We leave Phonsavan early in the morning to get a jump on heading to the Vietnam border (we have to first spend a night in Sam Neua). At the bus station, which again is just a dirt parking lot, a group of nice buses are parked. We are told our bus to Sam Neua will come shortly. Soon a delapitated vehicle that looks like it was once a bus comes up the road. That of course is for us. We board the moving death-trap and set out on our eight hour journey into the mountains. In the bus is an older [View Full Entry]

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In the morning we headed out to the local bus station (which was just a spot on the road) and there were a few nice buses ready to go. But of course, our bus had not arrived yet. Just 15 minutes later, a scary looking bus comes up the road and, you got it, it was our local bus to Phonsovan. Without hesitation, we got on board and perpared ouselves for the eight hour ride through the mountains. The views were again spectacular as were the small villages we drove through. When we rolled into Phonsovan, we immediately learned it was [View Full Entry]

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The 6 hour minivan ride from Luang Prabang provided outstanding scenery as we climbed and decended our way through the lucious green mountains of the region. We also passed through a bunch of small villages sporting bamboo houses and shacks. Along the way the people would return my waves with big smiles. Quick funny story...at one stop, Tamar went to the back of a restaurant to use their toilet and upon returning, she said something bit her. I look at her leg and it was a small scratch and asked her "what bit you as this does not look like a [View Full Entry]

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I have not been writing much so I thought I would expand a bit...hope it is not to much... We ventured from Chaing Mai via minivan to the border town of Chaing Khong. There we stayed the night at a riverside guesthouse and handed in our passports so we would have Laos Visas in the morning for the ferry ride across the Mekong. There was not much to Chaing Khong save a few restaurants and guesthouses catering to the travelers coming and going to Laos. The next morning we, along with about 90 other travelers, took the small boats across the [View Full Entry]

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The bus back to Chiang Mai was a hoot as we were stuck in the very back with a Thai guy on one side and a Swiss girl on the other...but lots of leg room. Thank god for my MP3 player. The bus once again stopped at the same roadside town where it did on the way to Pai...this time I decided to get some food...and the fried noodles turned out to be very good. In Chiang Mai, we got a room at Banana Guest House because Julie guesthouse was packed. Tamar and I toured around town a bit and ended [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Chaing Mai in the early morning having taken the overnight but from Bangkok. We spend only a few hours in the town before deciding to head further north to the viallage of Pai. We caught a rickshaw to the bus station and caught the local bus to Pai. Four hours later and a bit sore from the bumpy, twisty ride, we arrived in Pai to find a small town and the sun shining. We found a place to stay quickly (Blue Lagoon Hotel) and immediately ventured out to get someting to eat. It wasn't long until we found [View Full Entry]

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The trip back to Bangkok was very efficient and comfortable. I caught the "fast" catamaran from the island back to the mainland and from there was herded onto a large, air conditioned bus. I was able to lay down on the area under the television and catch a few "zzz" before we hit Bangkok 8 hours later (8pm). Having been here before was helpful in that I new a good guest house on Rambuttri (Rambuttri Villiage Inn). It is a bit expensive at $11 per day but I get hot water! I have not had hot water for over two weeks. [View Full Entry]

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I joined ICEMAN and we caught the noon ferry to Koh Toa, and island north of Ko Pangang which is famous for Scuba Diving. Iceman had already reserved a spot at Crystal Dive Resort so after the two hour ferry ride which I spent on the front of the boat, we jumped in a pick up and were welcomed to the resort. Don't let the name fool you, it is a basic joint (no hot water, toilets that you have to manually flush using a bucket) but they have great Dive Masters and Instructors and inexpensive PADI courses. As both Iceman [View Full Entry]

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The trip down to Ko Pangang involves an overnight bus and a ferry ride. The bus ride was a bit rough as I could not fall asleep thanks in part to some rowdy Israeli guys behind me. The bus dropped us off at 4:30 am at a small bus stop where we had to wait until 8am for the van to pick us up to go to the ferry. Ah, traveling! On the ferry, I was so tired, I sat in the VIP area, fell asleep and then had to pay an extra 40 Baht ($1) for it. Upon arrival, I [View Full Entry]

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After a rather quite week in Singapore (mainly because I was not feeling welll...could be because I lost my Qray bracelet which many of you know make me feel good by balancing my Chi), my first night in Bangkok involved a late night drinking with an English guy I met in the hotel (Sawadsee Smile Inn on Rambuttri street). I woke with a bit of a hang over but pushed myself to go see some sights. The first on the list was the Chatuchak Weekend Market (it covers an area of 70 rai (35 acres), contains more than 15 000 shops [View Full Entry]

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