Blogs from Luang Prabang, West, Laos, Asia - page 3

As the crow flies our journey into Laos's Luang Prabang was a mere 220 km however thanks to the Luang Prabang Mountain Range, it was in fact closer to 500 km. With the never ending twists and turns as well as the frequent potholes an incident was inevitable. At 3:30am we woke with a jolt as the bus clipped off one of the concrete barriers by the mountain's edge! Luckily the damage was limited to a warped wheel and a punctured tyre, and on we ploughed. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995, Luang Prabang is nestled between the lush green mountains at the meeting point of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. The French influence has been retained from the colonial period and is clear to be seen with the architecture on the streets and ... read more

Often overlooked as the backwater of Southeast Asia, this sleepy perception might also be part of Laos's charm. I had been told to expect things to be much more laid-back than Vietnam; although truth be told, that isn't hard. I was also told that my overland journey there would be the bus ride from hell on a chicken bus where you're sitting in the aisles upon sacks of rice and manioc flour. Well about half of that description was correct; there definitely seemed to be more stock than people on the bus but at least the people could sleep in sleeper berths. I had my own little space right at the back amongst all the luggage and foodstuffs away from everyone else - sacks of peanuts were stacked like a fort around me. It was nice. ... read more

Crossing the Mekong river into Huay Xia, Laos was easy enough. Once on Laotian soil, things got complicated. Trying to navigate the process of obtaining my Visa on Arrival was challenging and when I finally was stamped into the country about two and a half hours had passed. The whole passport stamping and paperwork involved - in any country - to me seems so senseless. Now the choice was to either head North to the jungles, or South down the Mekong River to the ancient capitol Luang Prabang. The decision was made and we booked our tickets for $220,000kip ($27.50USD - for the record, I love saying kip. It is the funniest currency name ever) for the two day journey along one of the World's great waterways. This was a journey I had been looking forward ... read more

Today was an extremely early morning as we met our group at 5:15am in the lobby of the hotel to give alms to the monks. We all got in our Tuk Tuks and headed to the temple close to the town center. It was still pretty dark when our guide Lou gave us a brief tour of the grounds of the temple and then told us what to expect and how to give alms to the monks. We all sat on these little plastic pre-school chairs in front of the temple all lined up in a neat row. We were then all handed a basket of sticky rice that we would ball up into bite size pieces and hand to the monks as they passed by. We were not allowed to touch the monks but were ... read more

Bienvenue au Laos! Visa le plus cher pour les canadiens, 42 US $! Gite basique au même prix que l'hôtel avec piscine et petit déjeuner à volonté à Siem Reap. Prix doubles dans les resto de même categoriie! MAIS ville très propre, tempes époustouflants à souhait, vieux quartier historique avec des belles maisons en bois. Belle position entre le Mekong et la rivière Khan, belles promenades le soir. Temperature agréable matin et soir, 15-19 C, 32 C le jour. Le matin c'est toujours nuageux mais vers 9 h une baguette magique dissipe les nuages et le soleil commence a briller On a visiteautant de temples que possible, incluant Wat Xiengthong, le plus beau au Laos, et That Chomsi, au sommet d'une petite montagne et 328 marches. Marché de nuit assez sympathique, avc beaucoup de produits ethniques ... read more