This is Matt (aka Gunja) reporting from Laos! Each town we visit in an adventure and despite our map declaring Vang Vieng the "chill out town" we certainly had an adventure or two. We stayed at a guesthouse called Pan's Place and it was a small yellow villa with a great vibe. Shortly after arriving we caught up with some of the other backpackers we'd previously met at one of the many restaurants that showed that US sitcom, 'Friends' and enjoyed some more Beerlao. The main road is dirt and shared by cats, dogs, chickens, motorbikes and Tuks-Tuks (the half motorbike [View Full Entry]

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It has been a wonderful week we have spent in Luang Prabang. It was hard to leave Muang Noi, one of Laos' best kept secrets, but I'm sure we'll return one day. We have spent most of this week drenched ( I have tried many times to get to the internet cafe without being soaked, but have failed each time......) We have met up with a really great crowd. Phil and Millsy, who we originally met in Chiang Mai, recognised us from an internet cafe as we walked down the street. Since then we have meet heaps of people; the Irish [View Full Entry]

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Both of us are feeling a bit fuzzy this morning after celebrating last night with food, Beer Laos and Lao Lao (Laos whiskey made from rice, tastes a bit like sake). In Sydney I would be lying in front of the telly trying to get over my hangover whilst Steve would be playing computer games; here we sit looking at the Nam Ou river, eating rice soup and drinking Lao coffee. Instead of the TV we are watching the villagers prepare in excitement for the Boat races tomorrow at Nong Kwai. Muang Ngoi have a team entered for the event but [View Full Entry]

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(The following are excerpts from our journaI as there was no internet access from the village of Muang Ngoi). I write this as I lay in my hammock over looking the Nam Ou river. Children play on the steps leading down to where fishermen work on their long boats and fix their nets. Steve is helping another backpacker (Eduard from France) to carry bamboo poles up from the river to behind our bungalow where they are helping to bring materials for a restaurant that is being built by one of the villagers. We arrived yesterday after a 3hr drive up from [View Full Entry]

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Early on 2nd April we crossed the border into Laos at Houang Xai after spending an ordinary night in Chiang Khong which is a basic border town with not much more than a few (very cheap) guesthouses and a few businesses. At the border, we did note that although it was Sunday, many people were getting their Laos visas. It seemed that we have happened upon a bit of a scam, as those travellers on our mini-bus to Chiang Khong yesterday were told that they had to arrange their visas through the mini-bus agent (at 1500 baht each for a fifteen [View Full Entry]

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Arriving back in Thailand was quite a culture shock after spending two weeks in Myanmar. However, we did take advantage of a few things that had missed; the first thing I had was a chocolate milk shake and a massive steak that hardly touched the sides! Steve headed straight for the Bangkok Post, needing his fix of world affairs. Although Chiang Mai is the lovely nothern sibling city to Bangkok, we haven't done anything touristy while we have been here. Most of the treks seem to to follow the same pattern of elephant rides and visiting hill-tribe villages (there are two [View Full Entry]

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The last two weeks in Myanmar has been a wonderful 14 days of experiencing the land and lives of the Myanmar people. We have been touched by their generosity and kindness with the very little that they have to offer. We can only hope that we have too touched some of their lives in some small way. Our last night was spent in Yangon, so we decided to explore an area to the west of the guesthouse for somewhere to eat. Of course, the power was off, so we looked for anywhere that had a generator. On our way we passed [View Full Entry]

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How sweet it is to be by water again!!!! Bagan was beautiful, but my god, it was dry!! After our last day there, we (read as 'Steph') decided that a 10 hour bumpy car ride across winding mountains to Eastern Myanmar was pretty much out of the question. I had spent half the day in bed with a heavy cold and I think Steve even dreaded a 10 hour car journey with me coughing and spluttering all the way! We also decided that we couldn't put Gabrielle through it, so when he popped round to our guesthouse at 8pm we suggested [View Full Entry]

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18th March 2006 - Bagan, Myanmar The journey down the Ayerwaddy (Irrawaddy) River was truly magnificent. Departing Mandalay at sunrise, we were privy to the new day breaking over a land of exquisite stupas, shining gold and white in the new day light. Fishermen were out in their long boats, attending to their nets in the muddy waters of the Irrawaddy. It couldn't have been a site from 13th century but for the site of a semi-completed iron bridge across the river - the first signs of development we had seen in days. There was as real mixture of passengers on [View Full Entry]

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15th March 2006 - Mandalay, MYANMAR - the land of contradictions and contrasts Okay, the journey by road was actually fourteen and a half hours on the slow coach to Mandalay. It was an experience, and we're glad we did it - but NEVER again. So, Mandalay is quite different to Yangon. The pace is much slower, the people are even friendlier - everyone says hello - and the city is much smaller, in height as well as size. It is a dusty city, but it is very young so the buildings are not so ramshackle as those in Yangon. People [View Full Entry]

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