Into Deepest Laos, and Back (4 of 6)
Tuesday: Pak Xieng – (K3,000, 1½ hours) – Vien Thong – (K3,000, 3 hours) – Mouang Viengtong – (K5,000, 10½ hours) – Phonsavanh
The day starts with dawn, although the roosters started at four a.m. After yesterday’s error in hoping for a b
Into Deepest Laos, and Back (5 of 6)
Wednesday: Phonsavanh and The Plain of Jars
We enjoy a reasonable sleep in cool sufficient to call for the supplied quilt. Drizzle continues, but there is enough light to see what might do as a re-enactment of Laredo, enough so to have me whistling the tune as I walked out on the streets for a
Into Deepest Laos, and Back (6 of 6)
Thursday: Phonsavanh – Vientiane $37, 40 minutes
Yet more rain during the night. Breakfast at the neighbouring hotel on an omelette, it not being soup, then a bread cake as well so all is in order. The next business is to find some postcards at the market area nea
Into Deepest Laos, and Back (1 of 6)
Years ago there were news reports of bombing on the Plain of Jars, and I had always been curious about the name. Now, Charles and I were in Vientiane at Hotel Vannasinh and asking the boss how we might get there. “With difficulty” was the gist of the reply, if you don’t want
Into Deepest Laos, and Back (2 of 6)
Friday
We start the day by trying to find the office for Provincial Passport checks. An English bloke had been ‘helped’ by a local who guided him to the office, and told the officials that he’d arrived two days back, so a U$5 fine, thanks. Despite his directions (rather vague
Into Deepest Laos, and Back (3 of 6)
Sunday: Luang Phabang – Muong Ngoi 9 hours for K6,000
There is some indecision this morning. A fellow asserts that the south road route to Phonsavanh is fine, despite the US couple’s report. So one day only to Phonsavanh? But doubts, plus a desire for a rive
Laos – Land of the Million Elephants #1
From Berlin to Bangkok
Sunday, Nov 22 – Swinging London
It’s a cold morning in Berlin, about 0°C and it starts to snow again. The perfect day to leave for Asia. Everything is white around me, when I walk through the little park near our house. I take the bus to the airport and
Laos – Land of the Million Elephants #2
Vientiane
Friday, Nov 27 – Crossing the border to Laos
I slept better than expected. Before we reach Udon Thani with the first sunlight, the beds are folded away. Jin is reading a newspaper, I content myself with the pictures (it’s in Thai…).
When we reach Nong Kai at 7:30am,
Laos – Land of the Million Elephants #5
Up to the North
Thursday, Dec 3 – Mekong River
Today, I have to get up early. No problem, my new neighbours already make a lot of noise anyway. At 7am I walk up to the main crossing and look for one of the moneychangers and change US$20 for 87,000 Kip, not bad. This black market is widel
Laos – Land of the Million Elephants #6
Muang Sing – back through the jungle
Sunday, Dec 6 – Muang Sing
I enjoy the fresh baguettes for breakfast and prepare everything for leaving. I don’t have to pay for the accommodation, the night in the garage was free!
It takes about ten minutes to walk to the small bus term
Digital Backpacker 2000 #13
August 1st: The Roads of Laos
I stayed a bit longer in Vientiane due to some people I met in the evening. So many tourists walk the streets of Vientiane these days. I thought it would be more quiet here but if this continues Laos will develop like a kind of Thailand.
After two days in Vienti
Luang Prabang, Laos
Another 2 months gone? I’m now in Luang Prabang, Laos . At my last contact, I had just left my 2nd meditation retreat in Thailand and had started on my spiritual path (or so I thought). I’d planned a one-night stop-over in Bangkok before heading north to Chiang Mai and some of Thail
Northern Laos by “Bus”
Crossed into Laos from Chiang Kong to Houay Xai. Chiang Kong was a nice sleepy Thai town, Houay Xai was even sleepier. Crossing the Mekong was short (5 min) and cheap B20 (50 Cents). The name Mekong always rings loud, all those Viet Nam war movies. So to be on it’s banks was kinda nice.
Travels without a Plan #21
Breakdowns, Delays and Overcrowding – The Joys of Travel in Laos
The simple word of “Sabaidee” is the first word that you learn in Lao. Everyone says it, from young children to adults, words of greeting surround you when you arrive in this surprising and beautiful country.
Laos – A Wartime Visit
In September 1970, I was in the far north of Thailand. I had been travelling with a guy from New Zealand who was too lazy to get out of bed and catch the early bus from Chiang Rai to Chieng Khong. I took a boat across the Mekong to Ban Houei Sai in Laos. While I had an easy exit from Thailand,
A Round-the-World Journey to Find a New Home #15
From the South all the way to Vientiane
Laos
Crossing the border was a funny experience. We traveled by boat up the mighty Mekong, the throbbing 1300cc car engine mounted on the back vibrated through the hull of the fall bottomed boat as it skimmed across the waters. It was truly apparent how
A Round-the-World Journey to Find a New Home #17
Towards the Hill-Tribes
Northern Laos
Luang Prabang’s northern bus terminal is dusty, dirty and without buses. From here it is the back of trucks with a steel frame roof, designed to safely carry 25 people. (There is a little sign on the side of all such transportation resembling a speed
A Round-the-World Journey to Find a New Home #16
Following the Tourist Trail…
Laos
Vientiane bus station was a hive of bustling activity, like a full on market within a rank of buses. Sellers of all goods imaginable were bantering their trade on foot from bus to bus, a mobile market. A few food vendors around the peripheral flanked by
Chasing Horizons #6: Adventures in Laos – Laos
Adventures in Laos
After just over a week in Chiang Mai it was time to move on. After shopping around we eventually decided to take the 170 Baht mini bus ride to the Thai/Laos border town of Chiang Khong. Steve and Garath, the two English lads that had arrived with me in Chiang Mai were coming
Laughter in Laos (1 of 3) – Vientiane, Laos
Laughter in Laos
Vientiane
January 2, 2002
I’m head-over-heels for this country. Its beauty, people, food, landscapes, textiles and customs are amazing. I know I’m being dramatic, but I don’t know how else to communicate what it’s like traveling here.
Actually, maybe th
