We made it down the river to Nong Kiaw. It took us 2 full days and some pretty heavy negotiating with boat drivers. As soon as they see a 'falang' coming they up the price. One dude wanted to charge us $50 for a ride that we knew the locals would pay $20 for..... We beat him down to $25 but it took us 45 minutes of writing numbers in the sand.
We're planning to spend a couple of nights here - there are some caves to visit, and some lounging around to be done.....

Originally uploaded by ladyhedda.

Ahhhhhh. Lao-lao. It's distilled from rice, inside huge metal drums.
Phongsali Lao-Lao is supposed to be some of the best in Laos. So we bought a bottle in the market. It's green. Something to do with the herbs they use.
We walked up to the top of a hill just outside of town and appreciated the view with the help of a little Lao-Lao.

Originally uploaded by m_hagen.

That's our transport from Hat Sa to Phongsali!
We waited almost 2 hours to see if a truck would be making the trip - and it was. We shared the ride with 8 other people, and some chickens.

We made it to Phongsali. It's right up there in the tippety top of Laos, the province is surrounded on 3 sides by China - so there's a pretty strong Chinese influence in town.
We were lucky to catch a boat headed North. Gas is expensive so the boats don't run every day. They wait until there are enough people to fill a boat before they'll head upstream. We met a Lao family who had been waiting 2 days....
The trip took just over 5 hours. It rained the whole way, it was cold, and the sky was grey. We pulled into the town of Hat Sa, which is basically stopping off point for river travel - not much to see, and just one very basic guest house for use in an emergency, if you can't get yourself out of town.....
It took a little sign language, and some skilled mime performance, but we discovered that there was a possibility of a truck going to Phongsali town that afternoon. So we waited. It cost us $2 each, and the ride was bumpy - but we made it.

We got up early and headed to the bus station for the 8.30am departure to Udomaxai. The bus was full, but we artfully draped a towel over some seats in order to keep them for ourselves.
The journey was 4 hours and we arrived in Udomaxai just in time for lunch. We grabbed a bowl of noodles at the bus station before boarding the next bus, headed to Muang Khoua. By the time we got on the road I counted 31 people on the bus. There were seats for 21. Bus travel Laos style.....
Muang Khoua is a small town on the bank of the Nam O river. It's the best place to catch a boat North - something that we plan on doing tomorrow......

Originally uploaded by m_hagen.

The herbal sauna and traditional Lao massage in Luang Nam Tha were great. Lay down, get pounded and pulled, twisted and turned, to get all the kinks out and get back into alignment. After that tie on a sarong and head through the bamboo doors into a nearly unbearable sauna that opened every pore. I don't think I've ever sweat that much.... Then a cold water bucket shower to finish. I highly recommend this treatment after any and all bus travel in Laos. Besides, it's all only $3!

Another great day! We rented bicycles and headed out and about. The roads aren't finished so the ride was bumpy and dusty, but the riding was still fun. We cycled around the local villages (mostly Black Tai people) and ate lunch by the river. In the afternoon we headed off to a local stupa. The original stupa is in ruins after being bombed by the Americans in 1966 - the new one has been built right next door. You climb a long stairway to the top - the views are amazing.
There are only a couple of other Buddhist temples around as the majority of people around here are animists.
Off on the bus tomorrow to Udomaxi - then will probably continue North to Phongsali, if all goes according to plan!!

Originally uploaded by m_hagen.

We really miss Shackleton very, very, very much. Luckily the Laos hold dogs in a special place in their hearts, unlike the Vietnamese who have a full Kilometer of Dog BBQ restaurants just north of Hanoi. I don't think we'll be heading up there any time soon. The Ahka people in Laos actually keep as many dogs around the village as possible to guard their homes while they work in the jungle. The Ahka are animists and therefore believe the animals have spirits. One of the dogs may actually be an ancestor reincarnated!
I love the Ahka....

We've just returned from an amazing couple of days trekking in the jungle. So beautiful. There were six people in our group - including our guides Sai & Noi.
We started hiking through rice paddies and along a forested stream before heading into the jungle. Lunch was by the stream, Sai and Noi laid out a feast of Lao food onto leaves on the jungle floor. After lunch the trail lead upstream to the Nam Yen Waterfall - and from the waterfall the trail climed up the mountain to the Akha forest camp of Nam Lai.
The overnight stay was in a large bamboo 'dorm' - where the fire was burning and dinner was cooked. We arrived at 'bathtime' so Michael and I headed down to the well to bathe - sarong style. The water was COLD - but after the jungle it was good to be clean.
The second morning was spent with an Akha guide - as we were walking he would point out different plants that the Akha use for tea, food & medicine. After a lunch prepared with jungle goodies (rattan bamboo soup anyone?) the Akha headed back to the village and we continued our decent.
We ended the day in lowland pastures - trekking through a Black Tai village before heading back into the 'cowboy' town of Luang Nam Tha.

