Louang Phabang To Vang Viang
Posted On Sunday, February 25, 2007 at at 4:51 PM by AlvinWe arrived at Louang Phabang around sunset, having had a relaxing day floating down The Mekong from Pekbeng. Louang Phabang is quite pleasant to spend a few days and we enjoyed wandering around the temples and the foods greatly. We stayed on the outskirt of town where opposite the hotel was a outdoor restaurant and they have stoves for roasting and stewing the foods we ordered; of course we washed it all down with a Beer Lao !
Vang Viang located around 50km south of LP, was karst country and had a frontier feel about it ! We visited many limestone caves and generally relaxed in this laid-back town for 3 days. Off to Vientaine next.
Vientiane turn out to be one of the sleepiest capitals in Asia, if not the world. We just strolled around this tiny but pleasant city and just enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere. We caught the bus to Buddha Park which was located in a small village about an hour's drive from Vientiane. Buddha Park was a fun place to visit as it was full of funky sculptures of Mr Buddha; we took time off to have a lunch in the park before heading back to Vientiane in time for our overnight bus to Bangkok.
Vang Viang located around 50km south of LP, was karst country and had a frontier feel about it ! We visited many limestone caves and generally relaxed in this laid-back town for 3 days. Off to Vientaine next.
Vientiane turn out to be one of the sleepiest capitals in Asia, if not the world. We just strolled around this tiny but pleasant city and just enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere. We caught the bus to Buddha Park which was located in a small village about an hour's drive from Vientiane. Buddha Park was a fun place to visit as it was full of funky sculptures of Mr Buddha; we took time off to have a lunch in the park before heading back to Vientiane in time for our overnight bus to Bangkok.
The Golden Triangle and Over To Laos
Posted On Friday, February 23, 2007 at at 2:59 AM by AlvinOn our way to Laos, we spent a few days in the very northern part of Thailand where its boarders met with the other neighbouring countries. We based ourselves in Chiang Rai - a quaint city best remembered by us for its barbecue and Thai dancing shows in the open market every night (see earlier blog entry). The city was a short bus ride to the Golden Triangle (Chiang Saen) - where Thailand meets Myanmar and Laos. This area is best known for the highly sorted-after herbal leaves ;-) and the trafficking routes. The Opium Museum was very informative and well worth a visit. We went for a long walk along the city walls in Chiang Saen on this HOT day.....
We crossed the border from Chiang Khong (Thailand) to Houayxai (Laos) in the middle of the day. The border was actually a 3 minutes' boat ride with friendly Laos immigration officers waiting in a hut on the opposite river bank, nice ! We then began our 2-day boat trip down the Mekong River to Louang Phabang ! The photo below was taken at dawn in Pakbang, a midway stop for the night.
Chiang Rai And Buddha's Cosmos !
Posted On Thursday, February 22, 2007 at at 5:00 PM by Alvin
We visited Doi Tong, a peaceful Buddha's site around 30 minutes walk from the centre of Chiang Rai. At the centre of Doi Tong was a raised stone platform where each step represented a new level in Buddha's Enlightenment. It was a very interesting detour away from the night market of this town where we enjoyed our outdoor "spiedini" - BBQ meat with a couple of whiskey (leftovers from Myanmar days !) and soda; there was also a nightly amateur-ish stage dance to entertain us !
Year Of The Pig in Chiang Mai
Posted On Sunday, February 18, 2007 at at 2:53 AM by Alvin
Happy Chinese New Year ! Our stay in Chiang Mai coincided with the arrival of the year of The Pig. This city has a large Chinese community and China Town in Chiang Mai was one big party on New Year's eve where there were restaurant tables all laid out along the streets of the China Town. We also stayed up late and visited the colorful central market in the town centre. Strangely enough, we even managed to get some sleep amongst the loud fire crackers heard throughout the night.
We also took a shared taxi up to Doi Suthep, a Buddhist Temple perched up on a hill around 30 minutes' drive from Chiang Mai. The day was so sunny and the reflections of the golden statutes of His Holiness were blinding in the sunlight !
We also took a shared taxi up to Doi Suthep, a Buddhist Temple perched up on a hill around 30 minutes' drive from Chiang Mai. The day was so sunny and the reflections of the golden statutes of His Holiness were blinding in the sunlight !
Kalaw Hill Station And Inle Lake
Posted On Saturday, February 3, 2007 at at 5:14 PM by AlvinWe spent 2 nights at the hill station town of Kalaw where we went for a day's hike into the surrounding countryside - the temperature was freezing as the town is located at fairly high altitude. We could not wait to move on to Inle Lake which was just an hour by bus and amazingly, it was so warm that we pulled on our t-shirts again. The Inle Lake was very picturesque as we took a boat out for the day and visited the many different islands. The abandoned Indein temples and stupas were eerie as we felt a certain mystique about the site.
We shared our boat with Arnie from Holland and he amused us with his stories of bribing officials around the world with his bottles of whiskys - he worked for Johnny Walker, you see, and he always stashed away a few bottles as "backup". Funny guy.
We shared our boat with Arnie from Holland and he amused us with his stories of bribing officials around the world with his bottles of whiskys - he worked for Johnny Walker, you see, and he always stashed away a few bottles as "backup". Funny guy.
Mesmerised by Temples in Bagan
Posted On Thursday, February 1, 2007 at at 2:37 AM by AlvinWe took a 11 hours (!) boat trip from Mandaley to Bagan and Bagan really lived up to our expectation - literally hundreds upon hundreds of temples waiting to vie for our attention.
The bike rides around the temples and ruins were pleasant and un-forgettable. We could easily have spent another day here wandering around. We took frequent tea breaks during our bike rides and had our favourite red-bean cakes to go with the local tea (quite like Chinese tea). We visited so many temples that we almost forgot we needed 2 hours to get back to the bike rental and we cycled like madmen, with the setting sun at the backgorund, and Mandy overshot our road exit and went on for 10 minutes before coming back ! Funny girl !
The bike rides around the temples and ruins were pleasant and un-forgettable. We could easily have spent another day here wandering around. We took frequent tea breaks during our bike rides and had our favourite red-bean cakes to go with the local tea (quite like Chinese tea). We visited so many temples that we almost forgot we needed 2 hours to get back to the bike rental and we cycled like madmen, with the setting sun at the backgorund, and Mandy overshot our road exit and went on for 10 minutes before coming back ! Funny girl !
