Discover Top Posts Tagged with #houayxay

Two days on the Mekong River

The second country I visited on my five week five country trip around South East Asia in 2013, Laos was my favourite, for avoiding the worst developments of its neighbours, and for it’s low key charms. It may not have the big ticket sights of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam or Malayasia, but it didn’t have the crowds either, making for a more enjoyable experience. I crossed the Mekong River from…

View On WordPress

#Fort Carnot #Houayxay #Huay Xai #Huay Xai to Luang Prabang #Jom Khao Manilat Temple #Laos #Mekong River #Pak Beng #Pak Ou caves #photography #Tham Theung #Tham Ting #travel

[En français dessous]

| LANDSCAPE | ⛰ Houayxay is an unpretentious town located in Bokeo province. It is a perfect spot to adapt to the Lao lifestyle: just sit on the banks of the Mekong, have a Beerlao and watch the river flow past.

| PAYSAGE | ⛰

Houayxay est une ville sans prétention située dans la province de Bokeo. C'est un endroit parfait pour s'adapter au style de vie Lao: il suffit de s'asseoir sur les rives du Mékong, de déguster une Beerlao et de regarder le fleuve s'écouler.

#biigtravel #mekong #houayxay

Laos

Our entry into Laos went all smooth and we soon discovered the beauty of this interesting country, the relaxed mentality of the people and the stunning scenery. We spent a good three weeks exploring its incredible nature, untouched and authentic tribe villages and blooming cities during which we encountered many highlights. Where to start?! # Famous all around the world is the Gibbon Experience, a project that takes tourists on tours through the jungle of Bokeo Nam Kan National Park following some of the longest and highest ziplines in the world and sleeping in treehouses, and so earns money for local development and forest preservation. Out of their three types of tours, we went on the express tour; a 2 day tour with the most ziplines, the intensest hikes and the night in the highest treehouse in the jungle. And it was fan-tas-tic! At the start of the tour the group was divided into smaller teams and we had really pulled the right string ending up with an amazing couple from France and a fellow Dutchie with who we have been laughing for the two days straight. We spent the days trekking through the vast jungle, sliding along the ziplines high above the trees and with the most amazing views, picknick lunching and swimming in the valley river. We spent the evening in the most amazing treehouse, enjoying the sunset view, eating local dinner, playing cards and escaping the many many bugs by crawling up in tentlike mosquito nets listening to the sounds of the jungle some 50 meters above the ground. All while singing songs about September, wonderwalls and avocados. 😂 We were sad to return to the village of Huayxay, and that feeling was amplefied when we heard some very bad news upon arrival. An accident had occured on one of the other tours during our time in the jungle, causing an American traveler to lose his life. His wife was left behind and no details about the accident were shared. Soon afterwards the internet exploded with the news, followed by comments and bad reviews, to which we can in no way relate as we have been feeling safe and guided at all times and we cannot imagine a possible scenario to fall of a zipline just like that. All of this has given our Gibbon experience a bit of a strange aftertaste, but we are still very enhousiastic about the project and we had an absolute blast. # We took a slow boat trip from Huayxay to Luang Prabang, which takes 2 days with a stop for the night at Pak Beng. The journey started well, as we arrived just in time to be amongst the first passengers to board the boat. As we booked the cheapest boat possible, we had not expected to find ourselves on a shiny new boat with comfortable seats, tables and plenty of space. On top of that the views along the Mekong river are just stunning, so we really enjoyed the trip! The second day however was less convenient as it was pouring with rain, we arrived last due to the hostel's tuktuk malfunction and the boat was old, small and cramped with far too many people and luggage. Luckily we managed to find ourselves a seat, but as this was right next to the exit we spent the 8 hour ride shivering with cold and covered in ponchos to dodge the wind, rain and waves of water splashing in. 👍 # As happy we were when we had finally reached Luang Prabang, as much this city turned out to be wonderful! Its small, crooked streets are filled with beautifully designed, wooden guesthouses, shiny and impressive temples, cosy garden cafes, cute shops selling local arts and crafts and tropical plants with the most colourful flowers. While we were traveling through Laos, we kept coming back to Luang Prabang (3 times in total) where we spent a total of 9 nights; the longest we spent in 1 place during all of our trip! # Luckily there is a lot to do and see in and around Luang Prabang, with as absolute highlight the Kuang Si waterfall - arguably one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world! Together with some new friends who we met on the boat we rented a motorbike to drive there. We spent all day enjoying the beautiful ride, the indeed stunning waterfall, the tricky climb along the waterfall to lose most of the tourists on the way to the top, the 2,5 km walk to a spring where we treated ourselves to a cold drink and played cards for hours and the quiet swim back at the bottom the waterfall when the masses were gone and the sun set. Such bliss! # Each day in Luang Prabang starts with morning alms, a ritual during which all monks leave their recidences at 6.00am and walk along the streets to collect food offerings of locals and tourists. The true devotion and effort put in by the community to perform this ritual each and every day is impressive. We woke up early to witness this ritual and were happy that was just a one-timer for us! 😂 # We found this very cute, slightly upperclass French restaurant that sells their delicious desserts with 50% discount after 21.00. Needless to say, we spent our every night in Luang Prabang trying all the different pies, tarts, cakes and eclaires, accompanied by a glass of Lao Lao, the local liquor made out of rice. What a treat! 😍 # The first time we left Luang Prabang we took a minibus to Nong Khiaw, a small village to the North. Located in the mountains, both the drive to get there as the sight of the Nong Khiaw were stunning! Apart from the beautiful surroundings, there is not much to see in Nong Khiaw but a viewpoint. The way to this viewpoint on top of a mountain was quite a struggle, but sooo worth it! The view was spectacular! # Together with an awesome French couple we met in Nong Khiaw, we went to Muang Ngoi, about an hour up stream from Nong Khiaw along the Nam Ou river. This even smaller village is only accessable by boat and even more beautiful than Nong Khiaw. We spent two nights in Muang Ngoi exploring the area with our French friends and a very nice Danish grandpa who dared to tag along! We took a small boat further up North to Sop Jam village, a once very authentic weaving village that is now focusing more and more on tourists, and we hiked along old dirtroads and through dried rice fields, where we found a tiny tribal village where the authenticity has been kept but the food was disgusting. 😂 All in all a very rewarding and interesting couple of days in the breathtaking North of Laos! # A downside of the beautiful mountainous scenery is traveling through; we had the most uncomfortable trip more to the South, to Vang Vieng. We were told that the drive would take 4 hours, but it turned out to be more than 7 hours of turning and shaking in a small uncomfortable bus. The perks of traveling.👌Luckily we were still in the great company of the French, and we arrived just in time to see the sun setting in Vang Vieng's stunning surroundings of limeston karsts. # Vang Vieng once was a true party heaven where backpackers would rent a tube a few km outside of the city and peacefully float down stream the Nam Xong river back into the city center, on the way passing various bars selling illegal drugs and buckets of alcohol. Now those practices have been forbidden, the town feels a little sleepy. Nontheless we had a very fun time; we rented a motorbike to explore the wonderful nature around town and rented a kayak to enjoy the local life and amazing views on the Nam Xong river. Unfortunately Vang Vieng also marked our separation with our new French friends, as they continued South and we returned to Luang Prabang for a last few days in Laos. Sad to part but very happy to have met we said goodbye, for now! ☺️ # Back in Luang Prabang we took our time to enjoy the atmosphere, browse the early morning market filled with crazy types of food (crazy as in beavers, rats, snakes, hamsters and many undefinable items), explore some more surroundings by motorbike, cool down in a local pool, visit the beautiful Wat Xieng Thong after closing, check out the daily night market's all-you-can-eat food section, indulge in refreshing fresh fruit smoothies and eat some more desserts. 😍 # From the 13th to the 15th of April the Thai Sonkrang new year takes place and all kinds of celebrations and traditions happen already in the days before. One of the traditions that we experienced ourselves is those of the children going out on the streets to wet people passing by. Different means are used for this water festival, for which the roads are closed on the 13th, the first day of the new year; we saw water guns, water balloons, garden hoses or just buckets. As the time around the new year is the hottest of all, this is actually a very welcome tradition! We were however unlucky enough to be caught by some kids with buckets full of water with yellow food colouring - just when Lodewijk was wearing his white shirt.. 😂 After a good three weeks we really came to appreciate Laos and its wonderful atmosphere. The Lao people understand life in a far more relaxed and peaceful way than we are used to in the west. We had a blast and we could easily have spent more time exploring the South of this interesting country, but other very exciting events are awaiting!! Next up: Sri Lanka, our friends from Mongolia and my lovely papa and mama! ❤️

