Blogs from Laos, Asia - page 514

Olen siis viela Laosin mantereella. Hylkasin suunnitelman ylittaa rajan Vietnamiin pohjosesta. Osottautui oletettua vaikeammaksi, joten tulin takasin Luang prabangiin. Aion jatkaa taalta matkaa paakaupunkiin Vientianeniin ja ottaa sielta bussin Vietnamiin. Paljon on tapahtunut reilussa viikossa jonka oon viettanyt kierrellen pohjois Laosin maaseutua. Vatsatauti ei onneksi enaa haitannut kun matkustin veneella ylos Nong Khiawiin. Matkan piti kestaa kuusi tuntia. Minka se olis kestanytkin jos ei oltais pysahdelty viemaan ruokaa, heitelty kuskin ystavia paikasta toiseen, viety varaosia jonkun veneeseen ja korjattu jonkun toisen vene. Joten istuttiin koko paiva kovilla ja hyvin pienilla penkeilla hyvin pienessa veneessa. Mutta maisemat korvas kaiken epamukavuuden. Tuntu kun olis menny ajassa taaksepain. Naki todella kuinka kehittymaton maa Laos on. Koneista ei olu tietoakaan. Kalastajat n... read more

finally out of the tourist trap and into LAOS !! it only took an 11 hour overnight bus ride followed by the SNAP decision to continue immediately onto the next stop. it was a mere 4 more hours on a very cramped (knees jammed into seat ahead) local bus to 'ban lao'. in 'ban lao' i borrowed a bicycle from a little girl on her way to school (no not a random little girl but the hoteliers daughter). at this point, you may have realized that my knees never came close to reaching the horizontal and that would make for an unpleasant ride at best! you are partially correct, it was uncomfortable but i would say it was most pleasing. it was tiring but more due to the constant salutations, or rather my return greetings, from ... read more

Laos Terrible Legacy Although officially a neutral country, Laos was host to a secret and terrible war between the USA and Vietnam. As a result, Laos earned the distinction of being the most bombed country in the history of modern warfare.- Staggering Statistics - The USA conducted over 10,000 missions during the nine-year war and dropped over a million bombs. This equated to one ton of explosives dropped for every man, woman, and child living in Laos at the time. The war in Laos was so secret that the country's name was never included in any of the original US records; it was referred to as "the other". Neutral Laos was off limits according to the Geneva agreement. As a workaround, the US sent CIA agents and soldiers in under the guise of civilians; the air ... read more

Ollaan saatu helposti vierahtamaan jo useampi paiva taalla Vang Viengissa. Ravintoloissa lohoilyn lisaksi olemme kunnostautuneet kavelemalla, pyorailemalla, uimalla, kaymalla luolissa ja laskettelemalla jokea kumirenkaalla. Saa on ollut meille suosiollinen ja maisemat ovat kerrassaan upeat. Eilenkin kaytiin noin 15 km pitkalla kavelylla eraalla uimapaikalla ja matkanvarrella olleella luolalla. Luolia talta alueelta loytyy useita. Me olemme tyytyneet kuitenkin kaymaan vain kahdessa. Ensimmainen niista oli rakennettu turisteille sopivaksi tasaisine kavelypolkuineen ja valaistuksineen, mutta toinen tarjosi sitten jo enemman haastetta. Kuljimme luolassa oppaan johdolla taskulamppujen kanssa. Valilla kaytava oli niin kapea, etta vahan mietitytti mahtaako meikalainen paasta lapi. Luolassa oli kosteaa ja paikoitellen mutaista. Luolan paassa oli vesilammikko, jossa uiskenteli kaloja. Luolan ... read more

We have just arrived into Luang Nam Tha which is in the North of Laos, not far from the Chinese border. We have had an incredible week - not always easy and often uncomfortable - but filled with amazing experiences. We finally forced ourselves to leave the beautiful and relaxing city, Luang Prabang, and headed west by water, bound for Luang Nam Tha and determined to get there avoiding buses when possible. The two day journey on a long boat allowed us to see incredible scenery. However, the scenery didn't really change for two days and becomes slightly less impressive when you are sat on a really hard bench with a numb bum for the second day in a row! We stopped in a small town for the night which had nothing remarkable except the wide ... read more