Our trips around the world…
With few options available to us we booked a sleeper bus to take us the 10 hours from Vientiane to Pakse. We were told we would be collected at between 7 and 7:30pm. Well 7:30 came and went and at 7:45 we were getting nervous that we would miss our 8:30 bus. Eventually a van... Continue Reading →
The bus trip from Phonsavan to the Lao capital Vientaine was even more interesting and eventful than the first bus trip from Luang Prabang to Phonsavan. At 9 hours it was longer but in a bus virtually identical from the first. The only difference was that there was no aircon in this bus, which didn't... Continue Reading →
We woke nervously to our alarms. Our first bus trip in Laos was awaiting us. We were heading to Phonsavan and had a 8:30am pick up. Our bus was called an express bus whatever that meant. We were nice and early for the bus and arrived with time to grab our seats and some food... Continue Reading →
Luang Prabang is a beautiful town on the banks of the Mekong river with a population of just 50,000... far smaller than we were expecting. Our guesthouse was a beautiful traditional Lao house located in the heart of town run by a lovey lady and featured lots of wooden furnishings, floorboards, and a fantastic 1st... Continue Reading →
We made the decision that one of the things we would splurge on was a boat trip. There were a few options for getting to Luang Prabang. Option the first: get a 12 hour bus from Huay Xuai to Luang Prabang. Option two: a slow boat with the possibility of being seated in the engine... Continue Reading →
Thailand -Final Thoughts Not to start on a negative note, but Thailand was the country which, perhaps, we were least looking forward to going to (least being in comparison, as we were still mightily looking forward to it!). And looking back, the first 2 destinations - Koh Chang and Bangkok - certainly weren't as exciting... Continue Reading →
After a very windy, rough, but stunning bus ride through the mountainous north of the country, we arrived in Chiang Rai. With a population of just over 60,000, it is much smaller then its southern counterpart Chiang Mai. Founded in the early 1200s it is older than Chiang Mai and was the Lanna Kingdom capital... Continue Reading →
Our bus to Chiang Mai was anything but luxurious. There was little room for things like legs and the bus company had a policy of letting anyone on even if there weren't any seats left. At one stage I counted 13 people standing in the isle. The bus departed on time and with luck and... Continue Reading →
We were somewhat relieved to be leaving Bangkok. We enjoyed the city, but as we had been there before it was not new to us. Our next destination however was completely new. After a very comfortable 6 hour first class bus ride, we arrived in New Sukhothai. With a population of just 30,000 it was... Continue Reading →
Having visited Bangkok only five months ago on our way back from Myanmar, it was already a known entity. Our trip from Koh Chang to Bangkok was interesting and included several hours of discomfort for Sam squished up in the back corner of a minivan...but these things happen. On our last trip to Bangkok we... Continue Reading →
2 Travelling Kiwis 