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Luang Prabang

Saturday, January 28th, 2006

Luang Prabang riverview

Luang Prabang, the former capital of Laos and UNESCO World Heritage site, proved to be as great of a place that all the guidebooks, articles and previous visitors rave that it is. This city has character in its people, its architecture (a combination of French colonial and Buddhist), its layout (a peninsula between 2 rivers and surrounded by mountains) and its food. There is something special about this city that makes you automatically comfortable to be there and immediately relaxes you and puts you at ease. We spent about 2 days in Luang Prabang after our jungle trek, during which we walked around the island, visited some of the sights, treated ourselves to cheap massages, wandered the food and night markets looking for interesting things to sample, saw a cultural dance and music performance, and just let ourselves be enveloped by the peaceful aura of the city. [read on]

Posted in Laos, SE Asia, Travel | 2 Comments »

Jungle Trek: Lions, tigers and bears – Oh my!

Wednesday, January 25th, 2006

Like a tightrope walker crossing the river

Anthony and I set out for our trek the morning after we arrived in Luang Prabang and found that were in a great group with two Americans who are teaching English in China in the Hunan province and on holiday and a British editor who is on the last leg of her half year of travel. For more details and photos [read on]

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Vangvieng: Backpacker’s paradise

Monday, January 23rd, 2006

On our way to Luang Prabang we stopped in a little backpacker town called Vangvieng, set in a beautiful spot along the Nam Xong river, right up against some of the most amazing limestone karsts we have ever seen. The town is a popular place for caving, tubing, and kayaking – so of course, we made a stop there to do just that. [read on]

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Lance Armstrong and the Wicked Witch take on Vientiane

Sunday, January 22nd, 2006

We arrived in Vientiene after taking a 14 hour overnight bus from Bangkok across the Laotian border. The bus was surprisingly comfortable with a good amount of leg room, sufficiently reclining seats, air-conditionaling set at just the right temp, and included a showing of Face Off for our viewing pleasure. Thinking that it would be better to be a bit further away from the from front of the bus (where the TV was) in case the TV volume was too high and to avoid being in the back where we couldn’t see the TV, I chose a set of seats right in the middle of the bus by the stairs leading to the exit door (the passenger seats were on the second level of the bus). What I failed to notice was that the bathroom was situated right at the foot of the stairs….BIG MISTAKE (Refer to posting Think Before You Do: Things we learned the hard way). We crossed the Laotian border at sunrise, after our visas were “taken care of” by our bus operators (i.e. I charge you this amount of money and in return I will give you a visa application to fill out, carry your passport to the visa border, give it to the immigration officer behind the desk and then give it back to you. In the process, I will charge more than the visa would have cost you if you got it on your own and take some off the top). Finally, we arrived in Vientiane late AM.

For more on our time in Vientiane [read on]

Posted in Laos, SE Asia, Travel | No Comments »

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