Seng Lao Hotel Vientiane

... east towards the Laos/Vietnam border. We were told we wouldn't cross the border until 7am so I just lay across the backseats and got some shut eye. We actually arrived at the border at a little after midnight, and that is when the fun and games began. It turned out that the 2 drivers wanted the backseat to themselves, so they needed to wake me up to move me. It wasn't by a gentle nudge, but by a punch in the leg. I didn't have a clue what was going on, having been asleep, so ...

... 1496;יול של כמה שנים מסביב לעולם.
ישבנו לשפת נהר המקונ 90;, והלב החסיר פעימה. באיזו שלווה ונו ...

Arriving in the Capital city of Laos we were pleasantly surprised despite its bad reputation among travelers. It is clean, the people are friendly, and it has just enough coffee shops to recover from Vang Vieng. The Mekong runs past the city and you can see Northeastern Thailand on the other side. Our first ...

... or a fork in a trail, sometimes it split into 2 ways, sometimes 3 or more. I had no problem running forward to see if the trail continued that way or if there were an X. If there were an X, that means that the trail does not go that way and you have to turn around and run back while notifying the group that it was the incorrect way by way of making an X with you arms. Sign language is used because sometimes you run further than your voice can carry before you realize that you've gone ...

... up, rope knots, leading, spotting, etc. And the climbing was top notch!

Next we headed further North to Luang Prabang. This is a very old and quaint little French colonial town. There are lots of great restaurants, beautiful old Buddhist temples and an amazing night market where the Hmong locals sell all kinds of hand crafted jewellery, textiles, paper lanterns and other trinkets. There is also a street by the market lined with food vendors where ...

... my bed with a person. But I pulled the covers over my head to pretend I was asleep and luckily I was only 1 of 2 people who ended up with a bed to myself, once all the newcomers were onboard. Was a pretty uncomfortable arrangement for 1. I'm not a tall guy and even I couldn't stretch out. Never knew sleeper buses existed until now. Rudely awoken at 6.30 am by the sound of Lao music blaring out of the speaker next to my head. Maybe the 3rd ...

... who are playing and stumble across one.



A lot of the exhibits in the museum were against the Americans (obviously), with the Americans being called the "aggressors and their puppets". Furthermore, there were busts of Stalin, Lenin and Ho Chi Minh. Pretty freaky. Saying all of this (all the problems with the French and Americans over the 20th century) the country has done so well to get back on track. Some of the latter parts of the museum were showing how ...

... of imposing my culture onto them but clearly it isn't the same for everyone. We've enjoyed laid back Laos but it's time to move on. It's been a while since we were in Malaysia and we haven't been to the Perhentian Islands before, so we're looking forward to that. The ride through southern Thailand (hopefully, no red or yellow shirt uprisings will occur while we're there) will take us a while, but it'll be different. Laters

... upgraded room in 2 days (we are staying for 4 or 5 nights). The room is very nice. The paint is blue, the doors have been washed with blue paint for a rustic look and there is glazed bricks in the "kitchenette" area of our room. There is a fridge, some plates, cutlery, glasses, lots of shelving around the bed. The bathroom is spacious and the shower has a door! The only downside to the room is that the TV is set up near the ceiling and it is a small TV ...

... múc canh, thịt và cá nướng. Có đợt 2 ngày liền tôi không được hạt cơm (tẻ) vào bụng, vì chỉ ăn cơm nếp theo người Lào.



Mâm cơm được làm bằng mây, cao ráo, sạch sẽ. Ngoài cơm nếp (khẩu niêu), người Lào thường nấu canh với nhiều thứ ...