#houayxay #luang prabang #nong khiaw #muong ngoi #vang vieng #laos #traveling #aroundtheworld #blog

Laos - Exploring Huay Xia

May 9-10 - Finally we arrived to Huay Xai - the main road had a few small shops, restaurants and guesthouses, and that was it. Pretty much the only reason for tourists to come here is for the Gibbon Experience or as a Laos-Thailand border crossing (we planned to do both). We checked into a guesthouse and chose the cheaper room with no air-conditioning (after all, we had just spent a week in the villages without it, so why pay for it now). However, it seemed to be hotter here, or the sun seemed to be more intense. Google told us it was 40 C, and it would "cool down" to 31 at night. We had given ourselves some buffer time to travel to Huay Xai, and since everything went smoothly with our travels, we had a day and half until we left for the Gibbon Experience. We sent our laundry out (a luxury we will miss when we return to Canada!) and rested for the rest of the day and took some time to go into some of the shops, which mostly sold snacks and supplies for tourists doing the Gibbon Experience. The next day was HOT, so we decided to relax in the Gibbon Experience office which had air-conditioning and inviting couches! We did some trip planning, blog writing, picture editing, emailing and played cribbage. We had an early night as we would have to be up early the next day.

~ Leah

Mike’s pineapple fried rice with chicken

Leah’s stirfried vegetables

Wat Chom Khao Manilath

#huayxia #gibbonexperience #WatChomKhaoManilath #laos #houayxay #vegetarian worstmealever

Good bye Myanmar, hello Lao!

