Northern Laos

Luang Prabang May 2011

From chiang khong thailand we crossed over in to Laos, the boarder crossing was basically two sheds either side of the river. We were quite proud of ourselves as we seemed to have chosen a different route through Laos to our fellow travellers crossing the boarder. This pride came with some nerves as we didnt know what lay ahead. After two buses, a boat and a day and a half of travelling we were at our first destination. Muang Ngoi Neua is a peaceful little town with no electricity that is accesible only by boat. Although a little hot at night it was a great place to see the slow pace of life in Laos and meet the friendly local people. From Muang Ngoi we took a stunning boat journey down the Nam ou and Mekong rivers to the ancient city of Luang Prabang, a place that is very difficult to dislike on arrival. Delicious food, a great night market and temples dotted between everything make Luang Prabang an instant highlight of Laos. (Although the delicious food did make me very ill).

Our next stop in Laos is Vang Vieng, a small town notorious for drinking and debaucherie. The biggest draw for us was the climbing which was great but of course we had to do some tubing too. (Tubing = to get a tractor tyre inner tube and float down the river stopping at bars to drink lao whisky and do various activities) Although not the nicest town, Vang Vieng is surrounded by beautiful countryside so could eisily have been overlooked, but luckily not we had fun.

We are now heading to the capital Vientiane and then on in to southern Laos.

Laos Photos...more to come

Northern Thailand

Mae Hong Son. May 2011

We arrived in bangkok at 11am and it was already 35 degrees so the decision was made to stay somewhere with a pool, luxury. On our second day in bangkok we bumped in to a guy we had met in china and decided to head up north together. Northern thailand is really relaxing, especially compared to china, so most of our time was spent doing just that. In Chiang mai we did a cooking course with some friends then headed to Pai, The local bus ride to Pai was  four hours over some of the steepest landscape imaginable. Pai is a chilled little hippy town with nothing to do but chill and explore the beautiful countryside. The place we stayed was being run by a french muay thai fighter who spent the day tending to what he reffered to as his 'bong buffet'. The coffee in northern thailand is really good so Alice has been very happy, and the quality of food goes without saying really. The only downside has been getting eating alive by mosquitos. Today we head in to laos...


Photos from northern thailand

Beijing

Beijing is HUGE. We learned quickly that a small section of map was a very long walk. I had blisters on the first day, woops. There was barely a moment to rest in beijing. Our days were packed full of sightseeing and eating huge mouthwatering dumplings.

The great wall was incredible, we took a ski lift up to the top of the wall, and a tobbogan down (this reminded me of skiv family tobboganing trips)

We went to a famous peking duck restaurant, where we spent more money on a meal then we had in two weeks on food. Duck heart was on the set menu and was actually pretty tasty.

Our last day in beijing was spent cycling around the city, getting lost and exploring all the hutongs.

beijing photos

xi'an

Xi'an city walls, April 2011

Xi'an is a breath of fresh air after being in the hectic city of shanghai. People are more friendly and the food is incredibly cheap. This was one of  our biggest surprises in china as we were not expecting much from xi'an but would both recommend it to anyone.

The muslim quarter was an area filled with narrow streets and tiny local restaurants selling the best noodles we found in china. Wondering these hectic enclaves was great fun at night and like most of china that is when xi'an comes in to its own.

The terracotta warriors were interesting to see although maybe not what we liked most about xi'an. Our luck with hostels has been great in china, all of them being super clean and with good communal areas to meet other travellers. We did a dumpling making class for free one night in our current hostel.

The best day in xi'an had to be cycling around the city walls on a tandom bike and getting sunburned (not so fun).

Xi'an Photos

Shanghai

It took us 24 hours to get to Shanghai by sleeper bus, which was interesting, who knew anyone could eat 5 pot noodles in a 24 hour period (Even at 5am)

Shanghai is a totally different city from all the other places we have visited in china, lots of signs in english but when you try to talk to anyone they dont have a clue what you are trying to say. In one restaurant i (alex) had to go in to the kitchen and point at the vegetables we wanted to eat.

The bund is very impressive, on one side of the river there are colonial style european buildings and on the other ultra modern skyscrapers.

Shanghai Photos

Guilin

Guilin China; Twin Pagodas April 2011

Guilin is not as nice as yangshou scenery wise but we have had a good time here. The hostel we are staying in is great for meeting other travellers and they make a mean bacon sandwich. From guilin we went to the dragons backbone rice terraces, they were amazing to see. Street food in guilin was delicious, with an array of differrent kebabs and vegetables (all very spicy and deep fat fried) on sale.

Guilin Photos