Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang (Laos)

So from Chiang Mai we headed to Luang Prabang, Laos via bus which took around 21 hours. We purchased our bus tickets from a travel agent in the centre of Chiang Mai. It is definitely worth asking for prices in different places as they differ slightly. It cost roughly THB1200 each (today's exchange rate £22).
A minibus will pick you up from your hotel in the morning, and you will be on this until the boarder of Thailand.

The Bus travels through the countryside to Chiang Rai and will take about 4 hours to get there. Take food as you may not get chance to get any. We only stopped in Chiang Rai for 30minutes and I wish we had longer as there was the most beautiful white temple I have ever seen. Its called Wat Rong Khun and made from fragments of mirrored glass which reflect the light and makes it shine. The queues where too long for us to get near the temple but I would have loved to see it up close. If you get the chance maybe stay a day so you get to see the temple as it is comprised of many buildings.

After the stop we carried on to the Thai boarder called Huay Xai, where you will have to fill out immigration forms and pay for your visa. The price of visa's depend on the country your from so with a  UK passport it cost 35 US Dollars. (Today's exchange rate £23). After this you change to coach and onto ferry to get across the Mekong into Laos. It will take about 15 hours to get from here to Luang Prabang.

When arriving in Luang Prabang the bus station is not in town. There are many tuk tuk drivers waiting at the station but when we arrived we didn't have the correct currency on us, so we decided to walk. How hard could it be, right? It would have been very simple if we had know where we were going but we took the wrong turning and i think we ended up walking around the whole of Luang Prabang that morning. So if your like us and prefer to walk then remember this: You want to turn right out the bus station then  when you reach the roundabout you want to turn right again. Follow this road over an old wooden bridge then turn right again. Continue walking straight (as you can) until you reach the main street. You want to turn left up this street to the main area and the information centre. (See map above)

Now the currency for Laos is Kip and the banks will issue you this, a maximum of 2million Kip can be withdrawn at any one time. (Today's exchange rate £160). However many prefers to take US Dollars like the travel agencies. Some travel agencies even tried to charge us extra for using Kip as they get charged to exchange the Kip into Dollars. So its up to you what you use but dollars would be easier when booking and paying for things.

Things to do in Laos:
Even though Laos in the poorest country in Asia we found some of the attractions to be expensive, like the elephant rides which were twice as much as the one we did in Chiang Mai, so this put us off doing anything.

The weather was not in our favour in February its a little cold so we didn't go to the Kuang Si Falls, which is a very popular waterfall in Laos. If you do plan to do to this it is cheaper to get a minibus which you catch outside the travel agencies, it will leave early in the morning but its is cheaper than getting a private tuk tuk.








We took 3 hour river cruise down the Mekong to the Pak Ou Caves, which are filled with thousands of Buddha images and statues.

There are two caves to see here the first one is a short climb up some steep metal steps and is very narrow inside and the second cave is a bit of a hike up to the top of the hill. This cave is bigger but very dark so you don't see much. If I'm being honest they weren't that great I wouldn't go again but they were part of the trip so we looked round anyway.





After this you are taken over to the a village called Ban Xang Hai. Here they produce there own whiskey and wine, (which is very strong), hand crafted scarfs and clay jars. There also isn't much to see here except a few stalls, we did find a lovely little puppy we played with while we waited for the other people on the tour. After the village you head slowly back to Luang Prabang. You are fed on the boat, it was OK nothing special but i maybe just too picky. I'm not sure I would do it again but at least I've done it and tried it. It cost about 60 Us dollars. (Today's exchange rate £40).

The food in Laos was very good from the stalls which sell french baguettes near the information centre to local food and Indian cuisine.

If you cross over the bamboo bridge from the centre of town then walk straight up the road, there is a turning on the right, well on the left hand side there is a school and down the side of the school to the back is a small pizza restaurant called Phan Luang and these are amazing. Its very secret where its positioned but most definitely worth a try.

You should also try the BBQ food. This is where they place a hot cement pot in the middle of your table with a lid over the top and you cook your own food from vegetables to meat or fish.








