Blogs from South, Laos, Asia - page 73

SAVANNAKHET.....2t GROESSTE STADT LAO'S.....MIT BEEINDRUCKENDEM HINTERLAND! die 120tausend einwohner, die sich aus ethnischen lao, vietnamesen und chinesen zusammensetzt, gehen es genauso gemaehchlich an wie ueberall in laos. die stadt wiederum ist gepraegt von franzoesischer kolonialarchitektur, gemischt mit vietnam style. das sieht manchmal so aus wie in einer westernstadt! auch savan' liegt direkt am mekong und wir beobachten daher dasselbe flussleben wie in vientiane oder thakhek. vormittags herrscht meist eine gewisse geschaeftigkeit in der stadt, gegen mittag wird's ruhig. die hitze, die von tag zu tag das quecksilber der thermometer hoeher steigen laesst, fordert ihren tribut. das ohnehin schon langsame land bremst sich noch mal um eine stufe ein, alle warten auf die daemmerung. auch die stechbegierigen moskitos, fuer welche der sonnenuntergang ein geheimer wecker sein muss,... read more

We spent our last day in Vang Vieng tubing down the river. It definitely gave us a new perspective on Vang Vieng because.... it was worthwhile! As we floated down, there were bars by the riverside and the workers there would hook onto our tubes and reel us in chanting Beer Lao, Beer Lao. At the riverside bars there were also huge rope swings that customers could use to jump into the river! It was a real great time but seeing as there is nothing else for people to do in Vang Vieng except drink happy shakes and watch Friends, we decided to head to Ventiane, the capital of Laos, the next day. There wasn't a whole lot to do in Ventiane except walk by the river and visit the fake Arc de Triomphe. After one ... read more

Forgive the briefness of this entry but the service here is very expensive. Man I've been on the Island of Don Det for just shy of a week. It's really cool and laid back...no cars, no eletricity except for some generators that restaraunts use (so cold beer is always calling out your name). I have done nearly the same thing every day: Eating, swimming, eating, swimming, drinking beer, swimming, playing guitar, reading, and drinking beer. It's great. My mp3 player stopped working though so now I have no camera and no tunes. You know what that means? It's off to Bangkok, Thailand for me next. I can but stuff like that there. I'll write more from there. Should be less than a week! ... read more

My month in Laos has come to an end; I head to Vietnam in the morning. I am real excited about Vietnam. Since I have been out here I have heard mixed reviews about the country, but after the extremely mellow atmosphere of Laos, I think I’m ready for something a little more fast pace. I am alone again, and that is a good thing as well. I had a great time with Neal and Claire, but we had our last night a few nights ago in the south, and I feel more adventurous now that I am on my own again. Back on my journey. So Southern Laos…hot. Real hot. Suck the life of me hot. Beautiful, but hot. Somebody said one day that it was 41 degrees (around 106 F), with about 30-40% humidity. ... read more

Okay, usual disclaimer about how this date is really not the date of entry but is the date of actual occurrence. Date setting helps keep the blog current and the people organized. That said... Our travels in Laos, originally scheduled for only 2 weeks, have now run in excess of three weeks and very nearly frighten a month. After Vang Vieng (which was completely un-Lao), we boarded some inflatable kayaks and headed south. Now this really was a good sell. Sign says, "Going to Vientian? Like Adventure?"or something like that. We thought 'sure' and signed up for what was billed as a kayak from VV to Vientian. In reality (which never seems to match fantasy for those of us not named Mick Jagger or George W Bush) we travelled for 2 hrs by van to the ... read more