Life, Travel, GRACE

Day 8-9 (13-14 May) We proceed to Thailand in the morning. The immigration process was the easiest. We crossed the river by boat and reached Chiang Khong (the border town of Thailand). Then a mini van to Chiang Mai. Arrived in Chiang Mai about 4pm. Looked for a cheap room and then had an excursion around the town. The next day we will depart and back to M'sia. It has been a pleasant trip for the whole week. Laos is a beautiful and peaceful country with abundant of unspoiled forest and mountains. Now we have to get back to our real life. End of the trip.

Day 6 -7 (11-12 May) As we were heading to the end of the trip, there was not much interesting place to visit for the remaining days. We took a slow boat to Huay Xai with overnight stay in Pak Beng. Both days required up to 8 hours journey. So we had two days of river cruise with scenery of green lush forest and mountains. As it was a low season, there was a lot of vacant seats on the boat. Some gwailo took speed boat which was faster - reach Huoy Xai in a day. However, the disadvantage of speed boat is you have to bear the loud engine noise for 6 hours. Pak Beng is a one-street town. The town serves as pit stop for travellers to and fro Luang Prabang or Huoy Xai. It offers the cheapest accomodation in the country. We had a room for two for just 100 Bath (equivalent to RM10 or USD2.50). The weather in Pak Beng was cooling. No wonder no fan was installed in our room. The journey on the second was more pleasant. Nicer scenery. We reached Huoy Xai at 6pm. Not possible to cross to Thailan...

Day 5 (10 May) After had an overdose temples and wats the day before, today would be the out-of-town event. We signed up for trip to Pak Ou cave and Kuang Si waterfall. No expcectation for these 2 places but we did hope to have an interesting trip there. We started the day with watching morning alms. This time we got earlier and marched out to the other end of the street. Our trip to Pak Ou cave started at 8.30am. In order to get to the cave, we need to take a boat ride. The journey to the cave took us about an hour and half. Half way of the journey, we stopped at wisky village. There was nothing much there. We arrived in Pak Ou cave about 11 am. The cave was unfortunately very dissapointing. It was a small cave with some collection of statues. Not recommended. In the afternoon session, we took a van to the waterfall. The second half of the road was really dusty and the road was unpaved. Unpleasant ride as well. Luckily the waterfall area did shed some joy as it was beautiful and aston...

Day 4 (9 May) Luang Prabang should be the highlight of this trip. There is a morning giving alms in the town. Monks from nearby temples will march out and receive their daily giving from the civilians. Various ages of monks are involved in this daily morning alms. It was a never seen before view. Not sure if our M'sian monks have this kind of practice. The day started with excursion around the heritage town. Luang Prabang was gazetted as world heritage due to its historical temples. The most famous temple is Wat Xieng Thong. Indeed it is a nice temple. Since the whole day we walked around the town and visited almost very temples and wats, we got bored by the end of the day. We ended the walking tour with our last stop in Wat Phousi which is on top of a hill. The wat is accessible from the night market street. Got there and had a bird's eyes view of Luang Prabang. Was expected to have a nice sunset. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy dusk. Dinner was at the usual place - buffet mea...

Day 3 (8 May) Woke up afresh with nice scenery outside the room. Vang Vieng is recommended for outdoor activities (kayaking, tubing, rock climbing and caving) given the nature of the surrounding. As we were not into physical activities, a short stay will be fine. Had an excursion around the river side. Watching students and villagers crossed the river. Had breakfast in one of the river side cafe. Samples lao coffee which was very good indeed. The taste was comparable to Vietnamese coffee. We proceed our journey to Luang Prabang. Boarded a VIP bus at 10am. Lots of gwailo ( farang ) were headed to that town. No doubt Luang Prabang is the most visited town in Laos due to its status of UNESCO World Heritage. The journey to Luang Prabang was about 7 hours. The route was mountainous and winding road. Perhaps this road offers the best scenery. The bus did stop halfway for lunch break and pee time. By the time we arrived in Luang Prabang, it was around 5pm. Took a ride to the town and searche...

