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Blogs from Laos, Asia - page 509
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March 4th 2006
Our adventure into Laos has probably been one of the top experiences for me on our trip so far! We rented a 4 wheel drive and driver from Hanoi to take us to Nam Xoi, on the Laos border. Our driver did not know much English except for when we would see animals along the side of the road he would name them and say "buffalo...yum yum" or "chicken very good very good". As we got further and further from Hanoi, it became more and more interesting. Rice paddy terraces and minority tribe villages passed by the dozens. After 9 hours of bumping along, we reached the Laos border. We were just in the nick of time to cross before the border closed and then we caught a shared taxi to Sam Neua where we found ... read more
March 3rd 2006
The plain of jars is fascinating and interesting historically - both for the 3000 years they've been there and the damage done during the American War. But the bus ride was even better! I visited the plain of Jars with two Slovenian girls (later I was to check out the CIA factbook to find out where the hell Slovenia is) and two Austrians that I met on the most interesting bus I have ever been on. Friday 3rd March, 2006 Woke up, stood up, and collapsed in agony as pain soared through my lower back; I knew immediately that my old army injury had returned to haunt me. Back in 1995 during fire and movement drill on an officer training course I had put my back out and had limited movement for 8 years until, on ... read more
March 3rd 2006
So we did kayak here in the end!! We got a truck to our start point on the Mekong river then set off on a little practice run. I was soon pulled up by the instructor tho. He called me over and said 'no professionals'. i said 'i'm not a professional'. he said 'well you should be!' in the end they paired me with smith and asked me to show him the ropes, whilst jonny the intrepid explorer sped off into the distance. Before lunch by the river we faced our one and only set of rapids. Apparently there is some grading system for the intensity of rapids, and this was only a grade 1. Still looked pretty angry from where i was sat on the rocks, so it was great news when the instructor said ... read more
March 3rd 2006
Good day to you all and here is my first official blog on this new site. I was having many comments of "how do you use your bloody site" so ive changed to a new one. Here also I can download more photos- sweet! So anyway, I havent managed to leave a blog for a bit now cus Im a lazy arse and too much has been going on. So Ill start my news from where I left off- Luang Prabang. This place was a bit of a mystery to me because everyone hyped it up as being one of the best places to visit in South East Asia, but I was not so overawed by it. We spent 2 days here generally just chilling and relaxing on the river fronts. Again, the people are so ... read more
March 3rd 2006
2nd March- Woke up relatively early today, the fact we were in a Dorm meant that when some people start waking up inevitably everyone else wakes up. Laos used to be a French colony, it seems that the "Frenchness" of the country is more apparent in the Capital than anywhere else we've visited so far- French restaurants and more french language. We had a really nice breakfast this morning, (Observant Jonny pointed out in classic style that it "Had a bit of a French Feel to it", he must have spotted the French pastries and noticed the fact that the name of the restaurant was Cafe du Maison- Nothing gets past that lad!) We went on a bit of a mission looking for places that would sort out a Cambodian Visa for us, everywhere was saying ... read more
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March 3rd 2006
The morning view from Amphone Guesthouse was spectacular—limestone karsts in the distance, before the morning mist burns off. Breakfast at Lucky—omelet baguette, sticky rice with mango, pineapple, and banana, and lao coffee. Lao coffee is black and strong and so good. Walked out about a kilometer to the first cave after crossing a local toll bridge over the river. The Mini-Mags didn’t cut it and we couldn’t go too far into the cave. Walked another 5 km to Phoukham Cave. Long walk but lots to see. Steep climb up to the cave entrance. This time we rented a head-lamp. Were able to go a fair distance into the cave, very cool, very big. Got a ride in a “tuk tuk” (more like a chopper tractor with a home-made trailer for passengers) back to Bamboo Bridge. Crossed ... read more
March 2nd 2006
Phew! We made it to Luang Prabang. After that boat ride I would've been happy with anything but we were lucky enough to get a reasonable room on the quieter side of town. We spent our time in LP checking out the sites of the city, a highlight being the climb up Mt Phou Si (no jokes) to see the views of all around - it was amazing. Back on the ground we explored the various Wats around town, one of which was crumbling and overrun with trees - quite pretty. We ate at the vegan buffet in the night market - a very cheap way to catch up on our greens and very tasty. The night market itself was really neat - it stretched out along the main street which was closed to traffic (mostly) ... read more
March 2nd 2006
Breakfast at Croissant d’Or again, we love this place! Checked out of Lovan and walked around. Stopped for coffe and tea at Croissant d’Or and checked email. Back to Lovan to wait for bus to Vang Vieng. The ride to Vang Vieng was about 3 hours. Lots of bamboo houses on stilts and winding mountain roads. Incredible scenery, beginning to see how most people in Laos live. Arrived in Vang Vieng with little daylight left. Found a guesthouse with okay room for $3/night. Had dinner at Xayoh Hotel on the Nam Xong River. Walked to Xayoh Downtown Restaurant for our first tasting of lao-lao (Lao moonshine). The main drag in Vang Vieng seems like how Khaosan Rd. might have been 20 years ago. Definitely a place for people to chill, especially if you want to catch ... read more
March 1st 2006
Sabaidee! Hey, thanks to all you readers and commenters out there and back home. We really appreciate all the support and the interest everyone is showing. Just bear with us, our time in Asia is slowly diminishing our ability to speak the King's English. I'm not even sure that any of you can even understand what I'm writing right now. Well, here's hoping: We are neither in Singapore nor Malaysia nor Thailand as some of you may have been expecting...we're actually across the Mekong River from Thailand, in the northern Laos capital of Vientiane. It's really not important why we didn't go to Singapore, except to say that over the phone good old uncle Ray offered to take Tynesha and I to Vientiane for our visa renewals (which he paid for as well as meals, hotels, ... read more
Think i have a bit of catching up to do...
Published: March 1st 2006Asia » Laos » West » Luang Prabang
March 1st 2006
Oh dear, it looks like the old travelblog has been falling a bit behind schedule. at the time of writing, i am in what appears to be a old prison cell at an internet cafe in northern vietnam, 18km from the southern chinese border, certainly not in laos where i left off. looks like i have a lot of catching up to do so please bear with me as i try to recollect hazy memories of beer, the heat, and very good (and very bad) food. if it is any consolation, i have been writing in my little journal like a good scholar, but even that is about a week behind. that's my organisation skills for you, as i'm sure jon (and chris) will laugh at! i will apologise now for the lack of pictures in ... read more
