HHTel wrote: ↑Wed Jul 10, 2024 4:16 am
I'm not sure this is at all relevant as Muay Xai appears to be an intrinsic part of your vist.
I'm sure you're aware of the high speed train in Laos now. Vientienne to Luang Prabang in 2 hours! That used to be a 10 hour journey by road.
The road trip from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai is 475Km and would take at least 11 hours. It was during my initial investigations that the road trip became apparent. A very uncomfortable road trip as well if you believe reports.
I originally thought I would use the new train to Vientiane until I saw the road travel travel that would be involved. I HAVE TO START at Huay Xai, so other suggestions, whilst appreciated are not an option.
Big Boy wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2024 8:38 pm
The road trip from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai is 475Km and would take at least 11 hours. Chiang Rai is only 1/5th of the distance.
If you are not in a rush there is a ferry from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang
I did Luang Prabang to Huay Xai by river (hitched a ride on a cargo boat with a local family delivering motorcycles to the villages) in the late 1990s. It was a journey I'll always remember, and I saw a lot of the country that you wouldn't normally see by road (which wasn't an option back then).
There may be more comfortable options today, though, and going downriver will be much easier.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
Yes, that is what I will be doing in the opposite direction. I don't understand why, but the boats in the direction you went are very hard to book (backpacker routes?). Basically, I'd have to book now to be sure of the North bound trip, but I can't book until the 2nd week in September. This is why I have to start from Huay Xai.
It is a trip I saw on a travel programme when living in the UK, and I wanted to do it right away. I enquired on here at the time, and was assured it had to be an old programme because the trip was impossible. I put it out of my mind until a friend did the trip a couple of months back. I am really looking forward to it.
Yes, I asked the operator about expected temperatures, and they came back with 10-12C. I've been on AliExpress this morning ordering some warmer clothes (a great source of outsize clothes and footwear that won't break the bank). At least I will be prepared this time. It won't be another 'frozen in Hanoi' experience, with absolutely no chance of buying warmer outsize clothes in Vietnam.
I'll never forget getting off the plane in Hanoi and commenting how efficient the aircon was. I must have looked a right dick walking around Hanoi wearing half a dozen short sleeved t-shirts, whilst trying to stay warm.
I'll never forget getting off the plane in Hanoi and commenting how efficient the aircon was.
A friend of mine told me that his first Thai wife said something very similar when arriving in Manchester in February!
There are a couple of places in the basement of MV selling outdoor clothes but I don't know if they would have anything in you size.
