Charoensri Grand Royal Hotel Udon Thani

... to the Malaysian border. It's even more annoying when we found out that Thailand are currently giving away 2 month (multiple entry) visas free, which we could have got in Vientiane, and these you can extend, which would at least have given us more options. Hey ho, we learn these things as we go along. The train goes directly to the north east border point of Sungai Kulok where we can cross the border to Malaysia, from there it's not very far to take a ferry to The Perhentian ...

... Quelles lacunes ! Lui était bien d'accord avec moi mais faut bien faire au goût du client ! Après cela j'ai explosé le budget en m'offrant une assiette de fromage et un verre de vin rouge. Eh bien il n'y a rien de tel pour aller mieux et retrouver l'envie! Je suis allée me couchée dans ma chambre pourrie le ventre bien rempli Vendredi 13 mars 2009 Ce matin visite de quelques temples puis je suis allée dans un endroit conseillé par le lonely planet pour me faire ...

... trip to Phu Phrabat, a prehistoric park with caves and strange rock formations. The family who looked after us at the villa were veruy kind and helpful, and a greta way to connect with the locals and show us places that we would not have discovered on our own. they also invited us to a local Morlam festival with lots of Thai dancing and music...and plenty of rice whisky!

After our detour into the middle of nowhere in Laos, we headed to "civilisation'', well sort of in Phonsavan. The town has a couple of claims to fame, it was the most bombed area during the war, and it is home to hundreds of mysterious jar/vase type stone sculptures. The bombing means there are lots of unexploded ordinates (UXO's) in the region, and organisations such as UXO work to clear areas. In fact we saw some of these guys in action during our visit. They do ...

I'm in Nong Khai now, which is in the very north of Thailand, on the border with Laos. I was actually supposed to leave two days ago to go to Sukhothai, but its so relaxing and I like it so much here that I've stayed longer than I intended to! I am eventually leaving tonight to take the night bus (12hrs!) straight to Chiang Mai, as I now don't have time for Sukhothai as my teaching course starts on Monday. It turned out ...

May 23, 2007 Udon Thani We spent five days in Udon Thani. Our guidebook says there is nothing to see here. Reportedly it was once the site of the largest US air force base in S. E. Asia (although our military expert, the Wolfman, questions that). So why are we stopping here? We are here to see Paul, Urai and Pat. When our train pulled in to the Udon Thani station, at about 10 AM, Paul was there to meet us. Paul is a cousin of Suzette our neighbor and one of our trip ...

... as if we had selected the slowest tuk-tuk in town, which was fine by us as we could soak in the city even more. Fifteen minutes later we arrived at the Mut Mee guest house. We checked in without incident and then grabbed a quick bite to eat. Just twenty feet away was the Mekong River ...

... 35m high 7 headed serpent. Its in a state of disrepair, and with their 8 visitors per day only being asked for a 30c suggested donation toward its upkeep and restoration hopes are grim for explanatory signposts in the near future. In quick time this has become a little place we'll come back to. Maybe even get my hands into the concrete. ------------- Nong Khai is a beautiful little town. They say it is the place where you'll adjust to the Laos way of living ...

... baseball, and talked with David and Gwen, an older couple about Huxley, Coelho, buddhism and philosophy. (As those of you who know me can tell, I was in absolute heaven.) That night most of us went down to Gaia, Caroline's floating bar on the Mekong that just opened, for story time from our host Julian. Before Julian regaled us with the story of how he ended up in Isan (northeast thailand) on the bank of the Mekong, Jimmy and Dtreem, a couple ...

... around a bit, and didn't see any better values so we're staying here. Free Internet... that's nice. Plus there's a computer in most rooms (including our room). BUT... the connection sucks. And it doubly sucks cause I'm an IT guy, and I pretty much know what the problem is, but there's nothing I can do to fix it. We originally planned to spend a day or two in Nong Khai...soaking up the life along the Mekong River...then crossing into Laos ...