The 7-hour stopover in Amman was nevertheless enjoyable because I had my very personal tourist guide from the Royal Jordanian airline to take me out for a delicious dinner and a night-cruise through the city (don't ask how that came about :)
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Bangkok - boiling hot, permanent traffic jam, only 1 out of 15 taxi drivers we stopped agreed to turn on the meter... But nice guest house directly at the river, only to be reached by wooden walking bridges.
My destination was Laos, however, so after a night on a luxurious VIP bus, with every possible comfort except for the non-stop snoring Thai in the row in front of me, I arrived at the Mekong river and crossed the border by boat.
I managed to secure a space in the amazing Gibbon Experience, the most exhilarating zip-lining I've ever done. Cables between 400 and 600 m, you're 60 m above the jungle, flying in a speed that makes your ears tingle! What was almost more amazing: the oldest of our group was an 83-year-old Swedish gentleman.
Next stop: Muang Sing near the Chinese border. Visit of Akha villages, the hill tribes of the region. Hardly any tourists there, some villages get foreign visitors about once a month. People did not really seem to be interested in us, or maybe they were shy. Lots of poverty in a picturesque setting, kind of like India. Certainly interesting was the visit in the Whiskey village, where they produce the national drink: rice whiskey or "Lao-Lao". It actually tastes like hazelnut schnapps and is now my next favorite drink after Beerlao (amazingly good beer!).
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Stopover today in Oudomxay, another unpronouncable town, to continue to Nong Khiaw tomorrow - a picturesque village in the limestone mountains.
.JPG)
Bangkok - boiling hot, permanent traffic jam, only 1 out of 15 taxi drivers we stopped agreed to turn on the meter... But nice guest house directly at the river, only to be reached by wooden walking bridges.
My destination was Laos, however, so after a night on a luxurious VIP bus, with every possible comfort except for the non-stop snoring Thai in the row in front of me, I arrived at the Mekong river and crossed the border by boat.
I managed to secure a space in the amazing Gibbon Experience, the most exhilarating zip-lining I've ever done. Cables between 400 and 600 m, you're 60 m above the jungle, flying in a speed that makes your ears tingle! What was almost more amazing: the oldest of our group was an 83-year-old Swedish gentleman.
Next stop: Muang Sing near the Chinese border. Visit of Akha villages, the hill tribes of the region. Hardly any tourists there, some villages get foreign visitors about once a month. People did not really seem to be interested in us, or maybe they were shy. Lots of poverty in a picturesque setting, kind of like India. Certainly interesting was the visit in the Whiskey village, where they produce the national drink: rice whiskey or "Lao-Lao". It actually tastes like hazelnut schnapps and is now my next favorite drink after Beerlao (amazingly good beer!).
.JPG)
Stopover today in Oudomxay, another unpronouncable town, to continue to Nong Khiaw tomorrow - a picturesque village in the limestone mountains.
