The pace of my travel has slowed considerably and I'm spending a longer time in each place, taking the time to thoroughly cover all there is to experience in each particular locale.
After about 10 days in Chiang Mai, I decided to take a longer side trip to Laos. It takes several days to reach Luang Prabang from Chiang Mai. It takes one day to get to Chiang Kong by bus, right at the border. Then spend an overnight there and then the next day get a Laos visa and hire a boat down the river to Luang Prabang. Most everyone takes the slow boat which takes 2 more days, but is more relaxing, you can walk around the boat, talk to each other, etc. I opted for the speed boat which takes only 6 hours, but is more of a thrill ride (during wet season the boat can make the trip in as little as 4 hours). When I say "speed boat" you might be thinking of a racing cigarette boat or high-powered super-yacht. Better think again. Someone described it as a surfboard with a car engine on it, which isn't far from the truth. The boat pilot has to be very familiar with the river to avoid hitting any of the rocks at high speed. I was glad I chose this option, but I wouldn't recommend it for those concerned with safety or comfort. In Chiang Kong I met several young mostly European backpackers. I made friends with several of them and would continually run into some of them and hang out together in subsequent travels Laos. I thought I was traveling for along time, but most of these people are traveling for much longer -- 4-8 months,or even years!
I left my big suitcase in Chiang Mai with my friend Mark and took only a small bag, which turned out to be perfectly adequate for traveling in Laos.
My Thai phone SIM card doesn't work here at all; I had to get a Laos SIM card.
1 comment:
how many people can sit on the boat?
oh by the way...i stopped signing the posts...i think u can tell its me..
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