thailand and Vientianne, the Capital of Laos. We were issued our visas on arrival, which was a painless process and got a taxi into the main city. On first impressions the city was really not much of a city at all. It [View Full Entry]

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Hiya everyone Just a quick one to let everybody know that our mobile number has changed. For the next few weeks we're going to be on 00856206033707. Matty's trying to pursuade me to do some kayaking tomorrow. Normally I would always be well up for that sort of thing but this is over proper rapids so I'm not so sure! Oh well, watch this space... does she or doesn't she!?! Place your bets please [View Full Entry]

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Nach den sehr interessanten Tagen in und um Luang Nam Tha habe ich mich erneut auf das Abenteuer Busfahren in Laos eingelassen und bin in acht Stunden Fahrt Richtung Osten ueber Udomxai (was sehr haesslich sein soll, deswegen bin ich da nicht geblieben) nach Nong Khiaw gereist. Der Ort liegt direkt am Fluss Nam Ou (Nam heisst Fluss). Eine grosse Bruecke ueberspannt den Fluss und ist 100km flussauf- und abwaerts die einzige Moeglichkeit fuer Fahrzeuge den Nam Ou zu ueberqueren. Der Ort liegt sehr malerisch in einer Kalksteinlandschaft aehnlich Vang Vieng. Doch die Anzahl der Backpacker, die mehr als eine Nacht [View Full Entry]

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Mit dem Boot eine Stunde flussaufwaerts liegt Muang Ngoi Neua, wie der Lonely Planet schreibt "backpackers haven". Ich habe mich also schonmal auf groessere Mengen Backpacker und deren Nebenwirkungen fuer den Ort gefasst gemacht. Doch da gerade Low Season ist, war von vielen Backpackern nichts zu sehen. Im ganzen Ort waren vielleicht 20 Touris unterwegs. Doch die vielen Guesthouses, Restaurants, Minishops und Schneidereien entlang der Hauptstrasse zeugen von erheblichem Ansturm in der High Season. Muang Ngoi Neua ist nur mit dem Boot zu erreichen und liegt sehr abgeschieden mitten in einer riesen Huegelkette auf einer Halbinsel des Nam Ou. Von hier [View Full Entry]

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Sunday 4th May Today we started our next adventure: a two-day trip down the mighty Mekong to Luang Prabang in Laos. More correctly known as the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. When the French ruled Indochina some pen-pushing bureaucrat inadvertently put an “S” on the end of Lao - Laos, and this ‘s’ should not be pronounced when speaking the word. Laos is 237,000 square kilometres, the major part being mountainous and forested. And has a population of 56 million people with 49 ethnic groups. It has common borders with China (505km), Cambodia (435km), and Vietnam (2,069km). The Mekong River flows through [View Full Entry]

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Matty 19th June Day after full moon party oh what a state the nibbler was in could not leave the room for breakfast or lunch tried for dinner managed enough to order food and ask them to pop into a take away box!!! “The worst hangover EVER!!” Really all we did today was recover and Nibby vowed no more Vodka!! I picked up an ear infection!! Oh and our really cool room was not so cool as there was a day party right next door which thumped out the same techno music from 10am to 10pm not good with a hangover [View Full Entry]

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