Tuesday January, 1st 2008 At 4 AM, the monks are waking up at the sound of the gong. At 6 AM, I woke up again at the sound of the monks chanting on their way to collect alms. Half asleep, I want to go and see what happens but as the guest house's door is locked, I comfortably get back to my bed. I've decided to move away from Luang Prabang and come back when prices has dropped back to normal. I'm heading to Udomxai. The small bus goes on small, sometimes bumpy mountain road and the landscape is once again [View Full Entry]

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Monday December, 31th 2007 The journey goes on. All the passengers that go to Luang Prabang are squeezed in a smaller boat than yesterday. The wooden bench are closer than before but the scenery is as good as yesterday. We travel from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM with just a few short stops to drop off some local passengers or take on some other at villages along the way. At Luang Prabang, everybody goes around to get an accommodation. Most guest houses are full and the prices are rocketing. Rooms that are normally in 5 to 7 $ range cost between [View Full Entry]

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Sunday December, 30th 2007 After many hesitations, I've chosen to take the boat to Luang Prabang. It's a 2-day journey on the Mekong river. The boat is slowly starting to fill up. Some slightly too large wooden benches are hastily replaced by smaller ones to accommodate (or rather pack up) more passengers. The diversity of the passengers is amazing: an old French couple, an Australian family, local people carrying large bags, the serb couple who were at the guest house, a girl with a lot of piercing, tattoos on her thighs and a larger tattoo going down from her shoulders to [View Full Entry]

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Saturday December, 29th 2007 I’m taking the bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong, last city before the border. There is a bus every half hour. The bus is already full so, it leaves 10 minutes ahead of schedule. I’m standing at the rear on pretty crowded floor but I cannot go in the alley as my head would touch the ceiling though I’m not tall by European standards. The border crossing is easy and without any problem. On the Laotian side, Huay Xai doesn’t offer much except for a small pagoda and the herbal sauna and massage, but the sunset [View Full Entry]

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Friday December, 28th 2007 This is the 60th day of travel and the last in Thailand. Tomorrow, I’m going to cross the border to Laos. I’m going around in Chiang Rai visiting some pagodas. [View Full Entry]

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Thursday December, 27th 2007 I’ve been at Doi Suthep since the 24th. This stay gave me an introduction to Vipassanah meditation. Practicing meditation a whole day is quite difficult for me. The first day was hard but the second day brought me some pleasure when I could concentrate for a few minutes. The rules of Doi Suthep are quite strict : no chatting between meditators, especially during the meals and the worst for me, 2 meals a days one at 6:30, one at 11:00. So, as I get out to day, I’m very greedy and gulp down any junk food I [View Full Entry]

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Saturday December, 22th 2007 A day in Mae Sot. I’m going to have a look at the border with Burma (Myanmar). The bridge over the river is the way to Burma. In the middle of the bridge, cars change side from left to right when going to Burma. From this side of the river, the burmese side doesn’t look to have much interest : approximately the same kind of buildings and probably the same kind of goods. I don’t see why I would cross the bridge and pay ten dollars to Burmese government to spend an afternoon there. As I’m following [View Full Entry]

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Friday December, 21th 2007 Today, I'm leaving Um Phang for Mae Sot. I'm feeling sorry to leave this place but I'm looking forward for the 100 km ride on the mountain road. I often stop to look at the landscape and take pictures. Probably, they are the same as on the journey to Um Phang. I'm now used to ride the motorbike and I'm enjoying it. Nevertheless, at each bent of the road, I still contract my shoulders and then I think to relax. I really love this mountain and I'm sad to leave. On the other hand, I'm happy to [View Full Entry]

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Thursday December, 6th 2007 Today, I’m taking a cooking course at the Smokin Pot. First a visit at the market and then we are ten tourists from all over the world (Australia, France, Singapore, Belgium, USA…) trying our best to make Khmer meals. Well, believe it or not, the result was quite good. The only drawback : After such a lunch, I was still to full to have dinner. Friday December, 7th 2007 Well, just a time to feed the blog and enjoy a last bit at my favourite local restaurant in Battambang. Saturday December, 8th 2007 On the road again, [View Full Entry]

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Tuesday December, 4th 2007 I’m on the boat to Battambang. The scenery is completely different from the one in dry season, as the water is several meters higher. The boat is also taking a slightly different route. The plain is no longer flooded but the river is not limited by high banks. Well, just look at the pictures. [View Full Entry]

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