Articles from this Category
19 September 2008
I spent my last evening in Laos beside the Mekong with Lao Beer and watch the sun set … only to be interrupted by: Women selling dried squid which they would warm over the coals for you (yummy with beer), and The tap-tap-tap of spoons against semi-hatched eggs by the young couple sitting opposite me. […]
18 September 2008
I hired a bike to explore the surrounding countryside today. The cheapest bike was a girly bike with a big comfy soft seat, a useful basket and a pillion seat. It was more comfortable than the mountain bike I hired in China. At night most restaurants play DVDs of Friends (or Family Guy, Simpsons) while their […]
17 September 2008
This morning I left Luang Prabang by bus for Vang Vieng. The 6 hour journey was very windy and the bus crawled at seemingly cycling speed for much of the time. I felt chucky as I had taken my motion-sickness pills a bit too late to be effective … and they may been past their […]
16 September 2008
This morning I woke at 5am in order to see the monks “collect their alms” (I have forgotten this term since school … I was thinking “beg for food”). Residents line up by the roadside to give monks food … typically they roll balls of rice to deposit into the monks pots as they file […]
15 September 2008
Luang Prabang is one place many people rave about … it is a riverine town on the side of the Mekong and home to an eclectic mix of Lao shophouses, royal palace, temples and colonial mansions. By day, one can explore these sights. But by night … the street gets converted into a handicraft megamart, the […]
14 September 2008
Above: The Chinese-made Xian MA60 aircraft. I travel from Xieng Khouang to Luang Prabang today. It was was meant to be a half-hour direct flight departing at 1340. But it turned out be two flights and a 2h20 transit in Vientiane (totalling over 3h30). Because I had booked about 6 months in advance, the airlines’ […]
13 September 2008
Today I took an excursion with several others to the three Jar sites which have been opened up and are safe … meaning no mines within the marked paths. While on the road, our English member pointed out this large fruit … she described it as looking like a melon on the outside with a […]
12 September 2008
Today I left Vientiane at 1340 flying Lao Airlines to Xieng Khouang (Phonsavan). Coming in to land 30 mins later was interesting. The countryside with pock-marked by craters, some filled with water. This is the most-bombed province in the most-bombed country in the world (says the Mines Action Group information. The US bombarded the area […]
11 September 2008
It is my last night here in Vientiane and my last night with my Couchsurfing host Patrick. We hit town for a nice dinner by the Mekong, looking over at Thailand on the other side. Then to a roof top bar for a few beers and margaritas. He has been most hospitable … his maid […]
10 September 2008
Today, I continued my exploration of Vientiane, which means City of Sandalwood. It was a hot and sweaty affair.