 |
| Hello Everyone,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! It�s been far too long since we�ve been able to update this little project so, this will be a long entry? Thailand to Laos and on to Vietnam, let�s begin at our crossing from Thailand. We arrived in Chiang Khong in the late afternoon and settled in at a cute little guest house for the night. Wandering through town it was apparent that this was a huge stop for visitors to Laos? We were everywhere. In the morning we caught a tuk-tuk to the Thai border, stamp, stamp and off we went. We crossed the Mekong to get into Laos, then proceeded to the slow boat dock which would eventually deliver us to Luang Prabang (after 2 long days on the boat) Before hopping on I decided to sneak to a bank and change some dollars into Kip (1 dollar US = 15000 Kip). While I was in there I was waiting for two gentlemen in front of me, obviously getting some cash as well, not exactly sure how much they were changing but? By the time they were finished they had a stack of bills 2 feet high and 3 feet wide in front of them? This was quickly thrown into plastic bags and off they went? If I could have taken a picture in the bank I would... 1St day on the boat? Cold and wet, we kept seeing people fly by on the speed boats and thought it may have been a good idea. 2nd day however we had sun and cold beer and as the poor souls flew by on the speed boats they were the ones looking at us with envy 9apparently the boats are very compact and VERY rough! Our boat looked like a cruise at that point. Luang Prabang was a beautiful little place with a heavy French influence (thank you for the wonderful baguettes you have taught the Laotian, Vietnamese and Cambodians to make? they are a godsend)? Evening rolled around and the boat crew decided to get together at a little club called the hive? Wouldn�t you know it we travel to the other side of the planet and who is the entertainer advertised for the next bar over!? One Ivan Zenovich ? Who would have thought ? Head to Laos to see a Whitehorse performer!!! (Ivan and Shelly are travelling for a year ? we would meet them again in Saigon where Ivan rocked the place at New Years) Our stay in Luang Prabang over, we decide to head to Vietnam as quick as possible, through Phonsavan and into Hanoi (sounds simple enough?) Phonsavan was a cold and windy little place, but, we learned more about the area in one tour than in all the travelling and reading we had done previously. Amazing country and amazing people (oh and the best darn beer in South East Asia) |
| January 17, 2006 |
|
| More to come... |
 |
 |
 |
 |