Blogs from North, Laos, Asia - page 31

Für das bergige Terrain war die heutige Etappe sehr lang, aber bis Vieng Kham hatte es auf der Strecke ohnehin keine Unterkünfte gegeben. Glücklicherweise ging es heute tendenziell bergab, was jedoch nicht bedeutet, dass es nicht auch zwei zehn bzw. zwanzig Kilometer lange Aufstiege, aus Vieng Thong hinaus und hinauf zur Kreuzung bei Sam Soun, zu bewältigen gewesen wären; jeweils gefolgt von langen Abfahrten hinunter ins Tal. Der Rest der Strecke war ebenfalls sehr hügelig, aber wie bereits erwähnt, tendenziell bergab. Was die heutige Etappe erschwerte war der Zustand der Straße. In der Xieng Khouang Provinz häufig sehr rauher, plattgepresster Schotter, aber zumindest durchgehend und mit wenig Schlaglöchern. Dies änderte sich jedoch beim Übertritt in die Provinz Luang Prabang schlagartig. Der Highway wurde in dieser Gegend ein wahres Schlaglochfestival - und das war der geteerte Teil. ... read more

Apologies for the title, I really shouldn't force puns on unsuspecting victims! Anyway, so we're in Laos - cool! First stop was Vientaine (the capital). Quite hilarious leaving freezing Kunming and stepping out of a plane after a couple of hours into stifling heat and a wall of humidity .. unreal. We didn't really know much about Laos so we sort of sandwiched in a week here on the recommendations of some nice folk. Turns out they were onto something. We'll probably appreciate it more as we go through the tourism madness that is Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand but this place is about as laid back as it gets. Cruising into the capital in a taxi, we thought we were passing through the outskirts of town only to realise that we were in the CBD. Kelly (who is well ... read more

Day 20- The bus to Vang Vieng Warned that this was a 'hairy trip' by some fellow Aussies we loaded up on some Kwell before changing mini bus three times and finally setting off. The five or so hour trip was windy but very scenic, with a couple pit stops for necessities such a pringles! The four of us searched the town for cheap but clean rooms and funnily ended back where we started at Thavisouk Guest House. We headed out for lunch guided by the lonely planet to Nokeo and Jez who was adamant to avoid every 'Friends" bar/cafe. Where people happily order "happy"pizza's and shakes and watch re-runs of friends for hours on end!!Unfortunately the grilled fish wasn't as good as described.. After we sussed out the tubing and caves, and moto hire for ... read more

As soon as we have arrived to Luang Nam Tha from China back at beginning of March we knew we wanted to come back, and surely enough here we were..... Same guest house, same guy at the Green Discovery.... lovely cup of tea... lovely people... just chill.... And someone had a great idea ( Reni) to book another track... where now, just walking is not good enough for us, how about, bike, treck and kayak... oh... wait the river for this track is to low.... how about to days of kayak... OK what a marvellous idea... sure all we need is drown, we have not done that yet... Kdyz jsem zacatkem brezna poprve prijely do Luang Nam Tha z Ciny, hned jsme vedely, ze se sem chceme vratit... no a taky jsme to udelaly ... To ... read more

Leaving Luang Prabang to go explore the far Northern reaches of Laos was more difficult than I imagined it would be. For the last couple weeks I have been wanting to get away from the cities and find some more remote areas of Asia. On my first real opportunity to do that I have decided to go North from Luang Prabang rather than a more typical Southern backpacker route. However getting on the bus this morning, and leaving the comforts of the city, has sent my emotions and energy in a spin. Journal Entry - May 1st Hop aboard the local bus to Luang Nam Tha, a small city surrounded by spectacular landscape well known for its preserved nature, remote villages, and real Lao cultural experiences. This is to say, there aint much going on in ... read more