Blogs from Laos, Asia - page 527

Up through the unofficial border crossing into Laos. The most important question we were asked was if we knew how to mend cars as the border guard's had broken down! If this is a sign of life in Laos then it's a promising start. All through Vietnam and Cambodia we were constantly harrassed by "Moto, Moto", "You buy from me". There is none of that in Laos. The level of spoken English is comparitively low and people have no interest in us as we tramp through their villages. They appear indifferent to us. First stop is Si Phan Don aka 4000 Islands. During wet season it's more like 200 but the main 3 are still there and we stay on Don Det in a great bamboo hut. No hot water, no electricty but 2 days spent ... read more

Vientiane as a capital city is amazingly quiet, especially after coming from the chaos that is Hanoi. There is hardly any traffic, the Tuk Tuk drivers take no for an answer the first time you say it and there are hardly any street vendors and beggars tugging at your shirt every 5 minutes. It is like a quiet town by Thai standards, let alone English. We really should have stayed a while longer to have a proper look around, but we all agreed that we wanted to get to Vang Vieng as quickly as we could and spend more time there as it is a bit livelier and there is generally more to do. We booked a bus to Vang Vieng the following morning. The journey was around 6 hours which was mainly taken up by ... read more

Silence is golden We have fled the stench and noise of Phnom Penh. Now we find ourselves in the relative tranquility of Laos. We arrived yesterday after another epic bus journey, and Laos is a refreshing change from the other countries we’ve visited so far. People seem to be warmer, more genuine and there is much less traffic. We love it! Our travelling companions On Cambodian buses we had to endure an endless supply of awful pop music. The rail network is even worse than the roads, so buses are popular. Unfortunately, on any long-haul journey in Cambodge, the driver puts on a DVD of one of two things: slapstick comedy sketches, or a relentless chain of karaoke music videos from Cambodia’s answer to Robbie Williams. The former option cracks up the locals. The latter makes ... read more

A surprisingly comfortable overight journey (made bearable by copious snacking) saw me arrive in Pakse - the transport hub of the South. As you may well guess, anywhere that is defined as a transport hub doesn't really have that much going for it and Pakse is no exception. It's a town with a strange, deserted atmosphere. The roads are wide and in good condition but theres no traffic and the market is fairly new three-storey building which is only half full of shops. It's almost as if they expected a big boom in trade or tourism which never quite happened. I decided, however, that it was worth hanging round for a couple of nights for the sake of visiting the Bolaven Plateau. The plateau is an area of high ground (duh) to the West of Pakse ... read more

7/24-7/27 *Please note that this is a special, one-time only, guest star, blog appearance by our good friend and travel buddy, Alex.* When Andrew and Jaime mentioned that I could guest author their blog I thought surely they weren't serious, but Jaime's disarming smile coupled with Andrew's blank stare convinced me they indeed were. My first thought was something along the lines of "who has time to type detailed travel emails while exploring south east Asia?" but was quickly replaced by a second thought, "this, is an opportunity". Not only an opportunity to further expand on our experiences in Laos, but to share some insight into Andrew and Jaime's world these days. Spending the last four weeks travelling with Andrew and Jaime has been an eye-opening and educational experience. Sharing so much time, experience, responsibility, and ... read more