Blogs from North, Laos, Asia - page 34

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Asia » Laos » North » Muang Ngoi Neua January 25th 2008

Nong Khiaw, 24 January 2008 Stepping off the bus at Nong Khiaw was one of those moments you dream about when you decide to take up backpacking. To me it felt like a doorway to the unknown, like you're not yet away from the safe and familiar, but you're at the edge of it. Your next step will thrust you deep into unchartered territory. Located at the second of three vehicle crossing points of the Nam Oh River, the town is divided down the centre by the river itself and is connected by a spectacular bridge that rises high above the clear water. The town sits in the shadow of a limestone cliff face to a spectacular mountain. The natural scenery is dazzling in every direction you look. Our bungalow looked out over the river. We ... read more
Nong Khiaw pier
Working on the budget
Restaurant Nong Khiaw

Asia » Laos » North » Phongsali January 18th 2008

18/1/2008 A lot of plans running through my head, Namtha...Muang Sing...MuangLueng..Vian... But finally there was no plan as "no bus today to Namtha" was heard this morning at the bus station. I really don't want to hang around in China for another day, so I brought the one available for Laos, heading to MuangSai, no idea where it is. But was told I can switch bus to Phongsali from there, why not then. We rolled out of Mengla in time, road to Mohan was smooth and there actually another more better highway under construction nearby. We arrived the border in an hour. together with a Danish man, a Spanish woman and a girl from Dali, we heading for immigration. The China side was smooth and fast. And before cross over the no man land, women ... read more
Phonsali town
Phonsali town
Thai Dam woman

Asia » Laos » North » Muang Ngoi Neua January 14th 2008

Since Laos has been so amazing, I haven't been able to update my blog lately. Sorry. However, we have decided to kick back for a week in a little town in Northern Thailand called Pai so I figure I can get you all up to speed by the time I leave here. So here it goes . . . After Mark and I left Loung Nam Tha, we headed off to hang out in some little towns on the Nam Ou River. Our first night was spent in Noung Khaiw which was a nice place to recover from 10 hours in a bus or tuk-tuk which even included little car sick children. The next day, we got up, packed our bags and headed to the boat dock so we could catch a slow boat upstream to ... read more
Rice Paddies
Hill Tribe Village
Good view

Asia » Laos » North » Luang Namtha January 8th 2008

Tuesday January, 8th 2008 First plan was to go for a home stay in a village 20 km south from Luang Nam Tha but I thought better to complete my blogs and answer to some mails and enjoy the comfort of my guest house. Tomorrow, I definitely go to Ban Chaleunsouk (ban just mean village or municipality). ... read more

Asia » Laos » North » Luang Namtha January 7th 2008

At the end of my 3-day trek, I didn't see birds but I pay a lot of attention to the local web sites design. Have look too... read more
An ingenious web design
The Webmaster

Asia » Laos » North » Luang Namtha January 7th 2008

J’ai choisi un trekking de 3 jours dans la forêt de Nam Tha. Départ samedi à 8h30, retour le lundi à 17h. Le programme annonçait environ 6 heures de trekking chaque jour dans la catégorie facile. J’allais donc pouvoir me fatiguer physiquement. Nous étions quatre à tenter l’aventure : un allemand, 2 australiens et moi. Saturday January, 5th 2008 Vers 9h30, un sawngthaew (pour ceux qui aiment l’étymologie : sawngthaew vient de sawng qui veut dire 2 et de thaew qui veut dire rangée ou banquette, je ne sais plus, un sawngthaew est un transport en commun où 2 banquettes ont été aménagées sur la benne d’un pick-up) nous a emmenés 15km au nord de la ville. Le guide anglophone d’origine Khmou nous a fait visiter le village Khmou situé au bord de la route puis ... read more

Asia » Laos » North » Luang Namtha January 6th 2008

Phytopharmacie En chemin, le guide nous montre du « Yam ». La racine de cette plante (cf. photo) est utilisée localement par les villageois pour traiter la malaria. D’après le guide, lorsqu’une personne atteinte de malaria consomme une décoction de la racine, le goût en paraît agréable. Si par contre les symptômes sont dus à une autre maladie, la décoction serait désagréable au goût. ... read more
Yam or elephant's ear
Yam or elephant's ear : the root

Asia » Laos » North » Luang Namtha January 4th 2008

Thursday January, 3rd 2008 I’m taking the bus to Luang Nam Tha, west to Udomxai. There was a bus at 8am but I did want to do the trip in the fog. So, I had a good reason to wake up late and take the bus at 9:30. At 9:30, there is still plenty of mist, but never mind, the bus is not full so we wait till it’s full at 10:30. There is no mist anymore and I can enjoy the landscape. The bus is full but it’s still stop downtown twice to take some passengers. There is something, I don’t understand about bus stop. The bus station is always far away from the city center. In Luang Nam Tha, it’s really in the middle of nowhere. It’s in theory forbidden to take it anywhere ... read more

Asia » Laos » North December 28th 2007

Happy Holidays! Things are beginning to wind down here as I have recently returned from a two week excursion in north-central Laos. As with everywhere I've traveled, I was uncertain of how my Lao experience would size up to my experience in other SE Asian countries. Tourism is a relatively new phenomonon in Laos. As a result, much of the countryside is untouched by Westerners, and there is even a small population of travelers in the main cities. The transportation system in Laos is not quite as advanced as in other SE Asian countries. Therefore, it's a bit more difficult to get from point a, to b, but those or are willing to withstand the undesirable ride and travel frustrations, seem to have the same rewarding experience that I did. A few weeks ago the entirety ... read more
The Mighty Mekong Sunset with a Beer Lao in the Foreground
The Tubing Crew
Rope Swing

Asia » Laos » North December 26th 2007

Laos really is a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively. From the moment we walked over the Thai border, we knew that we were in for a treat. The people were not hocking mass produced t-shirt’s at us, we were not being harassed to get into a Tuk Tuk, and the local beer, Beer Lao, wasn’t CRAP!!! We knew we were home, at least for a bit anyways. We began with a night in Vientiane, which is right over the Thai Laos border, it was a quaint town and we had our first taste of Laos coffee, which was AMAZING! When the French colonized Laos in the 19th century, not only did they leave their beautiful architecture and cobble stone walkways, but fields and fields of exquisite coffee; making the Thailand traveler whose closest thing ... read more
Vientiane
The kids
Blue Lagoon




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