Laos
My lj cut tags aren't working anymore for some reason.
Sep 24th: Managed to see some temples, including the reclining Buddah at Wot Poh and the Temple of Dawn. Missed out on the Golden Palace and the Golden Mountain (or was that the Grand Palace?) but time was of the essence. Managed to squeeze in some shopping and bought a three in one Goretex jacket for the European winter I will be experiencing shortly. Hopefully the jacket holds out.
Caught the train at 8pm from Bangkok to Nong Khai (near the Thai/Laos boarder). Slept on the train, got to see the chairs be converted into beds, which was pretty neat.
Sep 25th: Train arrived at Nong Khai at 9am, around an hour late. Caught a short train from Nong Khai to Thenelong where I got my Visa for Laos and then boarded a bus to Vienteine (the capital of Laos). From there, we stopped for lunch, then bought another bus ticket for Vang Vieng, my final destination. Arrived around 7pm? Found myself an organic farm where I'll be staying for the time being.
So... spent pretty much the entire day in transit.
Sep 26th: Wanted to help feed the goats today but that was happening at 6:30am and given the poor sleep on the train the previous night, I couldn't bring myself to get up. Took a tour of the farm instead, running into one of the local Lao people who lived here. He ended up showing me around, including the goats (adults, babies and a pregnant one), we fed the pigs, then we saw the mud houses and on a secluded table, we played Checkers. He made the game pieces out of bits of stick, and we played two games, in which my rustiness on the rules got me sounded beaten both times. Then he... erm. Tried to kiss me >_<
This has happened in every single damned country except for Cambodia. Oh wait, I had my male friend with me the whole time then. That explains it. For serious, I seem to be building a collection. Thai, Malaysian, Indian, skipped Cambodia, and now Lao. At least Europeans ask first.
I haven't even been here 24 hours!
*grumble*
I want to experience this 'tubing' thing that seems to be the go. I can already hear the music playing. Apparently the organic farm where I'm staying is where it all began, where the owner (Mr. T) had the idea for his volunteers to float down the river in tubes. It's taken off since then and now it's the main attraction, with pubs along the river. The downside is that all the music and development is now actually detrimental to the farm. So it's a bit of a bittersweet sensation. Either way, I'm not too interested in the drinking side of it, I mostly want to float down the river, look at the scenery, and take pictures. Here's hoping my camera makes it alright :)
Sep 24th: Managed to see some temples, including the reclining Buddah at Wot Poh and the Temple of Dawn. Missed out on the Golden Palace and the Golden Mountain (or was that the Grand Palace?) but time was of the essence. Managed to squeeze in some shopping and bought a three in one Goretex jacket for the European winter I will be experiencing shortly. Hopefully the jacket holds out.
Caught the train at 8pm from Bangkok to Nong Khai (near the Thai/Laos boarder). Slept on the train, got to see the chairs be converted into beds, which was pretty neat.
Sep 25th: Train arrived at Nong Khai at 9am, around an hour late. Caught a short train from Nong Khai to Thenelong where I got my Visa for Laos and then boarded a bus to Vienteine (the capital of Laos). From there, we stopped for lunch, then bought another bus ticket for Vang Vieng, my final destination. Arrived around 7pm? Found myself an organic farm where I'll be staying for the time being.
So... spent pretty much the entire day in transit.
Sep 26th: Wanted to help feed the goats today but that was happening at 6:30am and given the poor sleep on the train the previous night, I couldn't bring myself to get up. Took a tour of the farm instead, running into one of the local Lao people who lived here. He ended up showing me around, including the goats (adults, babies and a pregnant one), we fed the pigs, then we saw the mud houses and on a secluded table, we played Checkers. He made the game pieces out of bits of stick, and we played two games, in which my rustiness on the rules got me sounded beaten both times. Then he... erm. Tried to kiss me >_<
This has happened in every single damned country except for Cambodia. Oh wait, I had my male friend with me the whole time then. That explains it. For serious, I seem to be building a collection. Thai, Malaysian, Indian, skipped Cambodia, and now Lao. At least Europeans ask first.
I haven't even been here 24 hours!
*grumble*
I want to experience this 'tubing' thing that seems to be the go. I can already hear the music playing. Apparently the organic farm where I'm staying is where it all began, where the owner (Mr. T) had the idea for his volunteers to float down the river in tubes. It's taken off since then and now it's the main attraction, with pubs along the river. The downside is that all the music and development is now actually detrimental to the farm. So it's a bit of a bittersweet sensation. Either way, I'm not too interested in the drinking side of it, I mostly want to float down the river, look at the scenery, and take pictures. Here's hoping my camera makes it alright :)