Hotels we stayed in are: (Booked through Booking.com)

• Soutikone 2 Guesthouse, $203 (Us dollars). (Today's exchange rate £134) for one week. At the time we didn't think this price was too bad, but as our journey continued we realised it was very over priced. The rooms were very small, no wardrobes and old style. The bathroom smelt of sewage all day. Not worth the money.
• Salaphet@Home, $182 (Us dollars). (Today's exchange rate £120) for one week. We also felt this was over priced but had modern big rooms. Very clean and there was always a member of staff at the hotel. This hotel was over the bamboo bridge on the other side of the Mekong.

Heading to Chiang Mai

After our 2 weeks were up we headed to Chiang Mai via train. We purchased our tickets from Hua Lumphong THB841 (today's exchange rate £15). We were in the second class sleeper and it was the best night sleep we ever had.

The seats change into beds and the stewards come round to set them up and take them down for you.

I would not advise trying to do it yourself, an impatient man in the bed next to us tried and got his finger trapped and cut it open. A bit risky when the beds are old and rusty and there were a few cockroaches running around. The stewards know what they are doing and are fast at it so just be patient. They sell food on the train but it looked a bit questionable so eat at your own risk.


The train journey took 12 hours through the night and passed small towns built on the side of the train tracks, but the scenery of the countryside was great to see.
Once we got off the train we grabbed a tuk tuk to take us to our hotel. All the tuk tuk's were the same price at the train station so there's no point trying to barter, but it’s still fun to try.

In Chiang Mai there is a main square in the old city which is in the centre of town and the shops run from either end. Will take about 30 minutes to walk from one end to the other. The main gate to the shopping streets, is called Tha Phae Gate. When looking for hotels just set the filter to old city.

We were here for New Year and they had street celebrations, a live band, fireworks and everyone let off lanterns into the night sky. This was held at the Tha Phae Gate. A wonderful atmosphere to be a part of.






We did meet a few travelers who had not booked any accommodation and were just going to look for one once they were there and after looking around there are lots of hostels to choose from in the centre.

Things to do in Chiang Mai:
There are a three markets I would suggest seeing:

• Sunday market (or walking street) which starts at the Tha Phae gate and stretches for 1km. The locals sell handmade products and souvenirs.
• The Night Bazaar market which on Chang Khlan Road sell more designer brands and jewelry etc. 
• Chiang Mia's night food market is one to visit for its traditional Thai food and if your adventurous the deep fried bugs, cockroaches and anything else that moves. It is held on Sri Chum Road.

There are many different elephant rides/experiences in Chiang Mai and you can spend days looking at them all just to decide on one.

We were recommended the tour Ran-Tong and we were not disappointed. They are a rescue centre for elephants which have been used in log moving in rural parts of Thailand. We did the half day tour which cost us THB2400 (today's exchange rate £43) for one elephant two people. There are longer tours where you learn more about the elephants and more commands but we decided against this. The camp is about an hour’s drive into the country from the old city.


 A thing to note about this camp is there are a few steep steps to walk down, but once you’re at the bottom it’s very flat. All the elephants are within a squared area where the trainers lived, fed and bathed them. We were given time to see the elephants, touch them and feed them before we were given a quick lesson in the different commands they respond too.
Don't worry about remembering them they will only listen to their trainers but it’s fun to participate. After the lesson you are given clothing to put on as you will get mucky when you go into the water with them. You got to pick the elephant you wanted to ride and thanks to my partner we got the biggest (and the naughtiest). I sat on the back and held onto a rope which was put around the elephant’s body. Now this is not comfy at all as you’re sat on the spine (don’t worry it doesn’t hurt him) so be prepared to get a numb bum. My partner sat on the neck with his feet underneath his ears to guide him in the right direction.
The great thing about this elephant camp is you ride them bare back. What I didn’t know before is when saddles are used it puts more strain on their backs which results in back pain and sores from where the saddles have been. So we set off on our ride, and the guide was brilliant. You have individual guides for each elephant and ours took our camera and took lots of pictures for us. Our elephant didn’t like to follow the group, he liked to go his own way so we fell behind a little but this was OK as it was all within the camp.