Mit dem Auto geht’s vom Hotel zum Flughafen in Heho und von dort aus erst mal in die entgegengesetzte Richtung nach Mandalay, um dann wieder umzukehren und nach Tachilek zu fliegen. Ich muss zugeben, dass ich anfangs etwas skeptisch war, was die inländische Fluglinie betrifft – ich hab mal etwas schlechtere Erfahrungen in China gemacht – aber "Yangon Airways" hat nicht nur einen klasse Service, sondern auch großartige Piloten und Flugzeuge. Alles in allem war´s total entspannt!

Am Flughafen in Tachilek, der Stadt im "Goldenen Dreieck", angekommen, wollen die Tuk Tuk-Fahrer erst mal von mir ca. fünf Dollar, um in die Stadt zu kommen – die Locals zahlen nicht mal zwei. Also sag ich dankend nein und geh einfach mal los, in der Hoffnung, dass mich schon irgendjemand unterwegs mitnimmt. Es dauert nicht lang, da kommt auch schon das Tuk Tuk und ich werd für drei Dollar in die Stadt gefahren. ich weiss, es sind nur zwei Dollar Unterschied, aber auf die Zeit gerechnet, kommt da ´ne Menge geld zusammen, was man sparen kann, wenn nicht sogar muss. Dank des netten Tuk Tuk-Fahrers find ich schnell eine preiswerte Unterkunft und spür auch gleich die unmittelbare Nähe zu Thailand. An den Straßen wird jede Menge frisches Obst verkauft, was sonst in Myanmar in dieser Vielfalt selten vorkommt, und abends gibt´s auch wieder leckeres, thailändisches Essen am Straßenrand.

Am Nachmittag versuch ich, rauszubekommen, ob ich direkt nach Laos einreisen kann oder erst nach Thailand muss. Angeblich kann man wohl auch über den Mekong mit dem Boot von Myanmar nach Laos. Da mir jedoch in Yangon und Mandalay jeweils unterschiedliche Informationen gegeben wurden und mir auch in Tachilek niemand eine sichere Antwort geben kann, entscheid ich mich für einen kurzen Aufenthalt in Thailand. Das heißt, erst mal von Myanmar nach Thailand und von dort nach Laos.

Bei der Ausreise aus Myanmar gibt es auch überhaupt keine Schwierigkeiten. Ich hatte im Internet gelesen, dass das Visum ruhig überzogen werden kann und am Ende des Aufenthalts eine gewisse Gebühr nachträglich anfällt. Und es ist tatsächlich so – das Überziehen des Visums ist völlig unkompliziert und kostet pro Tag lediglich drei Dollar. Eigenartig ist jedoch, dass ich bei der Einreise nach Thailand ein Visa-On-Arrival für 30 Tage erhalte, obwohl es von thailändischer Seite offiziell heißt, dass es das Visum nur für 15 Tage gibt. Aber sei es drum, ich bin am Ende des Tages sowieso nur vier Stunden da. Ich fahr mit dem Bus etwa eine Stunde nach Chiang Rai und von dort geht’s direkt weiter zum laotischen Grenzübergang nach Chiang Khong, was ca. zwei Stunden dauert.

Nach dem Ausfüllen aller Formulare und dem Überqueren der "Vierten thailändisch-laotischen Freundschaftsbrücke" bin ich auch schon in Laos und fahr mit dem Tuk Tuk in das kleine Örtchen Houayxay. Von dort aus kann man in zwei Tagen mit dem Boot nach Luang Prabang schippern oder sich aufmachen zur bekannten "Gibbon Experience" – ein, so wurde mir von mehreren Leuten erzählt, unfassbar cooles Abenteuer, jedoch auch sehr kostenintensiv. Da ich noch ein Weilchen reisen möchte, entscheide ich mich dagegen – Ziplining, Dschungel und Baumhäuser werd ich hoffentlich noch des Öfteren sehen – relax ein bisschen im Ort und spiel am Nachmittag mal wieder Fussball aufm Acker. Giro & Nico – Hochhalten wird in Südostasien immer bekannter ;)

Am nächsten Tag möcht ich dann auch schon weiter, jedoch nicht, ohne ein Foto vom Ort gemacht zu haben. Und so begeb ich mich auf den Hügel, von dem aus sich mir eine tolle Aussicht auf die Stadt, den Fluss und das gegenüberliegende Thailand bietet. Da aber immer irgendwas vor der Linse steht oder ich nicht fotografieren darf (warum auch immer), greif ich wieder auf die bekannte Notlüge zurück und bin Reporter & Fotograf für den lonely planet. So wird mir Zutritt zu einem Gebäude gewährt und ich komm zu meinem Foto ;) Allerdings nur unter der Bedingung, dass ich den Namen des Büros erwähne und da ich mein Versprechen halten möchte, sei an dieser Stelle kurz erwähnt, dass das Bild vom Balkon der "BO. SAPPHIRE TRAVEL Co; LTD" entstanden ist.

#myanmar #burma #tachlilek #houayxay #lao #laos