Blogs from Laos, Asia - page 510

Hello, from the capital of Laos. First impressions of Vientiane are that, it's a very relaxed city. Visitors have little to fear, except for open sewers and drains on the pavements. The odd car whizzes by, but definately the least congested capital we've experienced in South East Asia. We checked into a nice hotel for the first couple of days before settling on Thong Bay Guest House which is a little bit cheaper but highly recommended. It's located just outside the city centre amongst the backdrop of a beautiful garden and plenty of chill-out corners. So far we've been taking things slowly due to my tender ribs. I injured myself whilst belly-flopping in Vang Vieng. Poor old Amy is quite tired the last couple of days having to carry my ruck-sack to the hotel. I feel ... read more

What can I say about Luang Prabang that hasn't already been more-eloquently phrased in the guidebooks by a thousand gushing travel-writers? Uhm... The snake whiskey totally kicks ass! At The Spiritual Center of Laos I made it into Luang Prabang after two crazy and hectic days on the Mekong river. Coming in on the evening of the 17th, it looked to me like a civilized shelter from the wildlife and wilderness and scams and wide world of sports of the days preceding. Mike and I and the two Canadian kids and the Swedes decided we'd all shack up together somewhere, but we were tired and we shared the feeling that having left our backpacks sitting in the engine room for two days had made them a lot heavier. In reality, though, they were lighter. We found ... read more

Well, there is very little to write about Vientiane. It is basically another city (albeit a tiny city - Bendigo would be bigger) without a great deal to do or see. Our bus trip from Vang Vieng was "interesting". Let's just say that we definately had had one too many drinks tubing which resulted in a very long and hot trip to Vientiane. I faired better than Lesley (thank god for the empty pringles pack hey Lesley!!!) but was still hot, bothered and grumpy by the time we reached Vientiane, it didn't help that our rickshaw driver proceeded to rip us off and drop us off, what seemed like miles, from where we had originally asked to be taken. After an afternoon of resting up and a good night sleep we decided to go and check ... read more

Exposition I'd been travelling for four days in Laos with an Englishman named Mike, two Canadians (Mike and Paul), and two Swedes (Johanes and Daniel). We were all staying in the upstairs of a fantastic, newly-remodeled guesthouse. We had the entire top floor: three king-size beds, two twin beds, three bathrooms, and two balconies, all for only fifteen U.S. dolllars per night--total. Mike had his own room, the Swedes shared another, and I was bunked up with the two Canadian kids (who're from Victoria, in fact, which is quite close to home for me). Rising Action This particular night, we started out with Beer Lao at some nicer bars, then setttled a little too early into drinking harsh Lao moonshine at one of the riverside bars frequented by the locals and the most adventurous. They call ... read more

et bien, pour le bonheur des lecteurs, je dirais tout a fait singulier...la terre orange-rouge...toutes ces femmes et leur jupe typique ornee d'une bande a motif au bas...tous ces tissus de soie et de coton si particuliers...ce riz collant que l'on mange avec les mains...Wow! Alors je reviendrai...le jour et la nuit...je reviendrai toujours...la-la-laaa! On conduit a droite...cool, mais pour le francais, on repassera hein car je dirais que en bas de 40-50 ans il est difficile de trouver quelqu'un qui parle francais. L'anglais...cette langue de touriste..hihihi! Alors j'ai maintenant mon nouveau visa. J'ai profite du bord de la riviere pour marcher, boire et manger...sans oublier un excellent massage de pied laotien!!! 2,50$US pour 45 minutes? incroyable...ca fait partie des meurs...se faire masser...c'est peut-etre pour ca qu'on a de meilleurs prix? Je vous ai parle de ... read more