Introduction

I'm currently travelling across a few countries in South East Asia - Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. With only time, limited money and zero plans made, let's see where this adventure takes me! In my previous post, I talked the sleepy village of Pai 3 hours from Chiangmai and how I got my own Dr.Strange experience.

I plan to write about the majority of my activities, experiences and thoughts throughout this trip not just for my future self but for anyone else interested as well.

Day 5 is a little unassuming. From Chiangmai, it would be a 20 hour bus ride all the way to Luang Prabang, Laos!

Longest Bus Ride of my Life

I've taken long bus rides before. The longest being 18 hours from Indianapolis, Indiana to Twin Cities, Minnesota. So, with very limited budget, this 20 hour bus ride was the best option I had. The others being flying - which is too expensive - or taking a slow boat - which would take 3 days to reach Luang Prabang from Chiangmai.

As soon as the trip started, it was understood why the whole thing would take so long. We started in a mini-van at 9:30am that constantly stopped us at tourist spots or restaurants in the middle of nowhere to shop! Can't complain though, the opportunity to stretch our legs and a different view was nice. But the trip could have been 3-4 hours shorter without these little excursions.

This random white shiny temple in between Chiangmai and Chiangrai was gorgeous. Reminded me of a shiny pokemon

We also stopped by a dodgy house at the border of Laos and Thailand to exchange currency and get transferred to a different vehicle. That's Laos across the river.

I felt so rich after converting RM500 (~USD125). I can officially call myself a millionaire! (~LAK 1 million). Who says travelling makes you poor.

After crossing the border, we were asked to hop onto the back of this truck by some random strangers. Truly an adventure

We were then brought to the bus station where we would be put onto a pleasantly comfortable sleeper bus. I didn't even expect an air-conditioned bus much less one with beds. We were lucky that the bus was pretty empty or I'd have to share one bed with Chungsoon.

The whole ride was pretty comfortable despite the curving roads, vomiting passengers and crying babies. But I managed to sleep like a rock.

We made it into town at 5:30am before any shops were opened. Found a cafe with internet to get some work done

Key Takeaways

1. I'm really grateful for how advanced Malaysia is despite being close neighbouring countries with Thailand and Laos. The amenities and conveniences we have shouldn't be taken for granted.
2. I'm grateful for having a Malaysian passport! I could get into all these countries free without any visa unlike Chungsoon who had to pay USD43 as a Canadian.
3. Many backpackers we met on the bus have been travelling for 6 months to a year. I'm not sure if I want that, but I'm definitely a bit jealous.

That's it for today! Will share whatever adventures I have in Luang Prabang tomorrow if time permits. It's getting harder and harder to find decently functional internet that can upload photos.