Blogs from Laos, Asia - page 566

Today is Nov 27, 2005. We are in Luang Prubang. On Nov 22, we took a bus from Mengla, Yunnan, China to Luang Namtha, Laos. The trip took a total of 6 hours, including the two immigration processes. The road north of the Chinese border is OK, but the road in Laos is terrible. Luang Namtha is a very small town, with one major street of about 500 meters. It is very quiet, very clean, and people are generally polite and soft spoken. We stayed at a guesthouse (for two nights) run by a Chinese family. The showers are powered by Solar Power. There is hardly any hot water for the first day, but sufficient for the second day. We met up with a French couple, Olivier & Ludienne and spent the next few days doing ... read more

Upon crossing the border from Chiang Kong in Thailand to Huay Xai in Laos, you immediately feel that you are in a different country. A simple long tail boat ferries you across a section of the Mekong River you could easily swim yourself, but the difference is palpable. One of the first differences becomes apparent when you change money- the Laos Kip is virtually useless. 10,000 kip = $1. Change $50 and you come away with a stack of kip looking like you just hit the slots in Vegas. The next thing you notice is the French influence- baguettes everywhere! We hadn't had any good bread since we left San Francisco, so this was a welcome sight. However, our first adventure in Laos would not be centered around food. We were off to the Bokeo Nature ... read more

Smiling friendly faces, waterfalls, mountains and tube riding one of the most friendly & relaxed countries in South East Asia, nice landscapes, very cheap, great food, great people, forget about time just chill n go with the flow... Luang Prapang: very realxed city, bike rides through town, checking out temples and beer lao, awesome day trips to waterfalls & buddha cave, Viang Vieng: touristic backpackers heaven, chill chill chill, motorbike rides to close by villages being the main attraction for locals, especially kids looking at us with big eyes full of surprise,....and tube riding along the river with bamboo bars on each side of the river, too many young israeli crowds sitting in israeli restaurants all day watching friends, Vientiane: relaxed capital, no hassle, friendly vibe, walking around town, passing by school with kids.. chearing at ... read more

Hi everyone! Yes I have arrived in Vientiane, Laos ready for a new life, job and whatever life throws at me along the way. Yes sounds corny I know but if I am going to do things like have my first experience in Laos riding a moto during peak hour when all the kids are getting out of schools, running across roads, parents driving/parking more manic than usual...then I think it is fair to say I kind of ask for the strange things that happen to me....needless to say I have survived... I have been at work this week, but Wednesday was a public holiday for the That Luang festival celebrated at the full moon every November. Wed morning was the peak of the festival (at least the subdued spiritual peak, the partying festival peak was ... read more

Muang Sing is a small village in a plain of rice fields just to the edge of the Golden Triangle in north-west Laos. In spite of govermental antidrug enforcement squads the locals still plant a lot of opium. And they sell it just about everywhere. When I walked down the main road old women approached me and between the jewelery and bracelets they offered, barely hidden in the palm of their hands were little packets of brown sticky stuff, an occasional 'Gansha' they whispered to make things clear... The main festival place was outside of town, some kilometers away on top of a hill, at the golden That Xieng Tung, a Stupa very similar to the big That Luang in the capital Vientianne. On the festival day the whole village was coming to the stupa. Everybody ... read more