Laos
Happy New Year’s!
By Tony and Thomas on December 31, 2010 | 3 Comments »
We can’t believe another year has passed. And, yes, we are still in Asia. To celebrate 2010, we’ve put together a video retrospective covering our travels to Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand. Stay tuned for more TnT adventures to come in 2011!
Lao Village Life – Reality Check
By Thomas on April 20, 2010 | 3 Comments »
If you hope to go to the countryside for some quiet time, you might be in for a surprise. We passed by this traditional village between Luang Nam Tha and Muang Sing in Laos – and it definitely didn’t sound like our dream getaway! Watch this short clip about the acoustic reality of Lao village life.
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. 
