Advertisement
Published: November 19th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Hi all,
Since last updating, we have visited another three countries in South East Asia!! It's been a rather tight schedule over the past few weeks so now that we have finally reached the Islands of South Thailand, we can look back and reflect on our whirlwind trip through Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.
I remember saying that Thailand was the most beautiful country I had ever visited. However after having seen Laos I now have to retract that statement! Laos was the first country we visited after leaving Thailand. As we previously mentioned, our trip from Thailand to Laos took three days including a slow river boat trip for two days.
We left Chiang Mai on 19 October on a six hour bus journey to the Thai border crossing of Chiang Khong, which is the main river crossing to Laos. We had accommodation booked at the border which unfortunately, was pretty dire so we felt relieved it was only for one night! The next day we headed off on the first leg of our slow boat trip into Laos. Until then, I thought Thailand had been the most stunning place we had visited, but after seeing the rolling,
mountainous valleys of Laos, I quickly changed my mind. The scenery was beautiful - with lush green mountains encasing the Mekong river, the sky a pastel blue colour and the water sparkling in the bright sunlight.
We soon also realised that the people of Laos would live up to their reputation of being kind and fun-loving when our boat captain decided to offer out his "Lao Lao" (local Laos rice whisky). We wondered why the crew were so happy.... it was because the captain was half-cut!! Those of us at the front of the boat tried a shot or two of the infamous local brew which was topped up during the day as we stopped at local villages along the river! By the time we reached Pat Beng, our overnight stop in Laos, the captain was legless so thank God we made it there in one piece!!
The next day we started the second leg of our boat trip from Pat Beng to Luang Prabang. We woke up to pouring rain so the first half of the trip was rather wet to say the least. As we approached Luang Prabang the weather changed back to bright sunshine again
and we were able to see the scenery in all its glory.
Luang Prabang is a small town in Laos full of French colonial charm. The smell of hot French baguettes covers the town every morning and with the other culinary delights of water buffalo cooked on a "Laos BBQ", it means we were never short of choice. The infamous Laos BBQ was definitely a highlight for us. Your food is cooked at your table over a bucket of hot coals. A metal well above the coals contains a broth into which you place vegetables and noodles, on the top of the dish above the well, you cook the meat. Simply delicious!!
We were able to do some exploring whilst in Luang Prabang and during a trip to see a local waterfall, we ended up climbing nearly vertically up the side of it. The climb was hard work as there wasn't a path to follow, just rough muddy rocks. It was well worth the effort though as the views at the top were tremendous and we were literally able to see over the top of the waterfall at its source.
After a few days exploring and enjoying
Luang Prabang, we caught a flight to Hanoi, Vietnam (so that we could avoid a 36 hour bus journey). The airport was the smallest we had ever seen. We caught a small prop plane which was a fantastic experience as there was only about 20 or so people on board. We stayed in Hanoi with Becs, a friend of Deep's from university. Becs has an amazing flat and we were thoroughly spoilt and shown round the old town. We even managed to catch an open mike night in a local Irish pub!!
After a couple of days, we took a boat trip to Halong Bay. The boat was lovely and much more luxurious than we were used to. The trip through the bay was beautiful. Vietnamese people and professional travel writers are hoping to add Halong Bay as one of the 'wonders of the world'. It really is a spectacular place and as Deep and I watched the sunrise from our boat, we understood more of the magic of Halong Bay.
On our return from Halong Bay we went to Hoi An, another small town which seemed to specialise in tailoring. Of course we had to get a
couple of items made up ..... suits, shirts, dresses, coats, shoes.....
In order to continue our trip in Vietnam, we went further south to Mui Ne, a beach resort where we explored the sand dunes and small coastal path. Our trip in Vietnam ended in Saigon, where we visited the Cu Chi tunnels, before we crossed the border to Cambodia. The tunnels were an amazing sight and Deep even went down in to an original one to experience what it was like for the Viet Kong fighters. Wow, what a claustrophobic place it was too!
Vietnam offered a real mix of experiences. Whilst parts were beautiful, we struggled with some of the more cultural aspects and behaviours shown by the local people.
Cambodia reminded us both of India. The landscape was very similar to what we had experienced in India and even the people looked more Indian! The Country seems much further behind in terms of development and tourism compared to Laos and Vietnam. The highlight of Cambodia was of course the killing fields and Angkor Wat.
We've both learnt so much about the conflicts that took place in these beautiful countries and will never forget
some of the images we have seen.
So, we are now back in Thailand and are enjoying the Islands in the South. We will update again soon with the next stages of our trip!
Love to everyone
Sarah and Deep
Advertisement
Tot: 0.055s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 8; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0337s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb