Korean Job Discussion Forums

[adobolden]

hey everyone!!!

i am heading to thailand next month and cant wait! i haven been before so am wondering if i can get some advice from you expert travellers?

i really want to make a stopover at laos for a week or two... i will be in udon (north east thailand) for quite some time and ive heard that its quite easy to take a bus from there to laos. Has anyone done this? whats the trip like?

i am also wondering about southern laos... is it possible to travel through laos from here? i.e. can one get to luang probang from here?

any information, opinions or advice about laos would be much appreciated!

thanks for your time!

[hogwonguy1979]

read the luang prabang thread below. one of the nicest places i've been to

a week or two is good, you'll be able to hit the main sites. Vientiene is the most relaxed national capital i've ever seen. there is a great wat that has massage and herbal sauna for like $4

[adobolden]

great!!!

thanks so much for your help hagwon guy! i cant wait!

cheers

[mike123_ca]

Just curious, why are you vacationing in Issan country?
This area is not really known as a tourist area.
My wife is from Ubon Ratchathani, so this has given me the chance to visit the area a couple of times.

[adobolden]

ill be there for about two months training at a gym called legacy muay thai... i also want to go there as ive heard its not a tourist trap, far less falangs there... and whilst there ive heard its very easy to take a bus to cambodia and laos...
do you reccomend trying or doing anything anything in particular while there??? i know its not set up for tourists.

[Vicissitude]

I've taken the trip. It's very easy to get to Vientiene by bus or plane. But beware that once you get inside Laos, it is NOT at all cheap for transportation, food and many hotels. Who told you Laos is not a tourist trap? That's just not true. You'll find the country loaded with tourists there all the time. Sure it's laid back but that's because there is almost nothing to do but stare at the Mekong River, drink expensive beer and dream of being back in Thailand. Most of the roads are not paved so beware that if you take trips around the country they get extremely bumpy and dusty. Everyone complains about that. Laos is dull with zero class and the people are just so-so. I can think of a hundred places in Thailand I'd rather be than Laos.

[hang10]

Bro, check this out, your in for a treat. Yes its wicked a real bloody laugh. Plus you meet some of the most happiest, nicest people in Asia, trust me i ve been just about everywhere!

Personally there are two ways you can do this i actually came into Laos via Vietnam on the Lao Bao Boarder then went across to Savannakhet. Then i slowly made my way up to Vientiane. But hey your gona been in Udon Thani, been there too but much later doing a visa run into laos.

Sorry talking too much!!!!! Anyways - Udon Thani, there isnt much too see there but its a great place to get a feel of the North Eastern Thai culture, which is fairly similar to that of Laos and in fact they share similar languages. Its a short trip up to Nong Khai and then the boader crossing is fairly painless, you can get your visa on arrival so dont worry about that. Last time i was there it was about 35 bucks, but take 50 and you'll be covered. That will give you about 30 days. Once through the boarder its actually quite a way into downtown Vientine so you can either flag down a ride which i did, or theres a local bus, or you can shell out for the usual touristy buses, i cant remember the price, but its cheap!.

So thats One Option into laos but dude there is another way in that will blow your mind you will have a fantastic time as well, one that i highly recomend, thats why i am doing this! Instead of heading for Udon Thani for what ever reason that might be swing west instead and head for Chiang Mai, or go straight onto Chiang Rai. These cities have been voted some of the most beautiful in thailand. Chinag Mai is, well a big city for sure but there is lots to do there and heaps for tourists, then further north is chiang Rai, this is a similar to chiang Mai but much smaller, and quiet. I really liked Chiang Rai. From there you can take a bus from Chiang Rai bus terminal to a small town on the Mekong Called Chiang Kong(lots of chiangs try to keep up) Now i lived in Chiang Kong for a year it was a lovley place really laid back and wonderfull. The journey to C-kong from C-rai is also breath Taking especially the rice fields. So once in Chiang Kong You can check out a few Guest Houses, Personally my favorite is one called "Ban Fai" very nice people, the guys a school teacher, but really nice old rustic thai accomodation, another is the changkong Guest House which also sells the boat tickets that will take you down the Mekong to LuangPrabang. Check out this link, this girl has taken some cool pics, i actually lost a lot of my pics as you do, but in those days i was using film! Away it will give you an idea of the trip from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang.

http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/Pak-Beng/blog-95954.html

At this point you will cross over into laos via ferry boat, but dont worry you can also buy your visa on arrival here too!

Now you have two choices of boats fast or slow, i have been up nd down this river more times than i care to remember even at night ;-/. But thats another story! So the fast boat as you can see from the pics is dam fast, it will take you about 6-7 hours max, but its great fun, i loved it and done it loads of times, i hear stories of people getting hurt, but i think thats all they are stories of people getting a bit of a splash and turning it into a drowning! also thers the slow boat, and yes its slow, but you have more room to move. This is still very beautiful and makes you feel relaxed, or impatient what ever you are? This takes two days with a stop half way. Very nice, but speed is very cool! Up to You. But what awaits you in Luang Prabang is one of the most beautiful places i have ever been to, a magical place, surrounded by jungle and the mekong, and one you will find hard leaving.

So there you have it bro, its up to you and of course you can do the whole thing in reverse if you wanted to, i actually first hit thailand that way, very cool eh!

All the best and if you ever get to Chinag Kong have a beer or two in TeePee bar. Ask for Tub, Auo, or Micheal a french expat living there. They will help you out.

Peace!!!!!!!!!!! Kerr-Pow!!!!!

Any qs get me on [email protected]

PS between Luang Prabang and Vientien check out a place called Vang Vien its a blast, thats all im saying, hav a good one!

[mike123_ca]

Hi

I guess the reason there isn't many falangs is that there isn't much to see or do when compared to other locations. Since, I've already have family in the location, it gives me a reason for visiting. The nice thing is that the cost of vacationing is much cheaper than other places.

The only time I go to Laos is to do some shopping and to get my visa renewed. There are a few bargains, I guess you just have to know what you want.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy your holiday.

[Sapa]

Laos was an amazing country to visit and the people were probably the friendliest out of all of the SE Asian countries we visited. Definitely go, you will not regret it.
We went to the very south of the country, Pakse and below into Si Phan Don. It was awesome, we had a bungalow right over the Mekong river and went cycling around the islands, visited lots of stunning waterfalls. Also visited Wat Phu Champasak, some stunning khmer temples ruins.
Really nice and relaxing and seemed to be very different to Thailand.

[Sapa]

Oh yeah and the guy who said it wasn't cheap was talking out of his ass. Its stupidly cheap, cheaper than Thailand.

[BTSskytrain]

[quote="mike123_ca"]Just curious, why are you vacationing in Issan country?
This area is not really known as a tourist area.
My wife is from Ubon Ratchathani, so this has given me the chance to visit the area a couple of times.[/quote]

Certainly can get a better of taste of the "real" Thailand while in the Issan/Udon area as opposed to the tourist traps. Dontchathink?

[adobolden]

[Certainly can get a better of taste of the "real" Thailand while in the Issan/Udon area as opposed to the tourist traps. Dontchathink?]

EXACTLY!!!

oh and sapa thanks for the info bout south laos! i will end up in laos one way or the other, i was just wondering if it was worth while going in the south or should i just make the trip to luang prabang... i haven spoken to anyone who has been in the south of laos so its nice to know that one still can have a great time in the south!!! [/quote]

[mrsquirrel]

Get a dirt bike in Laos and ride around it yourself. Great fun.

Hire a Baja 250 new model cheap and get out and about.