Vang Vieng is quite a unique place. It is famous, and infamous. It is a backpacker mecca, and a backpacker hell. There’s everything to see, and there’s nothing to see. Faced with a place like this, of course I had to go take a look!
Category Archives: Travel
Travelogue: Phonsavan and the Field of Jars
When I came to Laos, I knew that I wanted to visit the Field of Jars, a UNESCO world heritage site. I’ve got a hankering to visit these types of places, I’ve noticed – if UNESCO deems it a world heritage site, it must be interesting! And so, from Luang Prabang, I took a bus to Phonsavan, the closest city to the Field of Jars.
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Travelogue: Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang is the old capital of Laos, from before the communists took over and moved the capital to Vientiane. As such, it has all the museums, most of the culture, and is probably the most popular tourist destination of Laos. And in hindsight, Luang Prabang is probably the only place really worth visiting in Laos.
Travelogue: Slow Boat from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang
After crossing from Thailand into Laos (from Chiang Rai to border town Chiang Khong, then crossing to border town Huay Xai), I took the famous (and infamous) slow boat from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang. Spanning two days and 300 kilometers, the slow boat is a meandering ride down the Mekong. Depending on the clientele, you can have two types of boats – the typical backpacker ‘party’ boat, and the more serene, relaxing boat. Thankfully, I ended up on the relaxed boat, and read my way down the river.
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Travelogue: Chiang Rai
On my way from Chiang Mai to Laos, I stopped by Chiang Rai for a couple days. This city is billed as a being a less touristy version of Chiang Mai, like how Chiang Mai was 10 years ago (that’s a very common phrase, I’ve noticed, X place is like how Y was 10 years ago. I stopped here for just one night (staying at a completely deserted hostel), and visiting Chiang Rai’s two biggest attractions: the White Temple, and the Black House.
Travelogue: Caving at Pang Mapha
While visiting Pang Mapha and staying at the Cave Lodge, I decided to go on a caving / spelunking expedition! I’ve never done any caving before (well, once, but it was such a shallow cave, it shouldn’t even count).
Travelogue: Pang Mapha and Mae Hong Son
Although Pai itself was pretty boring, it was well worth the visit – because upon renting a motorbike, I was able to travel to Pang Mapha, home of the Cave lodge and accompanying caves, as well as Mae Hong Son, a trekking town to the Western edge of Thailand. It was an amazing couple days of motorbiking.
Travelogue: Pai
Everyone I’ve met raves about Pai, a little hippie town near Chiang Mai. Yes, there’s not much to do there, but the vibe! The people! The ambiance! Then I visited Pai for myself, and found the town to be rather boring. Yes, it’s a little hippie town, but no, it’s not particularly interesting. It’s also chock full of Chinese tourists, which is an automatic strike in my book. Talking with some locals, a couple of years ago a Thai movie named Pai in Love came out, it was a hit in China, and an endless stream have been coming here ever since.
Travelogue: Trekking in Chiang Mai
According to a friend who lives in Chiang Mai, there are four main reasons to visit this city – cooking, elephants, motorbiking around, and trekking. And trekking is the most famous, and one of the biggest reasons tourists have come to Chiang Mai over the years. And so, I booked a trekking tour! For only ~$50, I spent three days trekking around Chiang Mai, with 7 new friends.
Travelogue: Chiang Mai
On my first trip to Thailand, I spent almost all my time in Bangkok and the southern islands – which which were very nice, but reportedly very different from Chiang Mai, the jewel of the north of Thailand. So this visit, I had to take the train up toe Chiang Mai, where I enjoyed the fact that nights are much cooler than Bangkok, which was an absolute furnace.
