We had a ton of fun on the beach! Ao Nang is heavily touristed as pretty much all of the accessible beaches in the area are but is very nice. We had to search a bit to find the authentic Thai food carts etc. and things were expensive; especially those that locals wouldn't buy often (i.e. sunscreen, aloe, western snacks etc.) - i.e. $15 for a bottle of sunscreen in a country were one person should be able to have a great meal for $3. I guess the locals don't buy it as the Thais usually sit up in hammocks in [View Full Entry]

---

---

We are now staying right on Ao Nang beach, just outside of Krabi in Thailand. It is at least 37 C today and sunny - hottest day yet. We've had a great time just relaxing . The travel back through Laos and Thailand to get here was a long two days but well worth rushing it to maximize the time on the beach. Haven't done a ton except swim in the ocean and relax. The ocean is amazingly warm here and so far have seen one jellyfish - it was a non-stinging type the size of a football (CFL not [View Full Entry]

---

---

A long 10 hour bus ride took us down to the capital of Laos, Vientiane. The major road in Laos is more like a paved trail that is not quite two lanes with tons of villages etc living right on it. It was wild to watch how the bus driver approached the blind corners and villagers etc - just lay on the horn and keep your speed up. Luckily we took the bus with A/C as we passed the regular bus about 10 minutes out of town and it was broken down. That drive will toss you around pretty good in [View Full Entry]

---

---

Luang Prabang (and area) was a very scenic - the city itself is a UNESCO world heritage site due to the number of temples (wats) etc. What we didn't expect is how touristy it was - it seems that since Laos opened up to tourists fairly recently and built an airport, it has been flooded with tourists. We couldn't believe how many families and older tourists were there - groups of them from all over Europe and the US. How these people decided to pack up the kids and go to Laos is beyond me. We didn't feel a very warm [View Full Entry]

---

---

From Chiang Mai we made our way to the border crossing to Laos. We were kind of ripped off on our pre-booked 'border crossing' package - it was just a guest house that took a service fee on the visa. It was obvious that they hadn't cleaned the rooms or sheets in a while... The next day getting the visa was chaotic as Huay Xai is not well equipped to handle the volume of travellers it is getting. Laos has only been open to tourists for about 4-5 years so everyone is rushing in to see it. The boat down the [View Full Entry]

---

---

We arrived in Chiang Mai after a trip on the night train (cue the Guns and Roses song from '87). It is a very nice city, albeit very touristy in areas. We took a 3 day trek in the Thai jungle north of here. It was pretty amazing as we hiked to remote villages, had an elephant ride, whitewater rafting, floated on bamboo rafts and got to know the people in our group (from Israel, Lithuania, Ireland, Slovenia...). It was an experience sleeping in bamboo huts on stilts under mosquitoe nets and using showers/toilets that had their water supply fed from [View Full Entry]

---

---

After the 3 flights and being awake 30 hrs straight (we couldn't sleep a wink on the plane) and five airline meals in a row we landed safe in Bangkok! We were amazed at the difference between Air Canada and Thai Airways - I think AC could learn a thing or two by taking a flight with Thai Air. Bangkok is a huge city! You hear about the pollution and crazy traffic but what most people don't mention is how great the people are. I've never been treated so well in a big city before - for tourists, everything is at [View Full Entry]

---

---

We made a short day stop in Ayutthaya on the way to Chiang Mai. It is a cool little city and more rusticly Asian. We rented bicycles (pink with baskets and bells - sweet!) to tour the old sites. The mid-day sun proved a little much for us white Canadians (especially the little red-head!) We took a boat along the river canals and biked the rest. It was tough to fit us and our big bicylcles on the wooden boats while ensuring the monks, kids and seniors still could sit down ( as is customary here). The bikes had good bells [View Full Entry]

---

---