Mar 28, 2018 - Luang Prabang, Laos

NOTE: We are posting this narrative now, without photos. John is the chief photographer in our household, but his computer can't be used at the moment, since the charger was left in our Chiang Rai hotel. They have sent it on to the hotel we are heading to tomorrow, in Bangkok. So pictures will be added later, and then we will send another update notice. John writing: Our Laotian guide Chan met us at the airport and we drove to our hotel. He then proposed taking us to a sandbar on the Mekong River to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, the sky...

Mar 5, 2018 - Southern Laos

Well, we figured that we needed to give you all a break from reading our "book" so that is why we've held off on another update. However, here we are on our last night in Laos and we really need to post our recent escapades. This country has captivated us right from our first day in Luang Prabang. We thought it would be difficult to be comparable to Myanmar but alas, we were wrong. This itty bitty country has been a joy to travel through. Let us say, Vientiane could easily be missed but given that it is the capital, it is a destination for...

Mar 3, 2018 - Free day in Luang Prabang

We spent the first part of the day on a boat trip on the Mekong River. The scenery was magnificent and we enjoyed all the activities been carried out on and near the river. We visited a cultural village where we were invited to buy things that were made there - we did see one loom! We then had lunch in a restaurant overlooking the river. The first interesting thing that happened was that the sun umbrella over our table came off its stand. It had a metal support which was bent and eventually it was taken away. It missed us and brushed the...

Mar 2, 2018 - Luang Prabang and Vientaine, Laos

We actually got to stay in Luang Prabang for 4 nights which has been the longest since we started out on our trip--and it was a good place for this extended stay. As we've mentioned in a previous post, this little town is so quaint with lots of historical structures, restaurants, shops and natural beauty. Yesterday, we cruised for about 2 hours along the Mekong River up to see the Pak Ou caves. This time we were in a much smaller river boat which contains the "home" of the owners in the back of the boat. We learned that although there is...

Feb 28, 2018 - Luang Prabang, Laos

We have spent the past three days in Luang Prabang, Laos. The city is situated between the mountains and has 7 rivers in near proximity. The location of the city was selected by the king because it was protected by the mountains and the water. The country borders China, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam. From 1964 to 1975 the country was involved in the "Secret War". The Americans bombed them non-stop because of a threat of communism. The Laos population went from 3 million to 1 million during that time period. Fortunately the city of Luang...

Jul 25, 2017 - Mekong River Day Two Pak Beng to Huay Xai and Chiang Kong

The morning mist hovered around the mountains as I stood on our little balcony and gazed at the mighty Mekong, watching as the various boat captains began preparations for departures. We showered, packed our day packs, (luggage remained on the boat overnight, so a change of clothes, toiletries and passport came with us in our back packs). Say was meeting us at 6.30am to walk us to the boat and he had arranged for our guest house to pack us a breakfast, so off we went armed with sustenance for the morning. We soon lost our jaunty demeanour,...

Jul 24, 2017 - Goodbye to Luang Prabang and Hello to Two Days on the Mekong River

After two weeks it was time to move on from the relaxed city of Luang Prabang. This city ticked all of our boxes, allowed us to give back by teaching conversational English, experience the culture and diversity of this often forgotten country and learn about its sad and damaged history as the most bombed nation on earth (per capita). In the last couple of days, I completed a bottle top snake that I made for the nephew of our previous guest house host. The children have little to play with and I had the luxury of time. I dropped it off one...

Jul 21, 2017 - There's a Mouse in the House and a Bear There Two

We had completed lots of English sessions at Big Brother Mouse in Luang Prabang city, so today we were heading out to spend the full day at Big Sister Mouse which is set out in the countryside, about 45 minutes drive away from the city. We met our fellow travellers, a family of 4 from NSW, a Malaysian National from Brisbane, a New Zealand woman and us, along with one of the founders of Big Brother/Big Sister Mouse, Sasha. We all piled into the van and off we went. I must add here that the humidity level was up around 97%, really...

Jul 19, 2017 - A Day at Kuang Si Waterfall and the Asiatic Black Bear Rescue Centre - So glad we went

We had agreed that now the rainy season has begun, we needed to be strategic and set about doing all the outdoorsy activities that we wanted to do, while the weather was fine. We opened our eyes, decided today was the day for our visit to the much acclaimed Kuang Si Waterfall and the Bear Rescue Centre. These are set in the same location, 29 klms south of Luang Prabang. We had been hounded for over a week, by drivers desperate to have a driving job for the day, so off we went to choose a trusty and reliable driver. Mrs Wombat's criteria...

Jul 17, 2017 - A Day or Two around Luang Prabang

On Monday it was time to change guest house and say farewell to our wonderful hosts at the Golden Lotus, the day was rainy and the thought of moving in the rain was not good, although our move was down and across a few streets. We booked a new guest house for 7 more nights, the Luang Prabang River Lodge, this is right on the Meekong river and I requested a room with a river view. So we packed and put a moving plan in place, Mrs Wombat and I would move the backpacks to the new place and in the afternoon we would come back and get the big...

Jul 13, 2017 - Big Brother Mouse

My intention has always been, to become involved with teaching conversational English classes during our travels. Let's face it, 3 months is a long time to be a lady of leisure. Mind you, I am now well used to having my meals prepared for me, my washing done and returned, coffee made for me, the house work and bed made each day and being driven anywhere I want to go! Time to give back....... We had originally intended to provide conversational English opportunities to children and youth in Cambodia, but it didn't work out due to the timing...

Jul 13, 2017 - Lunch cost 58,000 Kip

We have now been here for a couple of days and are settling into the way of life here, whilst now working in a single currency, rather than the dual currency of Cambodia. The enormous denominations of money are taking some getting used to. On our arrival, we immediately cashed $100 AUD into Kip, I must admit Money Changers are plentiful around where we are staying, the current rate is 1 AUD = 6000 Kip. Typically a large beer is 15,000 Kip, a meal ranges from 25,,000 to 50,000 Kip and a pastry from the bakery to go with my afternoon coffee,...