http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Laos , West , Pakbeng en-us Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:26:14 BST Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:26:14 BST Right now I am sitting on the second story porch of my hostel SpicyLaos Backpackers in Luang Prabang. It is my first morning here. Last night Dave and I along with our new friend Phil pulled our huge backpacks and supplementary bags off the ldquoslow boat.rdquo We had traveled down the Mekong starting on the morning of August 18th slept one night at a tiny village called Pakbeng and http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-314801.html Mostly just pictures for now. http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-314108.html Yes I am in Laos and finally for anybody that is contacting me I am now back to my Irish mobile number for the foreseeable future.I got a boat across the Mekong into Laos from northern Thailand from where I picked up a boat down the Mekong to Luang Phabang whick took 2 days to journey. We stopped off over night in a small backwater town although the largest along the route called Pakbeng. A nice http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-311639.html Gals 'n Boys ... how's everything over ther pond How is the german team doing in the EM hope your TVs are working fine andf youve a great deal of icecold beer in the fridge. It's been a while since we updated our blog bcoz we got a little disconnected while floating thru beautiful Laos. No electricity internet TV we very much appreciated it. What attracted us most were the friendly and wel http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-286495.html Day 41April 15th I got up at 700ish and ate breakfast at the guesthouse. I walked over to the Thai exit point with my backpack on my back and caught the ferry across the Mekong to Houie Xie Laos. I checked in at Thai Customs switched some money from baht to kip and then bought a ticket for the slow boat to Luang Prabang. It's a 2day journey down the river. The boat was scheduled to lea http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-283215.html This is a very late entry mainly due to the fact i have not had any time to write my blog so apologies. The slow boat down the mekong was fantastic not only due the people i met along the way but also due to the spectacular scenery. We passed water buffalos in the water whirlpools amazing rock formations and beautiful unspoilt forests. The overnight stay in Pak Beng was certainly an experience i http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-260810.html Up and down to the landing once again to find that we have changed boats OH SHIT much smaller and the same amount of people are going to get onto it. It is packed with litterally no space to move around people have climbed on top of all the back packs to find a seat actually they were the wise ones as the seats are once again just a piece of wood and my arse is numb within the first hour http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-259929.html We arived in Pakbeng at 6pm. We decided to break up the girls would try one way while the guys another. People were jumping on the boat showing beautiful phoitos of rooms. We should have known. Christy and I payed a couple guys to carry our bags up the sand hill while Laura and Erin went to find us a room. We waited about 20 minuets when an obnoxious man arrived screaming to us. Yes this was ou http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-248240.html A boat trip down the Mekong River. There's two days we won't be forgetting for a while the sort of experience where you know you'll look back and laugh one day. Though our butts haven't forgiven us yet the photos the destination and the friends we made one the way made it all worth it.We took a bus from Chiang Mai to the Thai border town of Chiang Kong. From there we awoke early for a great http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-237544.html Slow boating the Mekong River is another popular activity in Laos. I was doing it backwards going upriver from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai in the Golden Triangle. There I would reenter Thailand from the north.Our slow boat departed Luang Prabang in the morning and proceeded up river at a steady pace relentlessly against the stream. The captain knew this section of the river and was constantly adj http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-225576.html Started the slow boat trip down the Mekong towards Luang Prabang the trip takes 2 days in total with a stop off in Pak Beng. The boat was like a viking boat and had around 80100 people on board with 1 toilet and a basic bar. Neal and I were one of the last on so didn't manage to claim a seat but this was a blessing in disguise instead we were near the front on the floor the engine was the back http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-209354.html Our last 2 days in Laos were spent cruising down the Mekong on our own private long boat. It was just a great and relaxing way to finish this country. The scenery was beautiful the food was fab we had a chef onboard and the overnight stop in Bak Beng was lots of fun We boys from Venezuela even got us all dancing MerengueWe arrived at the Laos border town just before the border shut so we cros http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-203236.html Two days of floating down the Mekong River. That's what travelling in Laos is all about. No activity I can think of can introduce you so easily to the attitude and way of life that abounds in Laos. Everything is chilled laid back pretty much everyone just goes with the flow. So obviously this place suits me to an utter T.Most of the trip was spend engaging in some of the better activities in exi http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-199809.html So yeh after our Muang Sing adventures we attempted note the choice of word to get on our way to meet Shell in Luang Prabang. WE had made a plan to meet up on the saturday judt as aback up in case normal forms of communication failed us. Which they did. unfortunately transport failed us as well and instead of getting to the Mekong in pak beng where we would get the boat to Luang prabang we http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-191323.html Well it took some getting here but we made it Several days after setting off from Kota Bharu we