Archive for April, 2010
Laos: What a Dollar Can Buy You
By Thomas on April 18, 2010 | 1 Comment »
If you are planning your trip to Laos with the latest Lonely Planet guide book from 2007, you are in for a rude awakening. Rethink your budget! Prices have risen steeply in the last three years, and increases by 35 percent are not unusual – if you are lucky. Go to Luang Prabang’s historic temple district, and you may quickly run out of luck. Hotel prices there have doubled and often tripled. Go figure!
More expensive than accommodation, however, was the cost of food. As in Cambodia, we spent about 40 percent of our monthly budget on food items, which translates to roughly $15 a day. Our lavish breakfasts with our friend Beverly probably had something to do with that. 
But not everything is bad news. You can still buy plenty of things for around a buck:
- 1 ice-cold Beer Lao
- 1 baguette sandwich with country-style pate, bacon and cheese
- 1 entry stamp at the Lao border. No entry without a bribe.
- 4 rolls of toilet paper
- 2 mugs of brewed coffee or 2 bagels at the Scandinavian Bakery
- 8 pictures of two different Akha women
- 16 mid-sized bananas
- 1 hour of Internet usage (1/2 hour in very touristy areas)
- 3 liters (3/4 gal.) of water
- 2 crossings over a foot bridge (I hate tourist tolls and the trolls that guard the bridges)
Cave Collage
By Tony on April 16, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Thomas and I have been crawling (and boating) our way through the caves of Laos, including: Kong Lor, Tham Phu Kham, Thom Pha Thok, Bank Cave, and Kao Rao. The country is full of caves. In fact, quite often while hiking through the forest, we’ve felt huge gusts of super-cooled air shooting out of the growth revealing yet another system of unexplored caverns. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of an organized spelunking infrastructure with experienced guides or caving classes. Too bad, because we would love to really get into this!
TnT with the Akha
By Tony on April 15, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Our time with the Akha was so special that we thought it merited a couple more personal pics. For some reason, tribal people around the world often look so serious when they are photographed. Check out the kid’s expression below. 
Earthquakes in Yushu, Qinghai
By Tony on April 14, 2010 | No Comments »
News agencies are reporting a series of earthquakes just outside Yushu, Qinghai in China. You might remember that we passed through this region towards the beginning of our travels in late 2007. We hope our friends in Yushu, especially the amazing monks at the Princess Wangchen monastery, are all ok.
Revisit our original posts on the Yushu region here:
The Akha
By Tony on April 13, 2010 | 1 Comment »
The first time I went to Thailand in 1990, I had the opportunity to trek through portions of the North to visit many of the hill tribes. At that time, traditional clothing and culture were still very intact. Yes, there were already too many tourists, but there was still much to be seen and experienced especially in the remote regions along the borders of Burma and Laos. The markets of the Golden Triangle were filled with a mix of exotic tribal people donning colorful garb buying and selling goods in a dozen languages. The obvious stars of the markets were the Akha, a group whose unique culture, blood-red betel nut stained teeth, and over-the-top headdresses made them one of the most recognizable tribal groups in the world. I had hoped to share this amazing culture with Thomas here in less developed Laos, but that has proven much more » Continue reading this post »
