Managed to roll in at Chang Mai after a brief stop for a few hours in Chang Rai. After getting a tuc-tuc from the bus station to the main backpacker area in Chang Mai, Frances, Rob, Brian and I spent over an hour searching for a guesthouse with free rooms. Finally made it to Moonlight guesthouse which had a room for me and Frances. Didnt have a window and had to share a single bed but hey.. were used to that at uni anyways and at 100 baht a night whos complaining! At Moonlight we met a great guy called Darren [View Full Entry]

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Well weve arrived back in Thailand but our journey was as always with interesting events! Left LP early in the morning to board the slow boat heading for the Thai border. The journey was to be made over two days with an overnight stop in Pakbeng. Weather in LP has been rather chilly of late, nothing like as cold as you guys are getting back in blighty but cold still the same. Headed West up the Mekong dressed jumpers and jackets but felt very cramped. The boat was very loud and the seats were only really big enough for one person [View Full Entry]

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Took a coach from Vang Vienne on our way through the mountains to the World Heritage site Luang Prabang. It was supposed to be a VIP coach that included nice seats and air con but we got stuffed with the seats and the air con didnt even come on till 5 mins before we arrived!! Fran and i were a bit nervous on this trip as it was the exact route that tourists had taken a few years ago that resulted in hijacks by anti govt millitants and the deaths of all the people on board. Although we spent a bit [View Full Entry]

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Was great in Vientiane but not too much so after spending a few days doing nothing constructive it was time to move on! We got a mini bus to Vang Vieng, took about 3 ish hours was we even got to watch a film in English!!! we drove up the mountains and had some great views. whenever your travel in Laos, or cambodia actually there are always 100's of wats ( the buddist temples) ramdomly placed along the side of the roads, sometimes in the middle of no where, they always look out of place because they're so colourful and all [View Full Entry]

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Frances seems to think it amusing about me being intrigued abot the world of monks but i am and ill tell you why!!! Now these guys might seem all sweetness and light walking around in their orange robes, getting free rides in tuk-tuks and the odd dollar here and there but these old boys don't fool me!!! For a start... on visiting their monastery's its clear that they have other agenda's apart from praying to Buddha!!! ESPN - Sports channel seems to be their favourite and they rave to me about their days watching English football!! Most of them can name [View Full Entry]

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our bus left Pakse at 8.30pm, it was an enormous VIP coach with proper air con and reclining seats! we were slightly aprehensive before it arrives as you never know quite what you're gonna get when you're promised an air con coach, but this definately didnt disappoint!!! we settled into our seats ready for a good nights sleep....and we actually got it!!! we woke up at about 3am realising we had stopped at a check point and uniformed officers with big machine guns were searching in the luggage section. we were stopped for ages, dont know what they were looking [View Full Entry]

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Upon a visit to SE Asia one of the first things to hit you are that there are alot of 'massage' parlours. Places where things aint always what they seem!!! Ive been curiously tempted to go for a REAL massage on our travels but never gone for it before now. I got a tip off from an American girl that this massage place in Pakse was rather good at a cheap rate so we wandered down there!! It turned out that this place was somebody's shack of a home with a sauna based in what looked like a garden shed! Anyways... [View Full Entry]

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Wow what a place. High up in the mountains now in a small village dominated by a waterfall and long bridge that goes between the two sides. Met Deborah a nice American girl whos also heading our way, although we had to give up a potentially nice bungalow at a cool guesthouse for her as there was only one left!! (last time we try and be helpfull!!) As it happens it didnt really matter as we headed over the bridge to a place called Saise bungalows and got a nice little spot near the waterfall and away into the woods. Even [View Full Entry]

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Pakse is the kind of place a traveller can get bogged down in but we kinda like it. Its small but the Curry's are fantastic and we can reach Tatlow (our next destination) in the mountains fairly easily. Stayed in the Lankham Hotel, well reviewed in the Lonely Planet but a bit dissapointing. We stayed on the 4th floor only to be hit by a dribbling shower and insects around the room. Braved one night and headed to the bus station to head to the mountains. Unfortunately had another scuffle with a driver who said one price which we agreed and [View Full Entry]

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after a few days of travel we both decided that it was time to chill out, relax and do nothing! there is no better place for this lack of activity than Don Det which is a tiny island (about 3km by 1km) in the middle of the Mekong. We found ourselves a liitle wooden hut on stilts ( luke has a fear of these and i had to steer him away from the concrete ones!) with hamocks outside next t the river. the island is so lovely, its the only place i've visited so far where i havent been disappointed by [View Full Entry]

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