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Halong Bay, Coronavirus And Us
In the few days we’ve been in Hanoi, the news around the COVID-19 outbreak has raced on, both at home in the UK and across the world. And as these days unfold, so the evidence of change becomes more obvious here too: we are issued with face masks; Michaela is refused entry to a shop simply due to her Western appearance, and the talk of our next destinations on this trip being on shutdown is escalating. So we are only half surprised when our bus to Halong Bay fails to show, and the message comes through that they are refusing to take us on board because we are British. It…
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Hanoi: Back Into City Mode
Island paradise, tribal villages, wonderful scenery, small towns and villages, now in the blink of an eye we are transported to a crazily busy capital city and our whole mentality has to change. This regular shift is a part of travel which we are finding particularly stimulating, there’s not much chance things will go stale. We’ve read a lot on line about difficulties in entering Vietnam with onerous visa checking, so what with that and the Coronavirus threat we arrive expecting delays: in reality there is no such issue and after some health checks we are quickly through. And so we leave Laos where it was around 11,540 kip to…
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The Other Side Of It
We always try and keep the blog upbeat and positive in keeping with our outlook. But of course although we are very lucky, not everything is perfect. This story is for those like our lovely follower Terrie who always says she wants to see a “dark side” blog post. It’s the story of Day 41; not exactly a disaster but probably not the best day of the trip so far. Written by Phil… For me the gut rot attack had arrived the previous Tuesday. You know how it is, a slight odd feeling upon first waking quickly becomes extreme gripes and an hour later it’s obvious that breakfast is off…
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Laos: Final Words
In our short time here we have seen a stunningly picturesque country, packed with glorious scenery, some so beautiful as to be hard to believe. Mighty rivers flow through mountainous landscapes; lush green crop fields fill the plateaux between jungle clad mountains; unchanged tribal villages mix with developing visitor spots and peaceful laid back towns and cities. Laos remains a poor country in spite of increasing popularity and over 80% of the population are still farmers or self sufficient; fortunately this is a fertile land and food, particularly fruit and rice, is plentiful. Its people are happy and honest and eager to please. Yet the memory of the bombings must…
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Laos: Nong Khiaw
Nong Khiaw is an absolutely spectacular and beautiful place, just simply one of those places which really does take your breath away. It wows everyone: every other traveller we meet uses phrases like “most beautiful place I’ve ever seen”. It is for us too, it is beyond stunning. More description in a minute. First, it seems the storm on our last day back in Luang Prabang was actually the outer reaches of a typhoon, and as we leave, our minivan has to pull around fallen trees and other debris, and we hear stories of one of the Mekong riverboats being turned over into its murky depths. Hopefully with no one…
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Laos – Luang Prabang
As the mighty Mekong swings its way through northern Laos, a tributary, the Nam Khan, no small river itself, sweeps around to join the Mekong at a 45 degree angle. In the resulting triangular peninsula sits Luang Prabang, a UNESCO world heritage site with a reputation of being one of the most beautiful places in South East Asia. Here is the story of our 5 days in Luang Prabang. The Town Expectations were high coming here, based on many blogs and commentaries, and, as we all know, high expectations can often lead to disappointment. Not here though: everything about Luang Prabang is delightful, from its mix of Lao housing and…
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Out Of Thailand Into Laos
Leaving the amazing experience of Nongtao behind us, our last port of call in Thailand is Chiang Rai, towards the north east corner of the country, our stepping stone to Laos. We make two stops en route to Chiang Rai, firstly at the hot springs at Wiang Pa Pao, the water not just hot but boiling as it shoots out through the geysers. What the hell is happening underground to create that amount of heat??! The second stop is at the famous White Temple which sits around 20 minutes from Chiang Rai, a slightly bizarre creation which can’t make its mind up whether it’s a temple, a tourist trap, or…
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Nongtao Part 4: The Jungle Trek
Night noises. You fall asleep to the sound of a thousand cicadas, and wake to dozens of cockerels. Now and again in the darkest hours, the village dogs bark and howl as one; maybe a wild animal has passed through the village and the dogs are on guard. As dawn approaches, our wooden hut creaks and groans as the temperature plummets. And then the national anthem booms out. The morning dew is heavy as we await our guide, these sweeps between day and night temperatures absolutely soak the ground each morning with both dew and mist. Still cold at dawn, the rising sun brings instant warmth and another mountain day…
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Nongtao Part 3: The People
We leave the elephants behind and head for coffee with Lazyman. Carmel explains to us that some of the villagers are known by Karen nicknames rather than their real name, including “Lazyman” and “Big Sister”. We are destined to meet both. Lazyman has a small fruit and coffee plantation in the village; we are treated to coffee ground from freshly picked beans and taken on a tour of the small garden. The coffee itself is delicious, and so, surprisingly, is the juicy flesh from around the coffee bean. But our visit to Lazyman is more than just to share a coffee. Lazyman is a descendant of senior Karen tribesmen and…
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Nongtao Part 2: The Elephants
A cacophony of crowing cockerels breaks the morning silence of this remote Karen village, the mountain air still fresh, and then the booming sound of the Thai National Anthem is played through loudspeakers throughout the village, it’s clearly time to get up! School starts at 7am preceded by this tribute to their King, it happens every day, you really couldn’t oversleep here. It’s time to see the elephants, we take the 15 minute drive in the back of a pickup truck to Elephant Freedom Village and spend a while with Nongchai who explains about the elephants and the difficulties the Karen tribespeople have encountered, even to this day, it’s all…