are finally in Luang Prabang in Laos. As I previously metioned we couldn't take the overland route into Thailand so we decided to fly much easier than it sounds This involved getting to the bus station in Kota Bharu via a lift from our hostel owners then an 8hr bus journey to KL we set off at http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-190890.html May. 11th 2007 at 933 AMChiang Klong by CharlieOK I thought here I am what next Taking a look about me and looking back at the guesthouse we just passed I figured it looked as good as any and as it was closer maybe even better Throwing my rucksack over my shoulder I hiked back the few hundred yards and entered the well kept yard of the establishment.I went through the guesthouse http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-179210.html Up at a reasonable time and had breakfast at the guest house. The checked out although I did forget to hand in the BAP quest house room key and still have it now. We got a Tuk Tuk down to the dock. The boat seemed fine but the wooden benchs didnt look all that comfortable and didnt afford much leg room. So I clung on to two seats for dear life and pretended to be a sleep so that know one would http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-159617.html Cruisin the Mekong The next morning it turns out that mama B.A.P. had not exactly been truthful as she handed us each two bundles of Laos kip stapled together with one printed note each which read Huay Xai Pak Beng and Pak Beng Luang Prabang. As she instructed us to use the first bundle right away when her boy dropped us to the boat ticket office and then impressed on us to ready at eight http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-150785.html Well we got up had the sorriest looking omlette for breakfats on Pakbeng economy. 7th ring of Hell. and boarded our romantic river cruiser buttocks still bruised Leanne also by now has a mozzie bite on one asscheek so she is in angry mode. Grrr. Sat behind the same couple as we sat in front of on the way to Pakbeng. Canadian couple. He has a Nikon D70 and loads of stupid gadgets like a g http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-134810.html We had two choices to get to Laos fly directly from Chiang Mia to Luang Phabang or take the slow boat. Although its name doesn't sound so appealing the slow boat delivers the cultural experience of meandering down the infamous Mekong River...for two whole days. And at the time it sounded like the perfect idea. So at 10am on Wednesday our Thai driver picked us up for three days and two nights o http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-134294.html FRANCAIS PLUS BAS After a week in Chiang Mai and one month in Thailand it's now time to move on. A travelling companion from Gaspesie in Quebec has joined me here. The company is welcome after travelling solo for a while. It will take some adjusting but I don't anticipate any problems. I can adjust to most situations I think and after travelling in India everything else is EASY.So we take a mini http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-133677.html Imagine the romance of a slow trip down the Mekong river on a cargo boat. Your vessel slides past the luxuriantly foliaged banks and you wave cheerily to the toiling peasants who take a moment from their labours to wave back smiling. You settle snugly into your chair formed from sacks of rice and share a joke with the boatmen. A few bottles of Beer Lao appear from somewhere and you exchange tr http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-130935.html Awake at 5am Debbie and I managed to drop ourselves out of bed and haul our packs a block down to the pickup point for our trip to the ThaiLaos border. Although not as tightly packed as the Philippines buses the mini bus to the Thai border town had every seat filled with fellow travelers as we left Chaing Mai. The drive took just over five hours and some of the scenery was worth the cramped qua http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-105409.html I spent a couple more days in Chiang Mai as I was really enjoying their way of life the people are beautiful and it is a very relaxed outdoor atmosphere.Most days I would get my daypack and just walk to see what I could find. On my final day in Chiang Mai walk I met and spoke with many local people who approached me. even a gentleman from Japan came up to me for a chat. I found out some local http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-95954.html Our final night in Pai was Tuesday 26th September. We went to Buffalo Exchange where Matt ended up getting up to play songs on a guitar. It was a really good night and the whisky we were drinking may have been the driving force behind his solo act later accompanied by a German called Seb on bongos. As we left we bumped into Carrie and Conor the Canadians from Chiang Mai and the following day http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-92872.html After a short boat trip across the river we were processed through Laos immigration caught a Tuk Tuk to begin our two day boat journey down the Mekong. Along the way we toured a small village before arriving in the trading port of Pak Beng. Our local guide Vong took us to a temple more stairs where we caught the Monks Novices having a bit of a party. The town itself was very small only ha http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-76840.html . http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-69743.html Hey y'all we left Chiang Mai on 21st Felt quite sad to be leaving cos it is such a great place so many happy memories the people who ran the hostel were brilliant. We headed to the Thai border with Laos in the morning and a couple of busrides and a quick boat trip over the Mekong River later and we were in Laos at a place called Huay Xai. We got our visas sorted in quick time found a host http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-42885.html After spending a night in boring Huay Xai we travelled to Luang Prabang by SLOW boat on the Mekong river. It was a 2day journey so we had to spend 1 night in another boring little town Pakbeng which has nothing to offer except for the scenery and the starry sky. The boat ride is on top of the list for worst ride of the trip. It was a narrow boat about 15m long and accommodated at least 50 http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/West/Pakbeng/blog-37901.html