Blogs from Laos, Asia - page 513

Finally got pictures sorted out so this entry will just be a catch up still in L.P will Blog with all we have been up to soon.... read more

I dunno why, but we were underwhelmed with Laos from the start. The places were all nice, the people were friendly enough and all of life's essentials were extremely affordable, so maybe it was just us. It didn't help that we were joined on the flight in by an unidentified, but persistent and irritating microbe which couldn't decide if it wanted to be a flu-causing virus or a headcold bug, so alternated between the two. Vientiane is a pocket sized capital city with a river (the Mekong – but of course), a museum and, lo, an international ATM. The museum provided a sterling shelter from the rain and included a display on the Plain of Jars, including an actual 5ft earthenware jar. Linda felt that this should be sufficient to save us the bother of actually ... read more

Had an early start today & a full day seeing Vientiane. Walked up to Pha That Luang - The most important national monument in Laos. Looked spectacular from a distance but not so grand up close, also had a look at Patuxai, it is supposed to be their equivalent of the Arc de Triumph & was built with cement given to them by the Americans for them to build a runway . Not quite the Arc de Triumph but walked up to the top & it had good views over the city. Tuk tuk ride out to the Buddha park - 30mins away & is just by the Mekong river so nice to have a walk around. The tuk tuk dropped us back of at Pha That Luang & Skip thought it would be nice to ... read more

Vientianessa on vietetty viikonloppuna (ja vissiin jo muutamana paivana ennen sita) yhta tarkeimmista festivaaleista, johon liittyi myos merkittava melontakilpailu. Festivaali juhlistaa sadekauden loppua, mika vaikuttaa kuitenkin mielestani ehka hieman ennenaikaiselta... Koko viikonlopun on satanut ja tanaankin sade jatkuu niin, etta joudumme viettamaan aikaa sisatiloissa tietokoneiden aaressa. Sateen vuoksi olemme joutuneet jopa vaihtamaan kertaalleen hotellihuonetta, ja nytkin on huoneen lattialla kunnon vesilatakko. Laosissa ei talot ole kovinkaan sateenpitavia. Kadut ovat olleet taynna myyntikojuja ja ihmisia. Todellista markkinatunnelmaa epavakaasta saasta huolimatta. Katujen varrella on myyty monenmoista rihkamaa ja kaikkea mahdollista purtavaa. Me intouduimme maistamaan uppopaistettuja toukkia. Eivat olleet mitenkaan erikoisia, mutta paastaan sentaan kehuskelemaan kavereille ... read more

the day after my boatride i must reluctantly leave my little oasis. i missed the 7am pickup by 5 minutes because i simply could not bring myself to rush away. but at 0830 i did hop on a songthaew for the ride out of town. i know there is a 1600 bus onward to 'dong khong' an island but am unsure if i should go for it in one day, thus giving me a wee bit of downtime in these islands on the mekong. after the 3 hour ride to thakek' i still haven't made up my mind and there is only a 10 minute window to decide if i should hop on the next bus to a town 'savanakhet' which is two hours further on. i finally decide to await the 4 hours for the ... read more