Trip report laos by way of bangkok

[The_Traveler]

after a 12 hour flight from Dulles, landed at Dubai intl, the largest, most elaborate airport, I've ever been in.

Now posting from Emirates flight on to bangkok - 5 hrs. I have no idea what day it is here - Thursday I think.

 

[mmaria]

so glad you posted this!

I hope you can get some firm sleep on the plain!

keep us informed!

 

[Warhorse]

Start of a great adventure, have fun.

 

[snowbear]

Have a safe journey.

I hope you can get some firm sleep on the plain!

(Marija: it's "plane" for an airplane.)

 

[Designer]

What kind of planes have stairs?

 

[mmaria]

I hope you can get some firm sleep on the plain!

(Marija: it's "plane" for an airplane.)

oh LOL!

I knew I spelled it wrong and I wanted to edit it but the job interrupted me and I forgot about this.

In other news... I'm sooo failing the test!!!!

 

[The_Traveler]

This plane was an A 380 - just enormous, upstairs was business and first and we were in steerage on first floor.
Entertainment system was also great 400 movies, most in English but 30 or 40 in a variety of others.

Arrived in Bangkok and got picked up by hotel. Airport was jammed as usual but we lucked out and got through immigration with no problem. Tourist business is very competitive and this place is 10 minutes from airport (nd cheap) so they provide van.

18.5 hours on the plan and 5 hours preflight so we are bushed but relaxation full time from here.

Can't seem to upload pix from iPad, I can select but never uploads.

Early flight to Chiang Rai in am and then bus into northern Laos on Saturday. Assuming today is Thursday.

 

[snowbear]

I hope you can get some firm sleep on the plain!

What kind of planes have stairs?

The 747 also had a staircase, iirc.

 

[The_Traveler]

After a short night in Bkk, we flew to Chiang Rai, a medium small city, in far north ThaiLand. Rented a can for half day and toured the local sights then had a lovely meal at a restaurant on the river run by an ex-pat Swede and his chef wife.
Today's we take a bus north over the Mekong and up into northern Laos.
Weather here was glorious.

 

[The_Traveler]

Took a bus north and across into Laos and got off in a true crap hole of a town called huay xai.
Went to ticket window, asked bus to Luang Namtha. She smiled and said not today, maybe other bus station.
So 6 of us approached the little shuttle bus driver and asked how much for a ride.
He looked us over, calculated how much he could stick us for and said 6,000 kip each.
( he thought he had us by the short hairs but since there are 8000 kip To the dollar we paid 75 cents each.)
We waited around the second bus stop ( think of an abandoned building in the center of a large dirt field) for two hours and caught the 'VIP' bus.
187 km cost 7.59 and took 4+ hours because the roads were incredible step and twisty and the driver kept stoping to pick up and drop off off-the-books passengers and pocketing the money.
Since all the seats were full, the extras sat on plastic buckets in the aisles.
3 hours into the ride he pulled over for a pee break. Clean air with a hint of smoke from burning off the fields and a sky full of stars. No lights no light pollution.
Walked from place to place in Luang Namtha and each got a room for $10 and our supper with two main dishes and a quart of Ber Lao was $8 total.
Looking forward to good nights sleep.

 

[bribrius]

geez man. Don't feel obligated to give us updates this isn't facebook. Go ENJOY yourself!!!!!! Forget about this place!!! Enjoy YOUR time! I am sure you will have some photos to share when you get back!

 

[The_Traveler]

Deep in upper Laos with minimum connectivity. Went to town up near china and not a English speaker in town.
Saw lots of minority villages.
Yesterday hired motorbikes to ride around and was invited by a young black tai to visit his house.
Lots of pics, cameras working well

Staying in nice guest house with good to great food.

 

[SquarePeg]

I enjoyed the update. I hope you're having a great time.

 

[sashbar]

 

[The_Traveler]

In udomxai , China is 18 miles west and city is 20% chinese.

got a guide to take us 22 miles north on a horrible road- half bumpy thin skin of tar and pebbles over dirt, half horribly rutted dirt. That road turned out to be the only road to the northern part of the country. Then he turned onto an even worse dirt and rutted road, much narrower than our driveway and we went 22 twisty, turning, dusty miles, climbing to 6000 feet, the road ran along the ridge line of the hills and the drop off was hundreds of feet.

We got to an Akha hill tribe village which is very rarely visited by Westerners. The little kids ran screaming when they saw us and children from 6-11 would look then turn away and never come near.
One little girl was so hysterical that her mother and father got angry and accused Saul of letting evil spirits into her. My friend is 6'1, pretty big and has lots of white hair. (The Akha believe in spirits and ghosts), so the village elder ordered a small ceremony and Saul had to tie a cotton string around the baby's wrist, then all was well.
Their village is built on a very steep hillside with all the huts, jammed in, getting around means scrambling down or up random dirt or stone steps. They grow millet or corn on these incredibly steep hillsides, depending on rain for water. Cows, pigs, goats, guinea fowl wander at will. This is a very hard life.
An old man, with reddish lips and blue stains on his teeth from smoking opium, asked our guide if I had any medicine; they see medicine as a totem rather than anything with power in itself. I gave him an empirin and he seemed happy.
I had the chance to buy a fried rat for lunch but passed. Food has been amazing. Everything is totally fresh.

Bus tomorrow to a small river town to relax for a couple of days. Have been walking 6 or 7 miles a day, eating only two meals, so I've dropped some weight and feel terrific.

Lew