Blogs from Pakbeng, West, Laos, Asia - page 5

Right now I am sitting on the second story porch of my hostel (SpicyLaos Backpackers) in Luang Prabang. It is my first morning here. Last night Dave and I, along with our new friend Phil, pulled our huge backpacks and supplementary bags off the “slow boat.” We had traveled down the Mekong, starting on the morning of August 18th , slept one night at a tiny village called Pakbeng, and traveled ten more hours yesterday on more tightly cramped boat to where we are now. Before this river trip, we traveled from Chiang Mai to Sukhothai (should have reversed the order we realize now), and up to Chaing Rai, straight to Chaing Khong. We spent one night in new Sukhothai, and one night in a lovely hostel in Chiang Khong before boarding the slow boat. Sadly, ... read more

Yes I am in Laos and finally for anybody that is contacting me I am now back to my Irish mobile number for the foreseeable future. I got a boat across the Mekong into Laos from northern Thailand from where I picked up a boat down the Mekong to Luang Phabang whick took 2 days to journey. We stopped off over night in a small backwater town, although the largest along the route, called Pakbeng. A nice little spot, with electricity for a few hours in the evening and some of the best tasting food I have had on my journey so far. But on that note....the food I had in Houayxai (the town I entered into Laos) was by far and away the nicest yet. Laos curry gets a big thumbs up from me! Even ... read more

Gals 'n Boys ... how's everything over ther pond ? How is the german team doing in the EM, hope your TVs are working fine andf youve a great deal of ice-cold beer in the fridge. It's been a while since we updated our blog bcoz we got a little disconnected while floating thru beautiful Laos. No electricity, internet, TV, we very much appreciated it. What attracted us most were the friendly and welcoming people, nobody is rushing you, no hassle, even in the capital Vientane one gets enchanted by the unhurried and comfortable way of living. If u need to settle back from your constant level of tension, Laos is the place to be. Off the beaten track in the countryside of the Bolaven plateau we discovered a cosy piece of earth called Tad Lo ... read more

This is a very late entry mainly due to the fact i have not had any time to write my blog so apologies. The slow boat down the mekong was fantastic not only due the people i met along the way but also due to the spectacular scenery. We passed water buffalos in the water, whirlpools, amazing rock formations and beautiful unspoilt forests. The overnight stay in Pak Beng was certainly an experience i will never forget. As soon as we arrived in the port there were young boys offering to carry our huge and heavy backpacks up the steps to the road in order to make a bit of money. It was a bit frantic leaving the boat because the boys boarded the boat and just picked up any pack and started to walk off ... read more

Up and down to the landing once again to find that we have changed boats - OH SHIT! much smaller and the same amount of people are going to get onto it. It is packed with litterally no space to move around, people have climbed on top of all the back packs to find a seat (actually they were the wise ones) as the seats are once again just a piece of wood and my arse is numb within the first hour - Oh Well, only 7 hours to go. As we travel down the river we see the day to day life of the Lao people. I often wounder how they survive, nearly totally self sufficient - fishing, growing their own vegetables and building their homes from what the forest around them provides. We see ... read more