Blogs from Laos, Asia - page 553

Ahhh, the sweet sounds of smooth Lao jazz. Sure, this music blocked out any possible music from our iPods during the 10 hour ride to Vientienne, but it also drowned out the sounds of all the Lao passengers getting carsick. While our weak stomachs can't handle their water or some of their food, their stomachs evidently get awfully queasy in motorized transportation. Fortunately, the bus company was prepared with lots of pink baggies and orange-scented air freshner. They were also ready with a guard armed with a semi-automatic. Only then did we read in our "Lonely Planet" that the road we were traversing is regularly visited by bandits. Sometimes, it's better not to know. Located between Thailand and Vietnam, two countries where everyone is trying to sell you something and "no" must be repeated 10 times ... read more

We arrived in Luang Prabang yesterday after a (very!)slowboat ride taking around 7 hours from Pak Beng. After getting a hostel sorted we headed to a LaosIndian restaurant for some food by the river. Probably the best food i've had on the trip so far- i just got Chicken Tikka Massala but it was in a different sauce to back home and was just what the doctor ordered after the long bus ride. We ended up in a bar that was showing the Chelsea Barcelona game, all be it a day late and we already knew the score. Found out Liverpool got beat anorl-Ahhh! First impressions of Luang Prabang look promising, most backpackers in Laos pass through here and it seems so chilled out, the hostel shuts its doors at midnight though- so there shouldn't be ... read more

Chiang Mai, oh Chiang Mai. The cultural capital of Thailand and probably the best place we have been to so far. It was the base for the trekking as well as being a party filled city. In all I saw the sights, experienced the relaxing cafes, bought books from the local famous book shops, got drunk once or twice and saw Thai kickboxing (incluindg 2 knock outs). Overall a wicked city, with a brilliant atmosphere- there just arent enough superlatives to grace this wondrous location in the heart of South East Asia!!! Inevitably we had to move on though. Next destination: Laos! The past 3 days have been all about travelling. Our first port of call was the Laos border town of Huay Xia, where we had to get 2 buses, 2 taxis and a ferry ... read more

After the relaxation of Ko Pha-Ngan and the easy touring of Bangkok, the past week has been the start of a neverending journey through the backwoods of Asia. The night of the 15th, we got on a bus to Chaing Mai. We had congratulated ourselves on shopping around and finding a bus for 200 baht, rather than 350. Then we got on it. The bus may have looked like the picture they showed - in 1985. Thankfully, we got the last two seats in the back, so we could feel the full effect of what no shocks will do over 13 hours. Boy, were we glad we saved that $7.50 six hours in. The upside is we got to see a movie starring Kadeem Hardison in Thai. That morning, we were poured from the bus into ... read more

Ok, so after Louang prabang, we went to a small place called Vang vieng which, again, was a chill out place! We went tubing (basically floating down the mekong river in rubber rings) and they had bars situated down the river and someone would stick out rope and pull you in...good times! it normally takes a few hrs but we managed to persuade some canadian guy to pull all 3 of us with his kayak...yes, he hated us by the end of the trip. this place was weird in that it played 'friends" in every cafe/bar u could see! at nightime, we ventured down to what's known as the "island", alls i can say is lots of drinking...lots and lots! ... read more