Cheyennes Travels

We caught a morning flight from Vientiane, Laos to Bangkok where we would eventually catch our flight back home. I booked Ryan the Muslim meal for the flight. What can I say...Bangkok airways gave me too many options and I thought it was funny. He was more embarrassed than anything because the flight attendants and woman and the ticket counter kept confirming that he had the special meal. Ryan read in the guidebook that a train runs from the airport into the city so we took that, but not before buying a Dunkin' Donuts coffee. Ryan and I both agree the donuts here look better than the ones in the US...better flavors like tiramisu and mochachinno. Ryan wants to try the one with a pineapple on top. We headed straight for Khoa San Road for lunch ... read more

To say you love Luang Prabang is like saying you love breathing or chocolate cake or a cool breeze on a hot summer day. It's an easy place to love. But with less than 24 hours to spend here Ryan and I are a fury of emotions. We're angry we have to leave and sad we don't get to experience the best city in southeast Asia longer. At least the two of us agree it's the best city we've been to. The city is set with lush green mountains in the backdrop, there are ancient temples every block or two, monks at every turn, and restaurant after restaurant offering us an amazing selection of food. After getting a good taste of the city last night we decided to get up at 6am to explore as many ... read more

Another day on the slow boat, another day watching life along the Mekong River. There's farming along the river and folks growing some sort of crop in the sand...not sure what it is though. The banks are dotted sporadically with animals. A few cows here, a random goat standing on a rock, people farming, children bathing, and of course, the dangerous speedboat passing about every hour with petrified people wearing helmets. We stopped to visit the Pak Ou caves about an hour outside of Luang Prabang (LP). Decent caves not nearly as cool as the one in Halong Bay. After that, we made a quick stop at a small village the distills Lao Lao; a local rice whiskey. It comes in a few varieties ranging from a sweet wine-like one made from red rice to a ... read more

New Years Day started early and very nicely. I looked out the window to see young monks lined up collecting food from the local people. It's a common practice in Laos called tak bat. Some tourists take part in it in Luang Prabang but I hadn't heard about it happening in Huay Xai so it was a treat watch the monks from afar chanting along the way. The best way to get from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang is the slow boat which takes 2 days. It's easy to buy a ticket for $12 right at the site of departure. Unfortunately I didn't know this and when I was emailing from the US a few months ago to someone in Laos trying to book the slow boat they told me it was full for New Years ... read more

Ryan set the alarm for 6 am because gibbons are most active in the morning and we wanted to see one. The Gibbon experience doesn't guarantee seeing a gibbon but we were determined. Most of our group stood in silence around the railing of the tree house willing a gibbon to show its face. By 7am our guide showed up and he said he could take us hiking and zipping before breakfast to see if we could find gibbons. Everyone in our tree house (eight people total) except me went. Gibbons are known for their loud singing in the morning. If I couldn't hear them in our tree house, there was no way I would get to see one this morning. I thoroughly enjoyed my alone time in the tree house. Being able to be in ... read more

By 8:30 am we were at the gibbons office. We watched a short safety training video and then we were in the back of a pick up truck heading for the Gibbons Experience! By this time Ryan's new backpack was already tearing at the seams....so much for high wuality. Ryan and I were riding with a family -- 2 brothers each with their child. One guy reminded me of Ted Danson but blonder. He kept saying 'man' and 'welcome to the jungle'. He was bizarre. He brought his 6-year-old daughter on this trip which seemed crazy to me. I'm all for subjecting your child to new experiences but this is a 3 day, 2 night trip of constant ziplining and hiking. He said when he called about booking it they told him the age cut off ... read more

We took another flight on Lao Airlines. This is the one I was worried about due to the fact that it's often canceled because not many people book it. We landed on a semi-paved runway with grass and weeds growing up through the cracks and were in the town of Huay Xai (pronounced 'way sigh'). We were one of the three flights arriving at the Huay Xai airport this week. I had not booked airport transfer or a guest house because it's not possible to book online. It's so small of a place you just have to figure it out once you get there. I heard one local man speaking English, a tour guide for an American couple, so I went up to him and asked him what the transport situation was to get into town. ... read more

It was another early morning to visit what the Vietnamese call 'the amazing cave'. Once we got there I understood why they called it that. It really was amazing...like something out of a movie. And massive -- the third and largest section of the cave was the size of a football field. And the other 2 sections weren't small either. For me, it was the highlight of the trip. Honestly the most amazing thing I witnessed in vietnam. Ryan got his highlight as we were exiting the cave. A cute monkey appeared sitting on the cliff wall eating a banana leaf. I turned to him and said 'It's a monkey!' He ignored me assuming I was making it up. I was slapping his arms saying "Look, look, a monkey!' He finally believed me and was happy ... read more