Blogs from Laos, Asia - page 525

After 4 days I left Luang Prabang and took a bus to Phonsavan. Its a good 8 hours to the east and is the site of "The Plain of Jars." I have heard good and bad things about this attraction but since I have over three weeks still in the country and was going to do a whole tour of the north it seemed like a fitting stopover. As usual on the bus I met some fellow travellers and we stuck together on our Phonsavan adventure. Many guesthouses will have a van or hire a tuk-tuk to pick up passengers when they get off the bus. Since having people stay at their establisment is a good portion of their livelyhood, their days activities seem to funcion around when buses get in from different cities. The one ... read more

The bus journey was a simple five hour affair, which would have been fine had the local bus not been overcrowded (as per usual) and the appeal of sitting with a Westerner was too much for a young Lao boy to resist and he insisted on "sharing" my seat for most of the journey! Our arrival in the capital Vientiane was like transitioning from another world. Virtually penniless since leaving Phnom Penh two weeks prior we hadn't seen any banks or internet connections and were distinctly out of contact with the outside world. Vientiane, probably the most relaxed capital city in the world is an excellent place to kickback, enjoy some fantastic restaurants (our first Indian meal since we left London) and sit watching Mekong sunsets with a large bottle of Beer Laos on ice. The ... read more

I am sitting here in the air conditioned, high speed, cheap and convenient Planet Internet right next to the fountain. So it appears that they do indeed have everything here in Vientiane. Even obnoxious and noisy Dutch tourists - there is one on either side of me and they are talking over my head really loudly. I suggested that they might like to sit together as there are empty spaces but I guess it's just so much more fun being annoying. And that is why I am going to give Vang Vieng a miss and really get away from the crowds. Today I got my tickets from Air Lao and I'm going to fly to Sam Neua. I couldn't bear the idea of going both ways in one of those bumpy crowded busses especially because I ... read more

In Deutschland muss ja momentan ziemlich tolles Wetter sein, habe ich gehoert. Haha. Nachdem wir im Syri 1 eingecheckt haben, sind wir Essen und haben ein tolles Restaurant gefunden, wo das Essen super geschmeckt hat und das Besitzerehepaar sehr freundlich war. Sein Freund, ein Zimmermann, hat auch dort gegessen, super Englisch gesprochen und uns ein paar nuetzliche Tips gegeben. Im Kerzenlicht und Raeucherstaebchenduft haben wir dann den ganzen Abend, bei einsetzendem Monsun Auf der Terasse Sechsunsechzig gespielt, wobei Flo am meisten zahlen musste. Haha. Nachdem wir die Nacht mehr schlecht als recht bei furchtbar knarzendem Ventilator verbracht haben, wollten wir uns morgen endlich mal den Schweiss vom Leib waschen. Leider war Wasserausfall in halb Vientiane. Vientiane. Eine krasse Stadt der Gegensaetze. Viele Strassen nicht geteert, und fehlende Kanaldeckel mitten auf dem Gehstei... read more

We flew into Vientiane, the capital of Laos. It is quite unlike any other capital city we have been to, the restaurants shut all afternoon, the idea of traffic is a few motorbikes and the central point is an almost deserted water fountain. Not surprising for a country with a population only a little over 5 million. Despite this, well actually, because of this, it is a lovely place. The feeling is so laid back and the people so friendly. Laos is definitely not yet spoiled by tourism and long may it remain that way. So in Laos style we decided to do nothing but sit in cafes and relax while in Vientiane. After a few days there we went up to Vang Vieng, the home of 'tubing'. Tubing was cool, they lend you a tyre, ... read more