Blogs from West, Laos, Asia - page 8

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

So the guide book said that there used to be a problem here - adventure seekers, fuelled by alcohol and drugs, were drowning and breaking their necks jumping into the river when it was too shallow. However the Laos government had shut the bars down and it is now a family orientated adventure centre!!!! I think they may have missed a bar or 40. They still advertise tubing parties with a free bucket of whiskey! As night falls the bars along the river and throughout town start pumping out the rave music, only alleviated when the power fails (regularly). The quietest spot in town was the Irish bar. Decided against the kayaking, balloon rides, paramotoring (swooping over the town and power cables) and went for a cycle ride Instead. Have to admire the scenery, the mountains ... 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

We decided it was time for a splurge when we reached Vientiane. The Golden Sun Hotelturned out to be exactly what we needed, especially after we changed rooms when the noise from the kitchen was just too much at 6am! Every day we did something touristy in the morning then returned for an afternoon relaxing by the pool. At US$44 a night it was certainly pushing our budget but it was well worth it. On our first night we walked out to the bank of the Mekong where many Laotians were taking an early evening stroll. The temperature was lovely and we enjoyed stretching our legs around Cho Aravong Park stopping to admire the huge statue which stands as a memorial to the man after whom the park was named. We also passed through some of ... read more

Luang Prabang is a nice little town on a spot of land where the Mekong meets the Nam Khan. In 1975 it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritagesite to protect the unique blend of Laotian and French colonial architecture which can be seen everywhere. It is also famous for its many temples which also have an architectural style not found anywhere else. We stayed for three nights at Villa Luangsokxay which was nice enough but a little overpriced for what was really quite basic accommodation. It was very well located for exploring the town on foot, and we were relieved to find that the nearby noisy bars were not going to affect us as there is a curfew at 11pm. It's not really a curfew but the loud music and rowdiness has to stop. There ... read more