Vientiane, here I am - 17.07.08

Vientiane! We finally arrived here at 1.30pm, 17.07.2008 and I love the city. It reminds me of the old Kota Kinabalu.

The journey started at 9.00am where we lined up at the Thai-Lao International bus counter for an hour just to be told that there's only 1 seat available for the 10.30am 2nd class coach. While waiting to buy tickets for the next trip, the officer announced that the first bus had an accident and we have to come back at 10.30am to buy the tickets.

So we had a leisurely breakfast near the terminal, bought the tickets at appointed time and rushed back to the hotel to check out & get our luggages. Lunch was a hurried affair of pork noodle soup and boarded the bus at exactly 11.28am. The bus depart at 11.34am! Talk about on time!

Upon reaching Nong Khai, we hurried down to get our passport chopped by the Thai immigration, then we boarded the bus just to go down again after a short 30 minutes ride at the Laos immigration. Here we were given arrival & departure card to fill at the immigration check in (details are not thoroughly checked) and proceeded to the entrance fee counter to pay a bht10 each. I think there's a luggage scanner but nobody seems to use it. Then it was home free. It took us another hour of nice and scenic ride to reach Vientiane.

We went straight to our hotel at Mali Namphu Guest House at 109 Pangkham Road, tel: +856-21-215093 for a standard room priced at USD19.00

Hungry for Laos cuisine, we walked left of our hotel towards the river and found a nice riverside restaurant and ordered jeun khai with muu (omelette with pork), khao phat muu (fried rice with pork) for me and khao neung (plain rice) for Philip, piing muu (grilled pork) and maak phao (coconut), YUMMY!

Passing through Intercity Hotel, we saw a banner for a 2 hour Laos Traditional massage for USD10.00 or RM33.00. So Philip decided to try it out while I went in search of a cyber cafe!

And here I am......

Hope you guys enjoyed my story!

Udon Thani, Thailand - 16.07.2008

Currently at Udon Thani which is on the north east Thailand for a nite before crossing the border to Laos. Staying at one of the best hotel (Charoensri Grand Royal Hotel) in town for a double bed standard room costing bht1400 in town.

Will catch the the 2nd class coach at 10.30 but we would have to go to the terminal by 9.00 to get our passport checked and tickets (bht85/pax/way). A good thing we are Malaysians because visa is not necessary. I would have to update as to why later. This will be my last overseas travel before baby comes into the world so am excited with this trip.

OK wish us luck.

Hanoi, Vietnam Trip - 14.06.2008!

I was so excited to be in Hanoi, Vietnam. I had so many friends from Vietnam back at Uni years and it's like visiting their hometown. Of course the fact that it's Philip's & my 1st wedding anniversary made the trip more romantic!

Upon arrival we straight away went in search of Pho, the famous vietnamese noodle soup and it was just as good as we have imagine it. Then we found pathfinder magazine that helped us a lot in reference to local street fares that we saw locals consumed with such gumption.

My favorite dish is called Com Rang - wok fried, often served with beef/chicken, spring rolls and cabbage at 39 Ma May near Handspan Adventure Travel Agency. We also tried Xoi - yellow sticky rice topped with healthy options like coconut, sesame or sliced bean cake (the greasier version is with pork ribs, chicken or chicken sausage), Pho Bo, Vietnamese spring roles and Nuoc Mia Da (sugar-cane juice freshly squeezed served together with a pinch of lime), YUMMY!!!

Overall the staff at Classic Street Hotel also known as Pho Cho Hotel were very helpful and the proprietress was nice enough to give us a room on the 3rd floor due to my condition (was 5 months pregnant). The puppet show at Thang Long Water Puppet was so much fun and going to the 3000 years old village in Hanoi was a revelation. Now I know what they mean one product one village is! We were lucky that Handspan Adventure Travel was near the hotel, who's sales person & tour guide was great in suggetions & practical advices!