About
Welcome, and stuff.
29 November 2012
There are many crossing points into Thailand for foreigners, the easiest being from Vientiane across the Friendship Bridge but I chose to go 150km south of Luang Nam Ta, at the border town of Huay Xai (into Chiang Khong).
Read More
29 November 2012
November 9th – 24th
As the road crept its way North towards Vientiane, it did not improve one bit. Pothole after pothole, Troopy crawled to a slow 50kmh for miles and miles. You’d think it would get better as you get closer to the capital, but no, it was bad all the way.
After one failed attempt to find a campspot, we reached Vientiane by late afternoon. The city stretches along the Mekong for a few kilometres, but the centre is really what’s interesting. A great monument supposedly reminding us of the “Arc de Triomphe” in Paris welcomes us and we got to a cheapish guesthouse. Knackered after the 300km of bumpy road, we crashed into bed right after dinner.
Read More
12 November 2012
October 28th – November 8th
After crossing the Lao border and cursing the Custom Officers for their bribing, we made our way to the “400 islands”. They may not be exactly 400 islands, or at least not all of them are populated, but they’re all on the Mekong River. Ferries take you across to some, fishermen boats to others. We tried a “traditional” island, by the Lonely Planet standards anyways, but only motorbikes were allowed on the tiny raft across, so we went to Dong Khong instead.
The ferry-barge takes approximately three minutes to the shore but we got our first impression of Laos there: it’s green, it’s peaceful, it’s quiet, traffic is limited, people smile and the view is awesome.