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Page 2 of ahurlerabroad Travel Blog Posts
More Laos - Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiene and Kong Lo Cave
Published: April 25th 2012Asia » Laos » West » Vang Vieng
April 25th 2012
After returning from the Gibbon Experience in Huay Xai we took a nightbus from there to Luang Prabang. We got there early morning after an okayish journey and found a nice guesthouse. Our room was big and we had a lovely balcony. Luang Prabang is a really pretty town with loads of nice restaurants and cafes. It's on the Mekong and you can walk down to the shore (no sunbathing!). We wondered around town, got splashed with water (run up to the New Year's celebrations) and found a lovely little cafe which does home made ice cream. They also have nice wine and delicious looking salads. We decided to go there for dinner, as especially I have been craving salads after 3.5 months in Asia. This little cafe was quite a walk away from our guesthouse. ... read more
April 25th 2012
I finally met up with my two friends from London and we crossed over the border into Laos. Surprisingly this was the fastest border crossing I have done so far. The whole thing only took 20 minutes and to make things even better, Germans pay $5 less for their Laos visas than English people. Ha! And we didn't get ripped off. We went straight to the booking office of the Gibbon Experience in Huay Xai and managed to book a two day, one night trek for the next day. It cost us $180 per person and includes all food, drinks and accommodation. When you get to Huay Xai you will notice that every shop sells white gloves (similar to gardening gloves). I thought that gardening must be very popular in that area. These gloves are actually ... read more
Northern Thailand (Chiang Mai and Pai)
Published: April 25th 2012Asia » Thailand » North-West Thailand » Chiang Mai
April 25th 2012
Due to my extended stay on Ko Chang I had to change my plans for Northern Thailand. My original plan was to visit Kanchanaburi, Ayuthaya and/or Sukothai, Chiang Mai and Pai. Instead I decided to go to Chiang Mai and Pai. I travelled for about 24 hours by bus and train from Trat to Chiang Mai and arrived there early in the morning. The Thai trains are so different to the Indian ones. I couldn't believe the luxury! They even have toilet paper in the toilets!!! My first day in Chiang Mai was mainly spent with resting and sleeping and on the second day I hired a bycicle to drive around the many sights. I must say I am not a big fan of Chiang Mai. I wasn't planning on going trekking there or spend time ... read more
April 1st 2012
After leaving Cambodia on 17 March I travelled to Ko Chang. We had to change into one of those horrible minibusses at the border and typically for Thailand the minibus driver asked us to pay an extra THB100 because we weren't enough people. We already had paid for our trip from Battambong to Ko Chang but what can you do - argue and upset yourself or just fork out the extra bhat. Finally we left the border and travelled towards Trat where you catch the ferry to Ko Chang. As it is with minibusses we stopped at random intervals at random places. We just had a toilet break when we got caught up in what to us looked like a traffic jam. After sitting in it for 30 mins it became clear that it is a ... read more
March 30th 2012
Battambong is a small town in the North of Cambodia. It is probably most famous for the bamboo train which, as the names says, is a train made of bamboo. It's more like a raft with a small engine that travels on railway tracks. It used to be a form of transport for the locals and ran on an active railway line. Nowadays it seems more like a tourist attraction but it's still good fun. You pay $5 for a return journey of about 14km. The last stop is at some shops where you can get a drink, talk to the locals, visit a rice factory and kids make you some bamboo jewellery. There are plans to re-open the railway line which means that the government will stop the bamboo train. After the train we continued ... read more
March 21st 2012
Phnom Penh - the capital of Cambodia. We heard nothing good about that place but we both loved it. Forget about Bangkok for shopping - this is the place. You can shop till you drop. OPI nail varnishes for $1.50, Diesel Jeans for $20, etc, etc, etc. I had to force myself from staying away from the markets and shopping centres. But there is also a different and more serious side to Phnom Penh - the Tuel Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields. Both should be part of the programme. It will be a sad and intense day but it will help you understand just how far the Cambodians have come in the past 30+ years. The Tuel Sleng Genocide Museum or also known as S-21 (Security Prison no 21) used to be a high ... read more
March 21st 2012
After our time in Siem Reap we took the night bus to Sihanoukville. The bus was half seat and half bed - still a night bus and not very comfortable. The bus took about 12+ hours and it was a very bumpy ride. Usually Asian night busses are always freezing cold and you need ski gear to travel on them but that one was quite hot. Our seats were near the toilet (great) and someone decided to take that smelly fruit on board and eat it (the fruit smells worse than the toilet). We eventually made it and checked into a even hotter guesthouse. As soon as we hit the beach we got surrounded by people trying to sell us everything from sunglasses to hair removal (in the form of threading). Sihanoukville is more like Spain ... read more
March 13th 2012
It's been a while since my last blog. We left Bangkok on 17 March to travel to Cambodia by bus. I heard before that if you get to the border the border people will try and make you pay in Thai Baht for the Cambodian visa. The visa should be $20. If you pay in Baht it will be considerably more. The same happened to us and I argued with the guy saying that my friends crossed the border two days ago and paid in USD (made up but he lied too!). He refused and we walked out to another office. They accepted the USD but asked us to pay an additional 300 Baht. The whole thing worked out at about $25 which isn't too bad. Advice to anyone who crosses the border at Aranya Prathet, ... read more
February 19th 2012
We had an awsome time in Varanasi. After Varanasi we took the train (14 hours) to Delhi. Unfortunately, this train journey turned out to be the worst one of all of them. It turned out that the Indians were right about the cold weather. Not only was the train very crowded, the people not as friendly as usual it also got very very cold over night. I spent most of the night shutting windows and doors and then trying to cover up and put as many layers on as I could. As we both already had colds at various stages, we got even worse. By the time we go to Delhi we were frozen and had to keep our layers on. I even had to wear my socks in my sandals. I know I am German ... read more
February 7th 2012
We extended our stay in Hampi by another 4 nights. We had met so many nice people that we didn't want to leave. We also changed our plans to go to Kanha national park as it was too much effort to get there and very expensive. Hopefully we will see some tigers somewhere else. When we booked our tickets to Varanasi everyone told us that it's winter in the north and that it will be cold. I asked the agent how cold and he told me European temperatures. We did get a bit worried because we don't have any suitable clothes. When I checked the forecast online it said it will be around 25C during the day and between 15 and 17C at night. It seems that anything under 35 is cold for Indians. The locals ... read more
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