Blogs from North, Laos, Asia - page 2

Trying to keep up with what day today is... oh yes! It's Monday! And we're in Luang Prabang, Laos, and life is good! Good nights sleep and no mozzie nets required, as altitude too high for them. After breakfast in our quaint guest house we explore the Old town getting our bearings. There are lots of Wats here but we avoid them, concentrating on admiring the lovely architecture and exploring the narrow interconnecting streets with their many shops. We decide to give a miss to climbing up Mount Phousi today as far too many Chinese clambering over it. With it's river borders, the Old town is effectively a Peninsular so fairly easy to navigate but we still take an age to locate the restaurant we have arranged to eat at this evening, called The Tamarind, highly ... read more

Last night we spent Valentines evening in a very good Laotian restaurant Khop Chai Deo, the place was crammed but the service was quick efficient and tasted great , thoroughly recommended . We pack and breakfast in order to meet our 0930 pick up by Minivan for the 3 hour trip to Vang Vieng. We chose the minivan over the VIP bus as it is faster and better equipped and as per advice on Trip Advisor, the Bus is no better than a public bus and very slow. So for 15,000 kip each more, we thought worth the investment. (Total: £3) By 10.00 hrs and no minibus we start to worry. We ask Hotel receptionist to call the Bus company, and are assured it is enroute so we sit back and enjoy the sunshine. By 10.15 ... read more

Un tuk-tuk est venu nous chercher à notre auberge de jeunesse à Luang Prabang et nous a amené jusqu'à la gare routière, où nous sommes montés dans un minibus. La spécialité asiatique, c'est bien sûr de faire monter le plus de gens possible dans un moyen de transport - de façon à gagner le plus d'argent possible. Donc, un minibus fait pour 15 personnes peut en accueillir jusqu'à 18. C'était le cas de notre minibus, où des caisses en plastique utilisées pour transporter des bouteilles de bière posées à l'envers entre deux sièges sont devenus des sièges... Shaun et moi étions à l'arrière avec deux autres personnes, dont un français de plus de 65 ans qui voyage beaucoup - et qui parle pas mal non plus ! Au bout de 3 heures et demi, nous sommes ... read more

Après 3h de minibus sur une route récente, asphaltée mais avec des trous (aucun dépaysement là) nous sommes arrivés au village Nuang Khiaw. De là encore 1h de bateau-pirogue sur la belle rivière verte Nam Ou et nous voilà au "port" du Muang Ngoi, charmant petit village niche entre les montagnes, comme au bout du monde. Sauf que, les villageois ont saisi rapidement le potentiel de leur beau site et ont bati d'innombrables gites et restos. Il y a de l'électricité et du wifi!!! (Seulement depuis 2 ans) Le village est envahi de touristes en quête de "l'authentique". Nous en faisons partie. Mais c'est l'évolution, ils veulent aussi vivre au XXI siècle. Nous avons un charmant bungalow dans un jardin fleuri, proche de la rivière. Nous avons marche 2h sur une route de campagne pour visiter ... read more

We arrived around 6 p.m. to the lazy capital of Vientiane! They refer to the city of one million people as lazy because it is very laid back and not busy at all compared to other capital cities of this size. I thought I would mention a little about the history of Laos in this blog. In 1863 France invaded Laos and took the country back from Thailand. Hence the obvious French influence seen here. In 1954 a civil war began between the Communists Party and the French Royals. The communists won the war and the Royal Family was kicked out and headed back to France. The result was The New Republic of Laos which is based on a moderate form of communism where the government rotates its leaders. One of of the laws in the ... read more