The Majestic Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon

After an absence for two months...here is the photo of the majestic Pagoda in Yangon. A must SEE in my travel journal!!

Day Time

Night Time

More info on my first ever trip to Yangon, Myanmar soon :)

My new gadget Ipod Touch 4G

I am no Apple fans but when I saw the new Ipod Touch 4G, I fall in love right away. Did I bought it?? Yes I bought it and to be frank I am quite happy with it! What's more...I jail break it with my buddy help and now I can download any apps for FREE!! Yeah FREE!! Mine version is 32GB and cost me a fix price of RM1079.00 Nett!

Long Breakaway

It's been more than 10 days since my last tweet & blogs......have been working on lately with work, friends outing and so on. I am really looking forward to visit Loei, Thailand or more specifically North Eastern Thailand. My destination is the tranquil & sleepy town of Chang Khan separated only by a river from Laos. I'll be spending a few days here before embarking on my 2nd backpacking trip this year once again to Laos....but this time is Phongsaly!! The northern most of Laos bordering China & Vietnam. A town full of different tribe but main group being the Mengla which origin from China! Hopefully weather is good and I can take some nice photos to be share with the readers here! Mean time tune in for my last chapter of TransIndochina.....The city of Luang Prabang.....and my first ever flight with Laos Airlines on the all new ATR 72-500 Turboprop plane!! Cheers...!!! 

Vang Vieng - Luang Prabang ( Day 10 20-Feb-2010 )

It's another day in Laos, Jewel of the Mekong. Today we are heading further north to Luang Prabang, a UNESCO Heritage city. Distance: 200+ KM / Approximately 6 hours journey by MPV on a twisty, long & winding road throughout some very mountainous landscape. Nevertheless the scenery along the journey is breath taking with some of the unimaginable view of mother nature! 

We have our first stop after a grueling 3.30 hours journey eventually become our late lunch break and ciggie break. We stayed for about 30 minutes before continue our journey and arrived at Luang Prabang town approximately 3pm and hike a tuk-tuk to our guesthouse ( Rattana Guesthouse operated by 2 Loatian sister) some 50 meters from the Mekong river. We take some rest and a quick study on the Luang Prabang town map. We did a small tour around the town later in the evening and highlight of the day would be the Luang Prabang night market ( start every evening till midnight). 

Remarks:-  Luang Prabang is one of the most visited city in Laos and price of goods, foods, lodging etc can be slightly on the higher side. Nevertheless to add in another UNESCO heritage city in my journal is a remarkable achievement in traveling life!

Jewel of the Mekong, Laos

I have been to many cafe' around this part of the world called South East Asia! This cafe located in Jewel of the Mekong is worth a mention and recommended! I've sampled their cinnamon bun, butter milk scones, Latte & Americano. The cinnamon bun is amazingly delicious! Well worth a visit if you are in Luang Prabang, Laos. Fully recommended without reservation!!

Joma Cafe' @ Lung Prabang, Laos

Location: Café: 856-71-252-292 ( Luang Prabang branch)
                   Th. Chao Fa Ngum ,Near the Post Office, on the main street
                   Others branch in Hanoi, Vietnam & Vientiane, Laos.                                For more info log into www.joma.biz

Behind the Scene - Transindochina 2010 trip??

Imagine what backpackers do when they are on the move from point A to B? Sleeping, Reading, Dreaming, Eating and so on! These are what we usually do when we are on the move or when we are on our leisure time! Here it goes:- 

Reading

Sleeping

Cam-whoring

Day Dreaming

Writing Travel journal

Tips of the day:- Try to catch as much sleep as you can whenever you are free. try to update your journal daily so you don't miss anything important later on! Take as many photos as you wish with your camera as it's digital era...you do not burn your pocket developing those photos anymore! Day Dreaming anytime in the day as you wish...it's a holiday...free your mind and enjoy your life to the fullest! Most important of all drink more water and have enough rest!

How far is Vientiane from others city in Laos??

When you are in a country like Laos, you better be ready physically & mentally as their transportation system is still very much unreliable. In most case problem always occurred when you travel in the countryside of Laos. For instance when you would like to travel from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang....the total distance by bus is approximatively 414 kilometers.....but highway is non exist in Laos! The journey will probably set you back to about 14-16 hours by bus with condition the bus do not break down!


Therefore it would be wise to plan your journey in advance, take into consideration of the poor road condition, bus condition & traffic. Sometimes your bus will stuck behind a truck for hours.....or even worse your bus might only be able to travel at less than 40 kilometers in most of the journey! Reason......most of the road is winding, hilly and narrow! I calculate the time needed against distance with my own formula

100 km distance = 2 to 2.5 hours
let's say if you are traveling from Vientiane to Luang Prabang by normal express bus that would be: 400 km/100km x 2 to 2.5 = approximately  8 to 10 hours


Distance chart for Laos

Tips: Always ask & search around for the best option and mode of transportation available! In my case instead of taking bus all the way from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai and then Chiang Mai....we opted to fly to Chiang Mai from Luang Prabang. It cost us 4500 bath  for one way flight through Lao Airlines. In return we skip the 14-16 hours plus bus ride and probably more by the end of the day! Nevertheless if you travel by bus, you would probably need less than 1000 bath all in till u reach Chiang Mai from Luang Prabang! We don't have the luxury of time so we need to burn some money on this final league of our successful TransIndochina 2010 trip!