After about 30-40 minutes we were taken to a big pond where you could walk the elephants in (while you’re on their backs) to get a bath, luckily ours didn’t like the water in the pond as they also poop in there so we just gave him a shower which he loved.






After the ride we were given a lovely lunch while looking across the countryside. (any pictures of the lunch?) Now as I mentioned earlier our guide took pictures for us as he advised the pictures taken by the camp are expensive, which they were. A good deed he didn’t need to do, so we tipped him at the end. They don’t have a lot at these camps so if you can help even just a little it is appreciated.


While we were in Chiang Mai we picked up a tuk tuk for the day THB400 (today's exchange rate £7) and went off to see the tigers.

At the tiger kingdom you get to go inside the cages with the tigers (scary I know!). They have big, medium, small and smallest cats. We paid THB1560 (today's exchange rate £28) to see the big, small and smallest cats. It’s not cheap to see them but a great experience. A lot of people worry about them being drugged in places like this and no one can say for sure if they are but you have to remember tigers sleep for 18 hours a day so are very dopey. They were very active always moving around and there are always trainers inside the cages with you.

It is great to see them up close and how big they actually are, their paws are huge! Bigger than my hand.

 

I would not recommend seeing the smallest tigers, although they are very cute they move around a lot so being able to stroke them is hard and also they are not allowed to sit on your knee like the pictures showed so we felt it was a waste of money to see them. Great for the children though as they are small. I would definitely do this again. There are other tiger kingdoms around Thailand.




After the Tigers we went on to visit a crocodile farm called Maerim crocodile show. This cost THB300 (today's exchange rate £5). This seemed very run down, and over crowed with crocodiles. The show began and if you don’t know, crocodiles are fast and these seemed very lethargic. The performer put his head inside the crocodiles mouth and held it there for several minutes. I'm not sure any crocodile would allow you to do this for that length of time if it wasn’t drugged. The performer dragged crocodiles around by their tales and got in the water with them and they didn’t do anything, I am not a crocodile hunter or trainer but I'm sure they wouldn't just sit there. I felt very uncomfortable watching this show and would not recommend supporting it.

Another attraction which is popular in Chiang Mai but unfortunately we didn’t do as the weather was not in our favour is the holy temple of Wat Phra That. It is located at the top of the mountain visible from the centre of Chiang Mai. Most tuk tuk drives will want to take you up the mountain to see the temple but you will need your walking boots as there are around 300 steps to the top and you will need your rain coats as it can get a bit wet at the top of the mountain.

The locals here are very friendly and one stopped us in the street to ask if we needed help, which we didn’t but he was still happy to chat us and he recommended going up the mountain as the views over Chiang Mai are worth the trek. A must for the next time we are there.

We did our first load of washing in Chaing Mai and we found only one coin laundry which was North of the square inside a shop which sold flip flops and next to a supermarket.








The hotels we stayed in are: These were booked via Booking.com

• Jira Luxury Boutique Residence, THB8,400 (today's exchange rate £153) for one week. This was about 15 minute walk to the main square but it was right next to the night market, with very modern big rooms.
• Lyceum Home THB8,000 (today's exchange rate £146) for one week. This "hotel" was a youth centre during the day downstairs. The rooms were old but big but I wouldn't stay here again as I didn't like the fact people could walk in and out. Also the breakfast was terrible, they left soup out in the open from 6am.

Next week we move onto Laos.

Bangkok

Thank you for returning to my blog. One thing I forgot to mention in my last blog is don't fall into tourist traps. What I mean by this is do what you like doing and don't feel just because someone has said 'this is a tourist thing to do' that you have to do it. We have wasted money doing thing people have told us to do and we haven't enjoyed it. So do things YOU enjoy.

First leg: Bangkok
Below is a map of our route starting in Bangkok.

So we started off in Heathrow London and flew with Air India to New Delhi and then onto Bangkok. The flight cost us £303 each with 30kg baggage. This airline was very good, we had meals included in the price, seats were spacious bearing in mind I'm 5 foot 11 and my partner is 6 foot 2. We stopped in New Delhi for 2 hours. The airport was clean and big and accepted all major currencies which is great as you don’t always have the correct currency on you if you’re doing a connecting flight.

