Submukda Grand Hotel Mukdahan

... parfois honnetes. Ceci-dit 5 jours consecutifs de pluie et des previsions meteo pas plus optimistes, m'ont incite a passer la frontiere laotienne plus tot que prevu. Donc me voila arrive a Savannakhet, ou j'ai trouve ce que j'etais venu y chercher: un temps plus sec et de la tranquillite. Je me suis inscrit a l'office de tourisme pour un trek dans le parc de Dong Phu Vieng, puis j'ai visite quelques temples et le stupefiant musee du ...

... to be so out there for me some of his books, but for the monk, it would on a different level. The pictures from the Laos/Vietnam lonely planets kept him busy for a good half hour, but we both had a chuckle at the visual cabaret show that was being pumped out of the DVD entertainment center at the front of the bus, camp men dressed as women, faces full of well over the top make up, prancing around on a stage infront of a live ...

... voor twee dagen luxe-bus plus overnachting aan de grens. Na drie uur rijden werden we uit onze "luxe" bus gehaald om te overnachten in een piepklein kamertje achter de keuken van een wegrestaurant waar blijkbaar meer ratten komen dineren dan mensen. Volgende dag om half 5 smorgens een lokaal buske op samen met alle marktkramers van de omliggende dorpjes, de grens mochten we te voet doen (toch wel 4 km met rugzak en 700 graden celsius in de schaduw). Daarna nogmaals de lokale bus ...

Apres le petit-dejeuner (dans une echoppe tenue par une vietnamienne, hasard le plus total, j'ai pu parler un peu : youpi !), on marche en direction du Phu Narom, petit temple situe en haut d'une colline, a 3km au sud de la ville. Il offre le point de vue le plus haut sur la ville, ca ne peut etre que joli :) En chemin, on croise la route de la Mudkahan Tower, haute tour avec ...

... A l'arret en plein milieu de la voie, les locaux le chargeaient de leurs marchandises. Apres confirmation, on choppe nos affaires et on court au milieu des voitures pour prendre le bus. Sniffff ! Moi qui voulait faire une pause-pipi et acheter quelque chose a manger... On arrive enfin a Mukdahan 2 heures plus tard et on s'arrete a la 1e GH du guide ou il etait ecrit : 'A choisir en cas de dernier recours'. Alors effectivement, le couloir ...

On pensait juste rester une nuit a That Phanom, surement pas plus de deux. Et on y est reste 3 car la ville etait super agreable, peut etre l'endroit ou je ne suis senti le mieux en Thailande, des marches vraiment charmants, un temple de style lao (comme le That Luang de Vientiane mais en plus majestueux). Et surtout, la GH de notre "maman" locale est une des meilleures GH ou j'ai eu le ...

... a tradtional Lao massage and I had a foot spa), we then enjoyed a lovely dinner in a French style bistro ( very nice and expensive decor - out of place with rest of town) of burger and frites for Daniella and croque monsieur and frites for me. The next day was to be another early start with yet again another 6 hour ride, this time to Pakse , the big town before the Cambodian border and the heart of the Bolaven plateau -which holds the biggest waterfall in SE asia.

... There's a busy Wat where monks training consists at least in part of making new buddha statues for other Wats in the area. The mold is a huge bronze structure which gets bolted together and cement is poured in. Once this has set the buddha gets its hands positioned in one of the many poses, painted white, orange and then lacquered to a gold shine.

... hey, it cost about 1 pound 50p. Savannakhet: Well, we've only spent an afternoon here. Admittedly it is a Sunday. It is also a public holiday (Laos national day or something). However, we've checked with some other people staying at our guesthouse and apparently it isn't much quieter than normal.... ...Savannakhet literally feels like it was evacuated for the war a year or two ago! Apparently it had (and still has ...

I came to Thailand to live with my Thai wife. Life here in Isaan is just great. We enjoy a relaxed (very relaxed life style). We have developed a Guesthouse in a "Phu Thai" village. Here we offer tours of local cultures and sightseeing. We also have a Farm that produces a variety of produce including Euchalyptus trees and rice. Isaan is located in the North East of Thailand.It is unexplored but offers an insight into the ...