One of the must-see sites locally is the Kuang Si waterfall and since my G tour didn’t include it, I booked a half day tour through my guesthouse. It only cost $23 so if it’s anything more than transport to & fro I’ll be thrilled. And we did more! On the way we made a … Continue reading SE Asia Day 18: Luang Prabang

My first tour ends today in LP, but I have 2.5 more days here to chill, then 2 free days in Hanoi before my next tour starts. Sharon and Dean, who are also here till Tuesday, and I took advantage of the cool morning mist to hike up Mt Phousi, a steep hill in the center … Continue reading SE Asia Day 17: Luang Prabang

Early coffee at 5am to get me going for our morning alm’s giving. The monks of the local temples walk the streets at dawn and collect their day’s food as offerings from the public (mostly sticky rice; other food is brought directly to the temples by locals). It’s a strong tradition for the faithful as … Continue reading SE Asia Day 16: Luang Prabang

We had the whole morning free at the jungle resort so after breakfast I took advantage of the cool, misty weather and made a 5 mile loop-de-loop circuit of the various walks on site. I finished with my favorite walk thru the bamboo, “forest bathing” say the Japanese. At 12:30pm we departed Nam Kat for … Continue reading SE Asia Day 15: Luang Prabang

We have a second day here at our resort in the Lao jungle. This morning we did the Namkat Hanging Bridges and Waterfall Trek. It was a 40 minute drive in open-air bus/trucks deep into the park lush with bamboo, clinging vines, big banana palms, and towering trees. We had to cross multiple streams and … Continue reading SE Asia Day 14: Nam Kat

A “lite” day today as our only activity was to move locations up to Nam Kat. There was an optional sunrise hike at 5:30am but the only person who was interested besides me dropped out so we cancelled it. To be fair, it’s still cold and dark at that time of morning and with the … Continue reading SE Asia Day 13: Nam Kat

Commuting home from work!

“A Day of Laotian Village Experiences”. Another great day! First we visited Nayangtai village, a traditional Tai Lue community. We had a walk around town seeing a couple of villagers, visiting their temple, and learning a lot about all the edible and medicinal shrubs and fruit trees. The only heat source/cooking fire is located OUTSIDE … Continue reading SE Asia Day 12: Nong Khiaw

A very brisk 11°C this morning, both outside and inside my wooden bungalow I think. I slept warm enough with the duvet folded in half but getting out of bed was definitely unpleasant. An early 6am start as we’ve once again a very long travel day ahead. The sky was just lightening as we boarded … Continue reading SE Asia Day 11: Nong Khiaw

7am start as there’s a long day of travel ahead. It’ll be a 2h drive to the border crossing with Laos, take a public bus across No Man’s Land, enter Laos, a 20 minute van ride to Huay Xai to board our “luxurious riverboat” to cruise 7-8 hours along the Mekong River to Pak Beng … Continue reading SE Asia Day 10: Pak Beng, Laos