Blogs from Laos, Asia - page 507

Got to Vang Vieng quite safely, for once we were on a coach which had a non maniac driver!! Vang Vieng is really chilled out, a bit like pai without the tie-dye hippies. The main road is full of resturants which have a rather unhealthy friends addiction. I must have watched about 3 box sets worth while I've been here and I still think its crap. Went tubing on the second day which is really good fun and a great way to meet people. A lot more fun than the Pai version, along the way theres bars and ropeswings. The first one was a zipline which was fairly easy. The second one was a ropeswing and this is where it all got a bit messy, tried it the first time and fell off it, tried it ... read more

Savanahket was a big sucess, four nights when I only intended to stop by for one to break my journey south. My final day was mostly spent at the hidden but well worth the search Mama Home Restaurant where you can chill out for hours in comfort and good company, any backpackers in savahnaket, it's definately worth looking for. Had a good journey down on the ultra slow and creaking local bus, made some new friends, including a monk, had not really spoken to a monk before so it was interesting to find out about what life is like as a Buddhist Monk. Got to Pakse and got ripped off by a creepy little Tuk Tuk driver, usually they are okay but some of these guys really do make you want to scream. Don't mind paying ... read more

Crossing the Thai-Lao border, the difference in travel-style is immediately apparent. Most places I'm used to, you could just jump onto a reasonably comfortable, decent-sized coach, train, plane or boat and be whisked off to your respective destination in relative boredom. Travelling in Laos, though, adds a whole new dimension of interest. Firstly, comfort and travel here don't really go together in the same sentence. Secondly, the country hasn't fully developed a decent travel network at this time - sure, you can get around without too much trouble, but it's a lot more hassle than, say, the UK or Thailand. For us, the whole experience is made a little harder by the fact that our guidebook really isn't suited to our style of travel (we're using the Footprint Guide to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, which is ... read more

Well the next few days in vang vieng were very advenurous! We first rented a bike and rode about 12 km through villages and farm country. Every few km's there was a turn off for a different cave. The first one we went to we payed 50cents each to get in and then we had 2 little 6 year old boys take us through the cave. It was sooo scary but these boys took good care of us. The cave was pitch black. It was filled with huge spiders and bats that the boys had to keep pointing out. All we had was 2 flashligths and 2 little boys to keep us alive. Once we were in the cave it was impossible to see without the flashlight. Some of the openings and tunnels in the ... read more

Hello hello! Well now, since I last blogged we have been to Vang Vieng - we're now in Vientiane. The bus journy to Vang Vieng was fun.. i think thats the word anyway. Maybe interesting is more acurate. We decided to take a local bus rather than a VIP minibus. The bus not only took passangers but also had a roof load of TVs and the isle was piled two sacks high with peanuts, and a few compulsary chickens of course. The journey was beautiful, you go up and up into the mountians past villages. When at our highest point the bus ground to a halt just after a hairpin bed. It did not move again..............four hours later at about 7pm the replacement part turned up. By this time it was pitch dark and, being so ... read more