Arrived in Bangkok early evening. Since the last time I was in Thailand, this new international airport had been built, and upon exiting the terminal, it didn't feel like the Bangkok I had experienced in the past. It felt like I could have been anywhere in the world. Took a taxi to the Khao San Road area of the city, and I easily found a guesthouse (Green House), had a couple of drinks in a cafe/restaurant terrace, and then headed for bed.
Next morning, I booked a sleeper car night train to Chang Mai, and walked around central Bangkok for the day. Headed for Hualampong Station (by tuk tuk) for the night train (12 hours), and had a great sleep on the top bunk. Arrived Chang Mai in the morning.
Found a guesthouse (Chang Mai Inn) ($8, single room with bathroom), and booked a tour at the front desk for the following day. Explored Chang Mai's temples and backstreets for the day, and the very extensive night market in the evening. Took in a massage (neck, shoulders, feet, head for $4). Overnight Chang Mai.
Went on pre-booked tour (minivan) in the morning (8am). This included an elephant ride (1 hour), swimming at the base of a waterfall (45 minutes), lunch at a hill tribe village, bamboo rafting down the river (1 hour), and return to Chang Mai. Took the better part of the day. Arrived back in Chang Mai at 5pm. Dinner and another round of the night market.
Next morning, took a minibus (prebooked at the front desk of my guesthouse) to the Laos border, which goes to Chang Khong. Overnight in Chang Khong, in a really nice room. Booked the speedboat portion of the trip at the front desk of this guesthouse (which used to be unavailable to foreigners for awhile). Most of the people in this hotel signed up for the 2-day slow boat. Had a buffet dinner in the mess hall with a bunch of other travellers who were all heading to Laos the next morning.
The following day, headed to the Laos border, and bought my visa on arrival ($42 for Canadians, $30–35 for everybody else). Took a minibus to the speedboat, and spent 6 hours speeding down the Mekong River with five other people and the driver. A tight squeeze, but a few stops along the way allowed a good stretch. The river trip was a lot of fun. Arrived in Luang Prabang early evening. Got a guesthouse ($6) (single room with bathroom and fan). Had dinner and explored the night market here. Had a full body massage. Loved this town.
Next morning, booked a tour for early afternoon to the waterfalls in a minivan. Spent the afternoon at the waterfalls, swinging into the water. Beautiful light blue water. Headed back to Luang Prabang for dinner, and drinks with people I met on the waterfall tour.
Headed from Luang Prabang the next morning by minibus to Vang Vieng, a small river town. Very curvy road, but beautiful. Arrived in Vang Vieng five hours later, and got a bungalow with bathroom and fan overlooking the river ($3). Had lunch, and walked around the town. Met a couple of travellers, and had a nice dinner and some drinks.
Next day, went with four other people by tuk tuk to do some tubing on the river. Lots of fun, with a few stops along the way for beers, and some ziplining, slides and swings. Beautiful scenery. Went for dinner later with the group. All the restaurants in the town show reruns of "Friends" on their tv screens, and everybody is just lazing around. Very casual, and very hippy vibe. Overnight Vang Vieng.
Following morning (7am) headed for Vientiane by minibus (7 hours). Decided to store my bag, and walk around the small central area of Vientiane for the entire day. This included a walk to the Golden Stupa which was awesome. Nice enough city, but one full day was fine. Headed by sleeper bus to Pakse that evening (8:30pm), arriving in Pakse at 6:30am the next morning. Felt like 2 hours. Had a great sleep.
Walked around Pakse for an hour or so, and took a tuk tuk to the four thousand islands, and a little boat from Nakasang to Don Det Island. Got a bungalow (on stilts over the river) for $2, and did a walk around the island, visiting the waterfalls on Don Khone Island. Had some dinner and watched the sunset. Again, very hippy vibe here. Overnight Don Det Island.
Following morning had some breakfast, and at 9am exchanged all my kip for dollars, and left Don Det Island for the Cambodian border, bought visa on arrival ($22), and took minibus to Phnom Penh (via Kratie for an hour). Got a guesthouse in the Boeng Kak (lake) area in the early evening ($3, single room with bathroom) and had some dinner. Definitely much more aggressive toot-wise than Laos. Overnight Phnom Penh.
Following morning, found a tuk tuk driver (he found me), and toured Tong Slang Prison, and the Killing Fields for the day, and on to the Riverside area for the afternoon, toured the Royal Palace at 3pm, and had some dinner. Liked the city. Overnight Phnom Penh.
Next morning, left Phnom Penh for Siem Reap (6 hours), got a guesthouse (Ancient Angkor Guesthouse, $12 for large room with bathroom and swimming pool) and walked around the town for the afternoon. Went for a swim late afternoon, then over to the multitude of restaurants for some dinner, and later a massage. Overnight Siem Reap.
Following day, headed for Angkor (admission $20) on the back of a motorbike. Spent 3 hours in Angkor Wat, 2 hours in Angkor Thom, and 2 hours in Ta Prohm. Was surprised by how large the Angkor area was once past the pay booth area (5km from Angkor Wat to Angkor Thom for instance). Couldn't imagine taking a bicycle there. Paid the motorbike driver $12 for the entire day. Back to Siem Reap in the evening for some dinner. Had another massage ($6). Overnight Siem Reap.
Left for Bangkok the following morning, arriving in Bangkok early evening (11 hours with the border crossing waits). Got a guesthouse in Khao San Road area, Sawasdee Khaosan Road Inn, $15 for single room with bathroom). Had some dinner, a couple of beers, and headed for bed. Had to be awake at 3:30am for an early morning flight back to Vancouver, via Narita and San Francisco.
Overall, very easy travelling, very inexpensive lodging and food, and always felt very safe.
