A two-faced capital, another temple and dolphins in the Mekong...

After Vang Vieng the road conditions began definitely to improve - no wonder, we were approaching Vientiane, the shining capital of the «People's Democratic Republic of Laos». If there's a place in Laos where you can find communist kitsch, French-inspired street cafés, expensive cars, polished government buildings and AAA roads, then just pay Vientiane a visit.

The President's Palace of Vientiane - a pompous building in the style of Paris' Élysée Palace.

Read More »

More (Mis-)Adventures in Laos...

After the last bus ride I wasn't so sure if I'd enjoy the next one from Vieng Xai to Phonsavan (the location of the famous Plain of Jars), approximately 242km in southern direction. But to my biggest surprise the minivan driver was really careful this time, and we only got one single road-sick passenger this time. Unfortunately this luckless individual was sitting next to me, and she was pretty productive of filling plastic bags with her bodily fluids. Oh, and I forgot to mention that we got a flat tyre as well. Huh, that's what you get for driving your minivan for ages without checking your tyre treads from time to time...

When I heard the distinctive «PSSSHH», I already knew we were going to wait for some time...

Read More »

Dragon Boat Races and on the trail of the Pathet Lao...

After surviving tourist-beaten Luang Prabang we were eager for some authentic action, to see the untouched Laos! I, Sam & Max decided to take the local option of public transportation to the northern village of Nong Khiaw, in a rusty old Hyundai bus.

At the Bus station in Luang Prabang we first didn't know what awaited us...

Read More »

Welcome to the People's Democratic Republic of Laos!

Even though Thailand left me with sweet memories, I still was eager to see the real South East Asia - a South East Asia without McDonalds's, Starbucks Coffee or 7-Eleven. Instead I wanted to see rice paddies surrounded by limestone mountains, water buffalos taking a refreshing bath in a muddy pond or local kids playing in the mud instead with a PS3. Some westerners already might get a Culture Shock when arriving in Bangkok, an already westernized city by all means. So how must if feel for them when entering Laos, one of the worlds's poorest countries?

As I mentioned before in my last blog post, my final destination in Thailand was Chiang Khong at the Mekong River. There I joined and Sam & Max, two guys from the US and France, and together we did the infamous border crossing to Huay Xay, Laos. But surprisingly, the crossing was only a matter of 20 minutes and we weren't scammed at all. It was just filling out the Lao Visa form (the officials would even accept hieroglyphs on their forms...), handing over the visa fee of about $35 and that's it.

The border crossing - a matter of 20 minutes. Note the horrible fisherman pants that are all over the place, aargh!

Read More »