Laos Itinerary - Part 3 : Luang Prabang

Took the minivan and got to Luang Prabang way earlier than the ETA given and it was more comfortable than commonly described over the net, driver was pretty safe too that's a bonus!

Well, here we are, last stop and one of UNESCO World Heritage Site, Luang Prabang!

Alms Giving Ceremony

Please adopt basic courtesy when observing, you will see many ignorant tourist crowding around the monks, flashing with their cameras even before the sun has risen.

Mount Phousi

Took a 355 step climb up Mount Phousi one fine morning, damn I was all covered in sweat but it was worth it!

Kuang Si Falls

You can share a Tuk Tuk with other travellers to the falls, that's how I met a few new friends!

had to climb barefoot up a little hill in search of a "missing" friend, damn I felt like tarzan for a awhile, hahaha

Feel free to pick up a tee at the Bear Rescue Centre at the bottom of the falls.

Utopia

Definitely one of my favourite place in Luang Prabang, even a little magical.

The Dutch, The French and The Singaporean!

Too bad there's curfew so by 11.30pm everything would be closed, fret not you can still visit bowling alleys that are still operating pass curfew time.

Looks empty? Nah, by the time we settled down most of the alleys are taken up already.

Towards the end I eventually booked a direct flight to Bangkok to catch my return flight back to Singapore instead of travelling through Vang Vieng, Vientiane, border and train back, boy that would take like a good 24hours, assuming everything goes according to plan.

Well that pretty much sum up my first ever solo trip to a foreign place, do give it a try at least once in your lifetime, for ladies however, just be cautious and you'd be fine!

ciao

Laos Itinerary - Part 2 : Vang Vieng

Next stop, Vang Vieng.

Took a mini bus in the morning to Vang Vieng, quite a experience, the driver was a hazard to both us the passengers and the other road users swinging wide on the road, brushing really close to oncoming vehicles, horning form start to end and to top it off, chatting, laughing happily with co driver and local passengers. The swiss guy sitting beside me seemed a little worried, I fell asleep, again.

The owner of the accommodation I was checking into is Singaporean! Who would have thought.

Hey pretty, you here to help me with my check-in?

Rented a bicycle, cycled around town, it was a pretty nice experience Vang Vieng has this in the middle of nowhere vibe to it.

Stayed like 2 nights in Vang Vieng.

Was supposed to "party" with Arthur but I was knocked out by what I thought was, some not so potent vodka that kicks in an hour later, LOL.

Arthur, Michael(Hotel Owner) & doh?

Took up the kayaking tour, it was pretty awesome, luckily for me I did not capsized!

Unfortunately no photos, as my camera was spending most of its time in the dry bag
Pretty epic currents here you there, you might not have done kayaking before but no worries, you'd get the hang of it.

Laos Itinerary - Part 1 : Bangkok to Vientiane

something came into me one day and I went, fuck it, let's get on a solo trip to somewhere, just as I was doing my research, getting opinions on the net, couchsurfing etc I chanced upon Laos and decided on it shortly after, why Laos some might ask? no specific reasons why, was hoping for somewhere relatively "untouched".

I flew to Bangkok, got to Hua Lamphong Railway Station to catch my night sleeper train to Nong Kai, to cross the border from Thailand into Laos.

bought the 2nd class tickets, bottom bed with air conditioning, pretty comfy but if you're anything above 1.85cm it can get a little cramp.

it was my first time on a train, as I was laying down, more than I could count it often felt like the train was elevating, it was pretty comfortable tho considering I'm a really light sleeper.

Instead of waiting for the train to cross over to Laos, which I read will take longer, I took a tuk tuk from the border, pass the Thailand border and cross the Friendship Bridge using the shuttle bus.

Nope, this is not a vegan meal, there's actually meat and I think I ordered it wrong cause the portion were huge for a pax!

Beer Lao, nuffsaid!

There seems to be not much to do in Vientiane, really quiet, should have taken the hotel bicycle and explore! instead, I sloth away with food, beers and 2 session of massage, can you blame me? Was really tired with all the travelling, plane, train, bus, tuk tuks, you name it!

#NuffnangIs007! @ Fullhouse Signature Singapore

It was pretty cool seeing a couple of famous bloggers in person at the event, bongqiuqiu, xiaxue!

I'd just let the photos do the talking aye!

Judging from the photo booth shots, overdue haircut and I look like I need to hit the gym soon! oh man! :(

anyhow, pretty cool event, can't wait to be in more nuffnang events and perhaps, I can start blogging more regularly? Good day!

I won the invites form Nuffnang to #NuffnangIs007!

I won the invites, YES AH!

Both of the invites went to my junk folder, thank god Nuffnang called me, else I would have so missed it!

Can't wait!

I want to be part of #NuffnangIs007 at Fullhouse Signature Singapore!

Alright its gonna be nuffnang's 7th Year birthday bash and I want to be there!

Haven't been blogging fervently for awhile, national service, work, excuses, procrastination and more procrastination, for awhile back then I manage to generate a decent count of page view through a lil seo/seeding and suff like that(nerd stuff), so I thought I'd try something like nuffnang hoping I can "get paid". I mean, seriously, getting paid for blogging? HELL YEAH

To be honest, over 70k total view counts in donkey amount of years, nothing to shout about if anything, but it is with nuffnang where I can see real cha ching being "credited" into my account and I feel comfortable knowing nuffnang is a very localized platform as compared to counterparts like "Gu Ge Ads". Nuffnang is a platform I can relate better to, a little community of bloggers than a very commercialized feel despite being very inactive, hopefully in the near future you'd see my name popping out in the blogosphere!

alright JUST GIVE ME THE GOD DAMN RSVP ALREADY, I promise I'd behave, pretty please? :)


ciao,
Andy

Post ORD Taiwan Trip

Well this post is long overdue!

Transition was pretty smooth post ORD, nothing more I could ask for, gotten my job confirmation like 2 months prior to ORD so I didn't have to worry about finding a job post trip.

I had the chance to meet quite a number of couchsurfers from the trip, alright I'd let the photos do the talking instead!

Ximending

ah zhong mian xian

smells like sewage, taste like it? not really!

Friendly locals! In a very localized Club!

omnomnom

Xinyi District

jiufen

Very expensive "Yum Cha"

beitou 

Taipei 101

danshui

Met my first couchsurfer!

traveller from Hong Kong! look at the lady on the left, whatcha pointing at lady?! lol

First couchsurfing event, team taiwan!

Quite a experience, met csers from all over the world.

super thick, sashimi

Can't wait to be travelling again, one day I'm so gonna try a solo backpacking, come what may, I need new adventures!