A Week In Laos (31st Oct-7th Nov 2005) Chiang Khong Chiang Khong is the border crossing we used between Northern Thailand and Laos. Got a bus/minivan to the border from Chiang Mai. Buses won't leave Chiang Mai until lunchtime and you get to the border at 6.30pm. The border closes at 6pm! How convenient! We could only see the lights of Laos across the water and would cross the border in the morning. Slow Boat (2 days on the Mekong River) Chiang Khong to Luang Prabang We chose the 2 day, slow boat option along the Mekong River to Luang Prabang. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Chiang Mai (25th Oct.-31st Oct.) Overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai which was fairly comfortable really although you don't enjoy quality sleep. Monk Chat Enjoyed a session called "Monk Chat" where by young monks who are still studying spend some time with you in groups of 2 or 3 talking about their studies and religious practices. The monks are certainly open to all sorts of questions from us and also enjoyed hearing about what we did at home and where we came from. The 2 monks we spoke with were both from Laos and one of them had been a practicing [View Full Entry]

---

---

Khao San Road - Bankok Flew from Kathmandu to Bankok (superb views of the Himalayas when leaving Kathmandu from the left side of the plane!). Absolutely stinking hot in Bankok. Stayed on Khao San Road (thankfully we were able to eventually find a room that didn't look like a prison cell, wasn't bug infested and didn't smell like marijuana. At 10.30 pm when we arrived the street was swarming with people, food vendours and people selling fake ID's/degrees etc. (anything you requested really!). It was a little disturbing to see a Victorian heavy vehicle drivers licence pinned to their sample board! [View Full Entry]

---

---

Pokhara & Kathmandu (17th-23rd October) Pokhara Relaxing This is near where we finished our trek. Spent 3 days here truly relaxing, eating breakfast by the lake and comparing trekking stories with other travellers. Yoga & Meditation Course This was an interesting day for us all. We did all sorts of meditation which you would have laughed hysterically at had you been flies on the wall! We all had a shiatsu masssage - no explanations or introductions from the guys and women who were doing the massage just straight in to it. It was good though and lasted for a whole hour! [View Full Entry]

---

---

Some memorable moments from 20 days of trekking through the Himalayas with Bernadette, Elizabeth and Kendra. You asked how far we walked in 20 days - apparently somewhere between 300 and 400km. But I also heard that all the ups and downs totalled approximately 10,000 metres in altitude changes. "Nepali Flat?? - A little bit of up and a little bit of down!!!" Pre-Departure *Hired down jackets in Thamel, Kathmandu (we heard it gets cold on top of Everest!). The Nepali man who we hired the jackets from told us that his name in English meant World King. He then asked [View Full Entry]

---

---

Rafting in Nepal (Sun Kosi River) - 19th-26th September, 2005 A Blow Out, Flood & My Holy Foot! Bernadette, Elizabeth, Kendra and I have just spent the past week rafting 270km of the Sun Kosi River in Nepal. It was a great trip and already so many stories to tell! The Blow Out - On Day 2 as we were peacefully admiring the surrounding hills and villages there was a very loud bang just like a shotgun or perhaps even a cannon. All I was thinking was that we were being shot at and I was ready to jump down into [View Full Entry]

---

---