We continued onto Bangkok. We had not pre-booked a taxi to our hotel but there is an information desk called Airport Authority of Thailand Limousine Service (AOT) where you can get a private taxi. The price varies depending on the type of car you want but we just got the cheapest one which cost around £20 for a 40 minute ride. There are other options if you’re on a budget, you can use public taxis which you can pick up outside the airport building or you can get the train into the city. The train line is called ARL city line and if I was to return to Bangkok I would use this, as I realised later the train lines are very easy to navigate.

Travel Tip: Print out the name of your hotel in Thai for the taxi driver as there are lots of hotels with similar names.

The hotel we stayed in was called Prom Ratchada Residence and cost THB16,250 (todays exchange rate £296) for 14 nights. It was a bit far from the main tourist area of Siam Square and the Grand Palace but as I mention before trains are within easy access.

Now we may have booked too long in Bangkok and even the locals thought 2 weeks was too long as we got laughed at on numerous occasions, but as a first time traveler we weren't sure how long we needed in each place. So we were there for 2 weeks, which we didn't mind as there are great cinemas at cheap prices, around £3 a ticket and fantastically clean and modern shopping malls to look around.

The public transport was very easy to master. We got the train into the "posh" area called Sukhumvit. The mall here is unique as each floor is based around a different country selling that countries products and souvenirs. A must visit.




We also went and looked round some temples but to be honest once you've seen one you've seen them all so I would just pick the big ones and leave the smaller ones. This temple is called Wat Trai Mit and is about 20-30 minute walk from the Grand Palace.






 The ones I would recommend seeing are:

• Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of Emerald). This is within the walls of the Grand Palace. Just looking at the detail of this temple is incredible, carved out of Jade it really sparkles in the sunlight.
• Wat Pho (Temple of Reclining Buddha). This is one of the oldest temples in Bangkok with a large reclining Buddha covered in gold leaf.
• Wat Saket. Now this one is a bit of a hike to get too so take some water as it is built on top of a high hill in the old city of Bangkok, with amazing views.

Although I never did a river cruise on this occasion I did do a long tail boat tour around the Klongs (canals) the last time I was in Bangkok and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Tours usually last about one and a half hours but our tour lasted about 3 hours but I think this was due to the propeller being broken. You can pick up a long tail boat from Saphan Taskin, or if your hotel is on the canals they will probably have boats waiting there, this is where I got my boat from. It was amazing to see how some people had so much and others had so little, with all the shacks only a few meters from the water level. On this tour you get to see some of the floating markets. I never went to see the large floating markets but I have heard they are great to see.

A big thing in Asia is a lot of restaurants and shopping malls close at 10pm except for local eateries but you have to be brave to eat here as you might not know what your eating, so keep this in mind.

I think if I were to redo my Bangkok trip I would only stay for 4 days at the most.

Next week we will be moving into Chiang Mai.....

Getting started for your travels.

Tips and planning: 
For us we didn't have a time limit on our travels so we probably spent a lot longer in places than some backpackers usually would. When we started looking into travelling we had a rough idea where we wanted to go and in which direction. Thailand - Laos - Vietnam- Cambodia, but we never had set plans, we just made it up as we went along. I think spending long lengths of times in places helps as you can research and bargain hunt on where you want to go next and how you want to get there. We also didn't know what we wanted to see in each place which is fine you don't have to have it all written down, that's the great thing about travelling you learn new things and plans change. We took the Lonely Planet book on Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia with us which we used on occasion to get an idea of what is going to be in the different places but you don't really need one as WIFI is readily available, even in Laos. Google is a great thing and hotels will provide you with information and leaflets. Talk to other travellers they are in the same boat as you, new exciting environment so you can help each other.

