Posts with tag 'Laos'

Laos - Slow Boats

For all the warnings I got about slow boats and how uncomfortable they are etc, I had a great time on it! The first day was cramped enough but there was people I knew spread out across the boat, so I could get up, walk around and stretch my legs.

Had a few beers on the boat, read my book and just chatted away. Cant beat it. We arrived that night in Pakbeng and got ourselves a nice room. The room cost about 2.50 each. Although in the town there is no electricity after 10:30. Everywhere runs on generators. There is a curfew in Laos also which means that in Pakbeng you have to be back in your place by 10:30. Its not as strict in the rest of the country and we have had no problems so far.

The second day we got a group of 15 people and rented our own slow boat, which the Dutch guys organised. It cost about 10 euro each but was so worth it. It was luxury. We loaded up with beers, played card games and just had a laugh. Got a little bit sunburnt but its all good in the hood.

Vang Vieng - Tubing

Yesterday we went tubing in Vang Vieng. It was great fun. Basically we went to the reception of our bungalows and organised it. Its a fixed price but not sure what we paid. We then got a bus/tuk tuk to the river and floated down in our tubes. You come to little bars on the side at first with little guys selling beer from a cooler box (that isnt very cool)! When you want to go in, they throw you out a rope or a piece of bamboo and pull you in. The current on the river was firly strong but you can swim to the banks easily enough.

When we stopped at the first bar there was a zip line that you can hold on to that and splash into the water. I did that a couple of times and was good fun. When we got bored there we headed down river again where the bars got bigger and we met more and more people. At some of the bars there were swings that again you just go on and let go over the water. What a laugh.

One of the girls missed the last bar so I went down after her. When we got to the end we were the only 2 in our group who stopped where we had. Although it was brilliant. THere was a bar there, with an open fire and loads of huts. In each of the huts there were 2 hammocks. It was so cool. My fist hammock and I have a hunger now for more. Bring it on .com.

Off to get breeakfast now and head to the Laos capital, Vientiane or something like that. I hear the weather has gotten better? And whats this crap about Meath being in an All-Ireland semi-final and Monaghan in a 1/4 final. Things are really messed up over there.

Vientiane

In the Vientiane, the Capital of Laos. Its like most large towns/cities over here (except for Bangkok - thats unique) only this place is noticibly poorer and dirtier than other countries. Its a communist country I think, although from the looks of things the idea is very loosely enforced. There is wealth, although not much, and poverty side by side, and I've only really seen the tourist area. Haven't had a chance to wander around the city and wont get to either because we have to head for the airport soon.

Its strange how your idea of expensive changes. I would be very sceptical now of paying a euro for a beer. Think I'd walk out of the place if it was any more than a euro. And thats for a 640ml bottle! The currency over here is a nightmare. There are so many notes and on one side they have random numbers where on the other they have the value of the note, eg. the 1000 kip note has 1000 on one side and 9000 on the other!! Just so confusing.

Since tubing we just got a bus to here and spent the nice in a reasonable guest house. Was expensive enough but was clean and comfortable so am happy. I think it was about 15 US dollars to for 3 people in the room. So that works out at about 4 euro each for the night with air con.

We leave for Hanoi in a bit and have looked in to getting a place. I think the plan is to stay in Hanoi for 2 nights then get a train to the coast. From there we'll pan out on a beach for a couple of days and make our way down the coast to Ho Chi Min City (Saigon). Should be fun.

Until next time,

Brian

Some pictures from Laos

Here are a few pictures we got off one of the dutch guys in Laos

The river as seen from a slow boat. River looks like something from Charlie and Cholcolate Factory

The cramped slow boat. Jonny in his Irish Jersey in the middle

When it rained on the slow boat, the covers came down

A hut beside the river

The lads on the fancy slow boat. The beer is Beer Lao... piss

Nobody told me and Will that the photo was being taken

A hot plate in luang parbang... second best meal of the trip

The hot plate was basically a bucket of fire in the middle of the table

SE Asia, A quick guide

Right here is my guide/advice/review for SE Asia....

We arrived in Bangkok and spent 2 nights there. We stayed ages away from Khoasan road the first time we were there which was a huge mistake. You're stuck in traffic for hours then if you want to get there and it's where most of the stuff is happening too. We went into T.A.T to book our hotel the first time round and while we were there we booked trekking in Chiang Mai and our trip into Lao. If you wanna do it that way then thats fine but they will over quote you so haggle with them. I would advise not booking a place until you've seen it first. You can book something when you get to a place. We got the Vietnam visa sorted there too which is a must because you need it before you go to Vietnam. The second time round, we stayed on Rambuttri in a place called the Orchid Guesthouse. It was reasonably priced quiet location and near to everything (parallel to Khoasan).

In Chiang Mai, we stayed in BMP Residential which was nice, had a pool, was close to town, and organised the trekking. We got a VIP bus up there which was savage. Talking to other people who've been trekking I'd recommend going with the BMP Residential, they're the only crowd who spend a night at a waterfall, from what I gather (thats the 3 days 2 nights option). That for me was one of the highlights of the trip. Outside of Chiang Mai there are other places to see but I'm not sure of where or when.

From there we went to Chiang Kong to catch the slow boat. No matter what anyone tells you, you get you're visa at the border. If you do get the slow boat bring cushions the seats are uncomfortable. Lao is a gorgeous country but we spent the time on the tourist track. Tubing in Vang Vieng is decent but to really experience Lao I think you might need to get off the tourist track a little, I'm not sure how easy that is though.

Vietnam was the same as Lao, we just stayed on the tourist track. Around Hanoi there's Hao Lon bay (check spelling) and Sampa which we didn't see and are meant to be good. You can buy a bus ticket from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh for US$34 which lets you stop off in a few places. You can get suits in Hoi An but apart from a decent beach there is nothing else there. Hue looked nice but we only spent a couple of hours there. There are plenty of tours available but it might be best to see how much of the time you spend in a bus though. We didn't do anything. There is nothing in Nha Trang, maybe diving but Kho Tao is meant to be better.Stay a night or 2 and get drunk but don't waste too much time. The islands off the coast are meant to be nice, again we never made it there. Ho Chi Minh is cool. Its a good city and the tunnels are worth a visit along with the war remnants museum.

Kho Phangan is Ibiza but 10 years later. Full of English and Irish with nothing to do but get rotten drunk on a beach. Its good for a couple of nights but you need to be there long before the full moon to get anywhere. We were there 5 or 6 nights before. We stayed on the sunset beach which I think is close enough and far enough away from the action. Need to ask Jonny though.

Indonesia for me was the best place and the only thing that comes near it was trekking. The people there are amazing. We stayed away from Bali but there are the Gilli islands and Lombark in that general direction that we wanted to go to. We went to Sumatera, stayed as little as possible in Jakarta. If you only have a short period of time then Sumatera is you're best bet. If you want to climb a volcano the go to Berastagi. That place is amazing, the food, the people, everything. Around there as well is Lake Toba and Ketambe which we didn't get to see but heard great things about. From Sumatera we went to Bintan island. This place is a 2 hour boat journey from Singapore so you should make time for it. We stayed on Trikora beach in Yasin Bungalows, which is easy to get to. I would recommend going there during the week because a lot of people from Singapore go there for the weekend. I really recommend making time for the place.

KL is a really nice city and worth a visit but we didn't spend long enough there so I can't tell you completely what I make of it. I did like it though. Singapore is only good if you want to shop. After everywhere else in Asia it'll seem made expensive and drink is extortionate, even compared to Irish prices.

Any questions about anywhere, leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer....

Brian