We're in Laos - yay!
We crossed the border from Thailand by boat to the other side of the Mekong river, and Hey Presto we were in Laos. All it took was a 20 Bhat (about 60c) fee to the customs officers - for their overtime. Ha ha. They charge overtime after 4pm - and for any visa processing that they do at lunchtime...
We spent the night in the border town of Huay Xai - just like any other border town, and from there we chartered a long tail boat to take us to Luang Nam Tha. The journey took 2 days, starting on the Mekong heading South for a couple of hours before turning North up the Nam Tha river.
The scenery was spectacular. Jungle walls rising out of the water, with villages dotted along the river banks. The trip was so quiet and peaceful - only the sound of our boat struggling upriver through little rapids. We spent the night in a village at the house of our boatman. The villagers live in wooden houses built on stilts. Almost every house has a loom underneath it where they weave beautiful textiles.
We arrived in Luang Nam Tha late afternoon. Just intime to get ourselves a place to stay and then settle in for some BeerLao. Ahhhh.

Another bus ride and we've arrived in Chang Mai. We have a couple of things to sort out before we head into Laos.
We've walked around the markets, looked at the temples and relaxed in the coffee shops. Tomorrow to the border....

Originally uploaded by ladyhedda.

We rented motorbikes. Well some may call them scooters, but I think motorbike sounds like a lot more fun!!

Mine was a black 100cc Honda Dream just about the cutest bike in all of Nan. We left the town behind and headed into the mountains and national parks. One the way we stopped of to swim in our own private waterfall - so beautiful, and a welcome break from the road. We stopped for lunch in Pua at a roadside stand. It was full of school girls who were giggling at us and yelling "Please sit here" "Do you speak Thai"... Erm, no. We sat with them anyway, and they gave us a crash course on the difference between Thai style Som Tam and Lao style Som Tam plus versions with mangos. Mmmmm. They were great - sharing their salads and freaky looking jello type desert thingys with us. After lunch we headed off to our Bamboo Hut - no electricity, just a candle and spectacular mountain views. We watched the sun rise, walked in Hill Tribe villages, and swam in the river.

Another bus ride.... Our bus was due to depart at 2.30pm, we got on the road at 4pm! It was a mere 6 hours from Sukhothai to Nan. Lots to look at out of the windows, until the sun went down...
We arrived in Nan at 9.30pm and found our way to a guesthouse. Today we're making plans for the next few days. We want to see as much of Nan province as possible, it's really pretty and there are almost no tourists around.
We walked around the Market at lunch time - Michael was stoked to have an Iced Coffee in a plastic bag. It's the little things!

We finally started the journey north. This time we took the train - no more 12 hour bus rides, at least for the time being.... The train is delightful compared to the bus - so fast, so much more leg room, so much less bouncing around and swerving around corners. The journey was just over 5 hours, during which we were served with lunch - on the train, how's that for service!

We're in Sukhothai at the moment. Sukhothai is Thailand's first capital, the old city has over 15 sq miles of ruins which are a World Heritage Site. We rented bicycles for the day so that we could cycle around and see as many of the different temples as possible. I think there are nearly a hundred - yikes!

I can cook Thai food! Today we met up with Mike & Christine at the Baipai Cooking School for some Thai food cooking. It was so much fun. We made all sorts of goodies - my favorite was the Panang Curry, Michael liked the Golden Bags (?)....
The class was in the morning so we were picked up from our hotel and driven through the crazy Bangkok traffic to the school. There was some kind of protest in the center of town so everywhere was gridlocked - at one point in time we found ourselves headed the wrong way on a one way street. Funnily enough we weren't moving forward!!
The cooking was great. We arrived and had a little demo from our teachers, who then let us loose in their outdoor kitchens. The place is beautiful, so quiet and calm.
Michael was a whiz with the wok - making the most tasty Thai fried rice.

Afterwards we wandered through Lumphini park and onto Chinatown where we proceeded to get lost in the tiny alleys. There was so much to see - including every kind of Hello Kitty product possible. At dusk we got a Tuk Tuk to our favorite resturant.