Blogs from East, Laos, Asia - page 14

It's been a little while and there's much to tell but, as I've previously proved, I have an inability to be concise. I hope there will be some sparkling diamonds of interest and excitement for you to mine, but they will most likely be buried in so much mud and filth - you guy's are gonna have to get your brains dirty and dig! If you find any (diamonds that is)? - stick 'em up your arse! We had our last two days in Vietnam and spent them travelling to the border, they proved to be the best, most interesting and productive hours we spent in the country! The adventure went something like this: We awoke at the unhealthy and frankly dangerous time of 3.30am in order to catch the first bus out of Hanoi; our ... read more

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Our whirlwind adventure departing Laos really began after Nong Kiaw, a small town built on the edges of the Pak Ou River, to which Chris and I sailed up to via longboat on Christmas day. The ride took about 8 hours from Luang Prabang, and the scenery was spectacular-- on each side of us were huge mountains covered in teak forests and limestone rock facing. As we glided against the (sometime very shallow) current, we were greeted by dozens of naked Lao children bathing and playing in the water, often accompanied by their mothers tilling the garden plots along the water's edge... We spent a quiet Christmas night in a bungalow overlooking the river, which provided a beautiful view of the sunset and a very festive Loa staff of youngsters, dressed up in santa hats and ... read more

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We left you having arrived on 10 September in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. I'm writing this blog sat in an Internet cafe in Phonsavan, northern Laos, and we've certainly been travelling hard over the last couple of weeks. Chiang Mai is very much geared up for tourists, and we spent a few days cramming in as much as possible. A day of visiting temples and the night market was followed by a cooking course (we both do a mean green curry, although my hot & spicy soup was rather too firey, having followed our Thai chef's lead and added 10 chillis) and then a trip up Thailand's highest mountain, Doi Inthanon - in reality, a minibus trip to within 50 feet of the summit, and then a short stroll to the top. The next day Sarah ... read more