Our Trip to Laos and Vietnam

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We are going on a 4 week trip to Laos and Vietnam. We will be celebrating my 50th birthday somewhere in north Vietnam. The last time we were in this part of the world for more than a few days was about 25 years ago as backpackers. This time we will be mid-range travellers but are not going on an organized tour -- we will take it as we go. We have a special interest in visiting scenic places and national parks, going on long walks and enjoying the experience of seeing and meeting exotic people. We are flying with Uzbekistan Airways (??!!) to Tashkent and then on to Bangkok and are really looking forward to the adventure. See you in two weeks in Bangkok

Two weeks later ... After sending this link to everybody I feel compelled to write something but after walking around the whole day, I don't really feel like it. Anyway, we arrived safely! (you didn't read about it in the paper -- always a good sign). The trip here was OK and we didn't suffer too much. The break in Tashkent was sort of interesting -- there was a lot of snow on the ground but it wasn't that cold. We have actually been there before -- also just in transit. We flew over a big mountain range with the sun setting and it was very beautiful -- I would say we flew over the Himalayas according to the map but our seat mate said it wasn't -- he did tell us the name but we couldn't understand what he said. Anyway, for anybody that is interested, the food on Uzbekistan Airways was quite good with free wine and beer and the airport duty free seemed to be cheaper than Tel Aviv. We have booked our flight to Laos and got a visa today. We will be leaving tomorrow afternoon. We have been in Bangkok many, many times so don't really feel the need to sitesee -- but I discovered the Tokyo Center today and I must say, that we had a good time there. I bought a camera and some other bits and pieces but will return on my last day for shopping -- they have everything under one roof and it is airconditioned. Actually the weather is quite good -- not too hot. We had lunch in the food hall which was fun and cheap -- most of the dishes cost about $1.50. Our hotel is quite nice too with a big swimming pool but we probably won't use it. Micha was concerned about the huge antenna next to us but I guess we will survive as we are only there two nights. We took a walk down to the river and now we are heading back to town after Micha sank into quick sand or quick mud and was generally very embarrassing to be seen with -- his feet were completely covered in this black, sticky looking substance until somebody took pity on him and let him use the hose in their yard.

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Photos

Airport in Tashkent
Notice snow on the ground