March 21, 2010 – Day 451 – Nha Trang, Vietnam
It was a fierce battle. One that may just change how history books are written: the massacre on bus 312, Hoi An to Nha Trang. [insert ominous music here]
Sleeper bus
March 13-14, 2010 – Day 443-444 – Hanoi to Hue, Vietnam
After a day of waiting around for the night bus to Hue, we were happy for a change of scenery in Hue. We took our time wandering around the small city to see what was around. It’s pretty simple but there are plenty of interesting things to do around Hue. Maybe we will go do something interesting tomorrow, you never know…
Fruit selling in Hue
March 5, 2010 – Day 435 – Vinh, Vietnam
Between the hours of 5am and 6:30am the next morning, we were on a bus. Correction: 2 buses. Crossing the Vietnamese border was pretty much a piece of cake. It was slower than it needed to be because it seemed like the officials were looking to find any possible reason to hold up someone just for the fun of it. Since everyone on our bus was prepared with a proper visa and everything else, there was nothing they could do but sulk. (It’s a universal border official pastime.)
Waiting around for the bus
March 2, 2010 – Day 432 – Vientiane, Laos
With some early morning negotiation powers we arranged a visa pick up, a stop at the concrete monster called Victory Gate, and then back to where we started for 30,000 Kip/pp. Of course we had to insist that we would only take 5 minutes at the embassy and 10 minutes at Victory Gate, which we did at both places. We scurried up the 7 stories of Victory Gate and back down in record time, much to our tuk tuk driver’s pleasure. Easy money for him, power sightseeing for us.
Victory gate
March 1, 2010 – Day 431 – Vientiane, Laos
In the back of a tuk tuk we bounced and sped out of Vientiane to Buddha Park. About 26 km outside the city is a small park by the Mekong filled with numerous different styles of Buddha statues.
Budda feeling a bit grey
February 20-21, 2010 – Day 422-423 – Luang Nam Tha to Luang Prabang, Laos
Two travel days right in a row. Yuck! We just can’t seem to sit still! On the way from Muang Sing to Luang Nam Tha, we were stuffed into an 11 passenger van that was actually transporting 16 passengers. Saben’s seat was a fold down metal bar and Lin’s was some random part of the van behind the front reclined-passenger seat, facing the other 15 passengers.
Girl waiting at the bus stop
February 18, 2010 – Day 420 – Muang Sing, Laos
Travel within Laos is an interesting experience. From the border town, we took a speedy but surprisingly cautious mini bus to Luang Nam Tha, about 4 hours north into the mountains. The road started off surprisingly good. It was paved and almost entirely free of pot holes or random missing sections. The farther we drove the worse the road became.
Down town Nam tha, Laos
February 17, 2010 – Day 419 – Huaxy Xai, Laos
Up at 6:45AM. No breakfast. Tuk tuk to bus station, bus to Chiang Khong. No lunch. Crossed border on foot and boat ferried us across the gentle shallow river. Two minutes later, we bought our Laos visas for US$35 each and were zipping out of immigration. Uphill 20 seconds walking and we are officially “in town.” Welcome to Huaxy Xai, Laos side of the border with Chiang Khong (Thailand).
Crossing the Mekong into Laos
February 12, 2010 – Day 414 – Chiang Mai, Thailand
Mama pajama rolled outta bed and went down to the station…Well, actually we both did and hopped on a bus to Chiang Mai. It was 10 hours and the closer we got to our destination the more the landscape began to resemble the Appalachians in our motherland. Well after dark we got an overpriced tuk tuk to Loi Kohn, the street where loads of guest houses are (and all the foreigners to match) to find a place to lay our weary bums for the night. Convenient as it is, Loi Kohn is Chiang Mai’s version of Khao San Road in Bangkok. Anyway it will do for now and there is certainly no shortage of good places to eat. Glad to be off a bus for a while!!
Eating waffles like a starving Belgian
February 9, 2010 – Day 411 – Bangkok, Thailand
“Get ready to feel like an asshole.” We looked at each other and got out of the tuk tuk and onto the idling bus pulled alongside the road. Waiting. For us. Against our usual protocol, we had booked a bus ticket all the way from Phnom Penh back to Bangkok thinking it was a bit cheaper than all the separate tickets.
Traffic in Phnom Pehn
Taxi Rides = 123
Boat Rides = 35
Motorcycle Rides = 10
Plane Rides = 16
Bus Rides =330
Train Rides = 124
Rickshaw Rides = 98
Truck Bed Rides = 25
Rainy Days = 42
Current Rummy Score
Lin 10950, Saben 12435
