Day 368: Thursday 2nd July - Growing to like Vientiane’s French charm When I arrived in Vientiane last night it didn’t make a good first impression. The Tuk-Tuk mafia didn’t help, waiting at every street corner to ask if you want a ride or illegal drugs when you decline the ride. This is more Thailand than Laos. My room is a cramped affair with no window to allow any outside light in, but I was warned not to expect great things on the accommodation front of the capital. From bad first impressions, slowly Vientiane grows on me...... Before I start sightseeing [View Full Entry]

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Day 365: Monday 29th June - Back on the backpacker trail in Vang Vieng Today is going to be a day doing little. After spending 33 hours on buses and sawngthaew’s the last 4 days I need to recharge my batteries. Walking around Vang Vieng in the morning I am not sure this is the ideal place to do it. Vang Vieng has become THE backpacker's pit stop in Laos, and walking down the main street I’ve seen far more westerners than locals. It feels like a mini Khao San Road and is far too westernised evidenced by the restaurant menus [View Full Entry]

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Day 361: Thursday 25th June - The Secret War After an 8 hour journey to cover only 200km through twisty, mountainous roads surrounded by lush vegetation, dodging cows on the road (a typical Laos journey), I arrive in Phonsavon, the capital of Xieng Khouang province. Unsurprisingly the bus station is 5km from town so I will need transport to get there. I manage to blag a free lift into the town, on the proviso I check out a couple of guesthouses that they are touting. The second is decent, but I told Ross and Yo-Hun that I was heading to King [View Full Entry]

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Day 363: Saturday 27th June - The hidden city of the Pathet Lao during the Secret War The bus pulls into Sam Neua bus station at 2:30am. I spend the next 3 hours trying to get some sleep on the cold concrete floor in the bus station. Oh how times change! When I do wake up I try to fathom out the next stage in the journey. I want to visit Vieng Xai, which was the Pathet Lao hideout during the Secret War. It is a 40 minute journey from Sam Neua. Is it best to stay in Sam Neua and [View Full Entry]

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Day 358: Monday 22nd June - A charming town by the Mekong When I left off my last blog, I was sharing a family room in a boutique hotel with Maria, a Spanish girl I’d met on the slowboat down the Mekong to Luang Prabang. After one of the worst night’s sleep on my trip, I’ve decided that arrangement has to come to an end. The problem is you see that my room is effectively outside on the veranda. In itself that isn’t a big deal but the hotel is next to a busy road and opposite a temple. I was [View Full Entry]

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Day 356: Saturday 20th June - The first day on a slowboat down the Mekong Described in a number of sources as one of the essential experiences in Southeast Asia, and one of the best boat journeys in the region as well, I should be really excited about the two day trip down the Mekong River from Huayxai to Luang Prabang. This is the section of the river that passes some of the best scenery on its 3000 mile journey through 6 countries from its source in Tibet. I have heard mixed reports so my enthusiasm is checked. I decide in [View Full Entry]

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Day 351: Monday 15th June - The bus breaks down on the way to Luang Namtha If one day could sum up why I love Laos this would be it. Nothing spectacular happens, but in Laos that doesn’t matter. Day to day life in this most laid back and relaxing of countries is interesting enough on its own. As I wait in the tiny village of Ban Donchai for the bus to pass, I am treated to various antiquated tractors, stripped down to their engine driving past at a fraction above walking pace. Then a group of young monks, dressed in [View Full Entry]

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Day 348: Friday 12th June - Crossing over the Mekong into Laos Today I am crossing over the border into Laos. Despite looking into both the border crossing formalities and whether I can get Laos currency on the other side of the border, I am none the wiser. Some sources say you can’t get a visa on arrival, most say you can, but the length varies between 15-30 days. Similarly, I find a few internet sites that say that there is an ATM in Huayxai on the Laos side of the border, whilst most say there isn’t, and a money changer [View Full Entry]

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Day 340: Thursday 4th June - It all comes together When I leave Sukhothai for the 5 hour bus journey north to Chiang Mai, the major city in Northern Thailand, I know what I want to do in and around the city during my remaining 9 days left on my visa, but I can’t get it to come together. The proverbial spanner in the works is the 2 or 3 day mahout training course I want to do. They can’t accommodate me until next week at the earliest, which would mean hanging around Chiang Mai longer than I planned. When I [View Full Entry]

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Day 346: Wednesday 10th June - Starting mahout training I have to be at Chiang Mai’s bus station for 7am to get a bus to the Elephant Conservation Centre, an hour’s drive south on the highway between Lampang and Chiang Mai. The next bus isn’t until 7:20am, which will be cutting it fine to arrive at the centre for 8:30am. I explain to them where I want to be dropped off by imitating an elephant, and making a right fool of myself. What’s worse I think the Thai lady spoke English!!! The bus drops me at the front gate an hour [View Full Entry]

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