Vientaine
-
Don Khon to Luang Prabang
Today I travelled from the very southern tip of Laos to the northern city of Luang Prabang. It was a long journey covering over 1200 km and taking 27 hours travelling by boat, two rickshaws, three minivans and a sleeper bus. The ticket only cost 360,000 Kip (£37) which was very good value. The journey started from Don Khon where I was picked up at 3.30 pm by a longboat to be taken to Nakasong. It was a perfect sunny afternoon for the boat ride. At Nakasong I transferred to a minivan for a 2 hour trip to Pakse. It was a smooth journey with a very careful driver. I…
-
Vientiane to Thakhek
I woke early to see the sunrise over the Mekong river at the Vientiane water front. It was 6 am and locals of all ages were up and about getting their morning exercise whilst the day was still cool (well it was 20oC which is considered cool here). The new modern waterfront promenade was funded by a loan from South Korea. It was interesting to walk around the city and see all the foreign investment from particularly from Japan and China. Although the water front has been modernised you could still see traces of the traditional way of life with farms on the fertile river bank and boats preparing to…
-
Chiang Mai to Vientiane (Laos)
Today I left Thailand for the Democratic Republic of Laos. The journey was split into three stages. The first leg of the journey was by a luxury overnight bus journey with reclining seats and air conditioning. The bus left Chiang Mai at 7.30 pm and arrived in Udon Thani at 5.30 am. The bus dropped me off at Udon shopping plaza and it was unclear how and where I needed to catch the next bus to the Thai-Laos boarder. One of my fellow passengers was from Laos and he helped me find where the bus left from. I then had another 45 min bus ride north to Nong Khai and…