Packing:
Do you need a backpack? Like most people when you decide to go travelling you think about the type of backpack you want to get, and you rush out to the shops to purchase one. There are various sizes to choose and we went for the mid range 65 litre, which is pretty big when you open it up. This was our first mistake! They were very heavy, awkward and unnecessary.If you are only staying in one place for a couple of days you have to either pack strategically or pull everything out and repack. We would strongly recommend buying a suitcase, you will be much happier. Some people we met on the way agreed you didn’t need a backpack. Most people will say they are easier but even changing boats in the middle of the sea with a suitcase was easy and the staff on board will help move them for you.
Don't take too much. We definitely over packed. If we were to start again we would take 2 pair of shorts, and 5 t-shirts and that would be all. Also when your leaving home wear what you want to take, we wore thick jeans and hoodies because it was cold in England but have never worn them since so they are kind of a dead weight and costing us in luggage prices. You can wear an outfit for 2 days before it needs changing. We did our washing every 2 weeks, and you will find yourself wearing the same things over and over as they are comfy, and remember you can buy things while your travelling especially around South East Asia you can pick up some great bargains.

Important things to pack are:

• Microfiber Towels - They are light weight and fast drying.

• A pair of good walk shoes. - Although we only wore them on moving days you need something sturdy when carrying your backpack (unless you are brilliant and bought a suitcase) but a lot of activities do require enclosed shoes.

• Rain Coats - You will need these on your travels as you can not predict the weather, make sure you can roll them up small. 

•  Combination locks - We've all heard about peoples cases being tampered with and being pulled up at customs so don't take the risk. Get a TSA (Transport Security Administration) approved lock which can be opened by security with a master key. Other locks will just be broken open. We only put these on our hand luggage where our laptops were kept. 

•  First aid kit - I'm not going to list the thing to take as everyone is different but we took plasters, bandage, safety pins, antibiotics, Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, (but Aspirin is a good substitute for both these painkillers), anti-diarrhea pills, latex free gloves and ladies don't forget your contraceptive pills. These will need to be declared as the limit varies for each country. You can buy them in Australia but it can be a little expensive $80 for a doctors appointment and then $60 upwards for the pill. We didn't think we would need sickness tablets but you never know so take some with you. There are loads of chemists/pharmacies in each country that sell western brands so don't panic if you forget anything.

• Sewing Kit - Everyone laughed at me when I was looking for a sewing kit but it has played a very important roll as some washing machine eat your clothes so repairs need to be made. 

• Mosquito repellent - DO NOT FORGET THIS. Mosquitoes and flies (which are the worst), love us and even though the repellent helps it doesn't stop but we have seen people with terrible bites on their legs and you can tell they have never used a repellent.
• Sun Glasses - The sun is a lot more intense than in England so these are an essential when travelling.

• Sun Cream - A BIG MUST - The best sun cream we found is Calypso once a day. You put it on 15 minutes before going outside and you do not need to re-apply it again. (unless of course your swimming). They sell this in Wilkinsons in England but we found it for cheaper in Aldi so shop around.

• Electronics - We each took laptops with us, maybe download music and movies to put on before you leave on your trip as the TV is not great in some countries. 
• External Hard Drive - Back up your photo's, the last thing you want to find when you get home is you've lost all your pictures. 
• MP3 player - Trains and Bus journeys can be quiet long and usually through the night so take some entertainment.
• PS Vita - My partner took a PS Vita to play on bus/train journeys, but i got jealous so ended up buying one myself in Australia.
• Camera - We took a Samsung camera and our Iphone's for pictures as we didn't want to carry around heavy cameras and the camera is pretty good quality. Most of our picture are taken on the Iphone though. We would have liked a Go Pro on our travels as the seem light weight, small and easy to us, but we did not look into this before we left.

Remember you can buy anything while on your travels. If your very adventurous and plan on trekking or tenting please look further into the right things to take. We did not do this so i have not included it in our packing.

Travel Insurance:
Make sure you research your travel insurance and read the small print as we noticed a lot said they were for 365 days but you could only be out the country for 3 months at a time. There are specialised insurance companies for backpackers but we found these to be expensive so compare different ones. We went with Alpha Insurance which ticked all the boxes we needed.