Day 2 (7 May) We arrived in Nong Khai around 9.15am. Sun rose earlier in Thailand and Laos - about 5.30am the sky has brightened. From the train station, we took tuk-tuk to immigration check point at the border. It was an easy process. Just hand in your passport and done. From there, we took a bus to cross to Laos via Friendship Bridge. Arrival in Laos land was easy. Again filled up the arrival form and handed in the passport. Then paid the "crossing fees". Now we need to get to the town which is about 25km away. Had bargain for cheaper fare. We got 170 Baht but then found out other couple got 150 Baht. Talking about persuasive barganing. The road to Vientiane was ok. It was more rural than their neighbour Thai. After half an hour we arrived in Vientiane. The driver dropped us at the market. There was a shopping mall in construction - the first shopping mall in Laos (no fast food restaurant in Laos). Found our way to the town center and purchased bus tickets to Vang Vieng. We...

Day 1 (6 May) Dr Mic and I flew to Bangkok at 10.40 am. The plane departed from the new airport - LCCT. It was crowded - all took air asia flight of course. Reached DonMuang International Airport, Bangkok around 12 pm (they are 1 hour behind M'sia). While landing, had noticed a golf course in the middle of landing strip! The first plan was to purchase or enquire a connecting ticket from Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai. Had found Laos Airline office and they quoted the fare more expensive than you buy in Laos. So we thought we would try our luck in Laos (Vientiane or Luang Prabang). The ticket cost USD108 as compare to initial fare of USD81. Having found the air fare too costly, we went to enquire train ticket to Nong Khai. The train station is situated just opposite the airport, a rather quite convenient but it a bit run down. Had secured 2 sleeper seats to Nong Khai. The fare cost about 600 baht. Well, after had settled the transportation mode to Thai/Laos border, we had the whole aft...

Have been travelling for the past whole week in Laos. Came back to Msia on 14 May, Sunday afternoon. More sharing and photos are on the way....

In a few hours, I will go to airport to catch my flight to Bangkok. Dr Mic and I will have the whole afternoon to kill in Bangkok. Still figuring out what to do and where to go while in Bangkok. Anyway, it's a leisure trip. So no rules to comply. Cheers!

Have received an sms from Air Asia informing that flight from Bangkok to Udon Thani has been cancelled on 6 May 06 afternoon. They have arranged an alternative flight at night (8.40pm, arriving 9.45pm). Unfortunately, this means we (Mic and I) have to spend one nite either in Udon Thani or Nong Khai. Then only the following day we can cross over to Laos. The plan to proceed to Vang Vieng might need to be postponed to second day. Alternatively, we can take up a similar flight offered by Nokair (www.nokair.com). The fare is however, RM50 more than what we paid for Air Asia. If we don't mind to cross to Laos on the following day, taking up train from Bangkok to Udon Thani will be the best option. The fare is RM60-100 (2nd or 1st class). Train info was gathered from www.seat61.com.

Gosh, I only have less than 2 weeks for preparation. Having read some feed back and comment from the internet, I might need to cut short the time in Vientiane. Luang Prabang will be the major attraction. Vang Vieng is recommended due to its beautiful scenery. I'm not so sure if it will look like Halong Bay or Tam Coc in Vietnam (I mean the lime stone formation). People go there just to have outdoor activities (caving, kayaking and tubing). Well, we can do this is Malaysia too. Therefore, I will consider to have a short stay in Vang Vieng. Here's the new itinerary.... 6 May - arrive in Vientiane at night. 7 May - Excursion in Vientiane (morning). Catch bus to Vang Vieng at noon. There will be some time to explore Vang Vieng in the evening. 8 May - catch morning bus to Luang Prabang (around 9am). Should arrive in the afternoon. 9 - 10 May - Luang Prabang 11 - 12 May - slow boat to Huoy Xai with overnight in Pak Beng 13 May - cross over to Thailand 14 May - back to Malaysia