Blogs from Laos, Asia - page 515

Our final night in Pai was Tuesday 26th September. We went to Buffalo Exchange where Matt ended up getting up to play songs on a guitar. It was a really good night and the whisky we were drinking may have been the driving force behind his solo act (later accompanied by a German called Seb on bongos). As we left we bumped into Carrie and Conor (the Canadians from Chiang Mai), and the following day walking round Pai we kept bumping into people we had met, both there and in Chiang Mai, starting to feel like you live somewhere when you are travelling means it's probably time to move on no matter how much you like it! We decided to get a minibus back to Chiang Mai as our next stop was to be Laos and ... read more

Matka on jatkunut Luang Prabangista Phonsavanin kautta Vang Vieng nimiseen kylaan. Oleskelumme Luang Prabangissa venahti paivalla aiotusta Katjan flunssan ja molempia vaivanneen yleisen aamu-unisuuden vuoksi. En ymmarra miten onnistuin raahaamaan itseni kesalla toihin aamuyon tunteina, kun nyt ei millaan meinaa jaksaa nousta klo seitseman jalkeen lahtevaan bussiin. Laosissa bussit lahtevat aikaisin aamulla, koska lyhyetkin matkat kestavat tunteja. Parin sadan kilometrin matka voi helpostikin kestaa 8-9 tuntia. Bussit on usein vanhoja, mutta ainakin tahan mennessa ne ovat tuoneet meidat turvallisesti perille. Tiet ovat hyvin mutkaisia ja joskus myos toyssyisia. Paikalliset tuntuvat lahes poikkeuksetta karsivan matkapahoinvoinnista. Jokaisella bussimatkalla olen paassyt todistamaan, kuinka joku voi pahoin ja oksentaa ulos bussin ikkunasta tai yleisesti busseissa jaossa oleviin pieniin ... read more

24/sep climbed mount 'phousi' (said like a certain female anatomical part) today. i honestly was not interested in the name even though i had heard it from another traveler before my arrival. that is until i saw the 'phousi massage' parlor. it added a bit of humor, as did the 'phousi' market. 25/sep watched sunday night football on monday morning, live. the central time zone is 12 hours behind making this a possibility. i didn't waste the entire day with tv football. i visited tad sae waterfall for an afternoon swim. then met some people for dinner and drink. 26/sep to start this day i went for my typical breadfast sandwich. there i had the unusual experience of having a chicken begging for food, much in the same way a dog does. it stood at my ... read more

Luang Namtha, Laos September 5, 2006 Sean: Our trip to the frontier of the Chinese hinterlands - converging on its border with Laos - entailed a lengthy couple of bus trips. For two days we passed through mountainous countryside and a few decent urban centers - the last being the small (by Chinese standards) city of Mohan. Nothing too interesting, but I was still surprised at the size considering its remote, boondocks location - even the far-flung corners of the world’s most populous country are well populated. So as we bid goodbye to the friendly border guards (“I hope you enjoyed China!”…they seriously said that) we were able to catch a little taxi that took us across the “no man’s land” to the town of Boten on the Lao side. After a three minute trek around ... read more

Rather annoyingly we are forced to leave our safe haven of Top North Guest House, our lovely swimmingpool, chicken sandwiches and most importantly, Chaing Mai, to go and try somewhere else. Next stop, Laos. Now i dont think many people who havent been to Asia have even heard of Laos and we certaintly didnt know what to expect from our trip here. From Chaing Mai we had a 6 hour minibus journey to the Thailand border where we stayed over night by the river, had a few beers and wathed the the Arsenal and Liverpool games back to back. (i know people keep saying 'why are you travelling when you are doing the same things i do in england when im away' such as watch football, see friends from england etc etc etc. well, i dont ... read more