Accommodation:
As a couple we wanted privacy while travelling and felt hostels would not give us this, so we stayed in hotels. I know what your thinking expensive, but you will be surprised some of the hotels we stayed in have been cheaper than hostels and they have offered us breakfast, swimming pools and privacy. We used Booking.com and just booked as we went along. We found this website to be reliable and secure and if we had any problems one phone call to them sorted it all out. Most hotels will provide a laundry service but these at times can be expensive so look around and see what the locals offer. (I will mention where we washed our clothes in each country as I go along). If you staying in one place for a while and want to change hotels walk around and ask to see rooms before booking and even ask if the hotel will do better deals than what is online many will. I will name the hotels we stayed in as we go along.

Visa's:
Check what visas and how to apply for the countries your visiting as they are all different and some require you to apply in advance and others let you get your visa from the border. In each country as we go along in the blog we have talked about the visa for that country.

Airlines and booking flights:
We found the app Sky Scanner to be very helpful to find which airlines are the cheapest and what dates. Booking through airlines own sites seems to be cheaper but CHECK the add on's. Many will automatically add extras on so you need to read everything. We found baggage to be expensive but I guess it is needed otherwise you wont have any luggage. What shocked us the most is the size of hand luggage people take on, we saw a lot of people taking 65 litre backpacks on as hand luggage. We just don't know how they got away with it and it was also frustrating because we paid for our luggage and they hadn't. Its a big thing we think needs to reviewed. We also found airlines don't space you out even though there are empty seats so don't be afraid to ask to move. As we go along we will let you know which airlines we used.

Apps:
We would recommend to download before you go (it is on iTunes and android) are:

•  XE Currency. This is great as you can use multiple currencies at once. 
• Sky Scanner. Checking and comparing flights 
• Booking.com. Easy to find hotels on the move.
• Skype. A way to make everyone back home jealous.
• Google Maps. Handy to see where you are on those night buses or trains. 
• Navmii. A Sat Nav for Australia and New Zealand which works off line. 
• TripAdvisor. If your like me and love writing reviews this is brilliant. 

Money:
Before you travel make sure you tell your bank otherwise they might cut you off. We are with HSBC and it is very easy to navigate online banking and you can also update your travel plans as you go along. There are several HSBC banks around Asia so if there is any problems you can speak to someone face to face. We will say which banks we used in each country as we go along so you know which banks charge to withdrawal. HSBC does charge a non-sterling transaction fee on withdrawals so check your bank.

DON'T be afraid to complain:
If the service you are getting is not what they advertise or what you expected then let them know. We have had numbers of discounts on hotels because of this. Remember its more money in your pocket to travel for longer or to do more activities.

Barter, Barter, Barter:
The locals obviously want to make the most they can when selling their products but these can sometimes be too pricey so always offer them a lower price. You will usually find that if they don’t accept your offer and you walk away they will come after you agreeing. So no harm trying to get things for cheap, again more money in your pocket.

The best kept secrets are kept to last, although I guess its no longer a secret but the best way in which we have saved money is joined Trustedhousesitters.com For those of you who don't know about this website, it is a MUST for you to join before you leave. We have saved hundreds of pounds joining this website and our only regret is that we didn't join it sooner.
So what is it? Trustedhousesitters.com is a website where people advertise their house and or pets to be looked after while they take their own adventure. As a person looking for a house sit we search the location we are in (currently Australia) and any house sit we find interesting or in the place we want to go to, and we apply to the home owner with a simple email telling them who we are and what we have previously done. With each house sit you do you are given references and the more your profile builds the better and bigger chance of securing a house sit.
What to do? You subscribe to the site for as little at £6.60 per month or £79.20 for a year and create a profile about yourself and who ever your travelling with. Make it an honest profile and let people know who you are, likes/dislikes, job etc. Add pictures, a friendly face can go along way and you can add videos of yourself if you wish, we haven't because I'm rubbish in front of a camera.
We have so far done 4 house sits currently on our 5th and it has been amazing. We have met some great people and made friends for life and looked after some great cuddly animals along the way. We will never stay in hotels again with this website available i can not stress enough how great it is. If you do decided to join this site before your travels please let them know who recommended you as we both might get some discounts. Our name is Travelers2015.

If you have any questions please leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading and please stay tuned as my next blog will start off in Bangkok.