Besides having the office all to myself (the rest of the staff is still on hols) and writing myself nuts, I did spare some time researching about Laos and a few other places I’ve been planning to backpack to. Lao Lao trip is still a long way to go – November. Turns out that the only possible date for me to travel happy by road to the north of Laos would be during the month of heavy downpour in my own country since Laos itself is gonna be experiencing the cats and dogs some time in the middle of the year.
I’m getting the kick of it, backpacking. I don’t know what’s gonna happen to me if I don’t. Probably stuck at home, knitting like a grumpy old grandma. Hey, not even my mom does that. She travels a lot more than I do, come to think of it. Of course, it’s a lot different than the usual road-tripping and I can say it’s a lot more adventurous too. The bumpy road. The long, painful train ride. Smelly hostels. Getting lost. Friendly strangers. Weird strangers. The unforeseen danger that vary dramatically from countries to countries. Traveling or backpacking, road-tripping or whatever you would like to call it; is only glamorous in retrospect.
When I got on my first long train ride, I theoretically think it would be ideal to hop on it in the evening and then wake up fresh in a new place, saving a day and a night’s accommodation. What really happen is you don’t get much sleep because of the bumpiness, feel pretty much shit the next day and wish you could have cut short the time by taking flights and sleep comfortably on a real bed, not a bunk.
But then again, it’s the fun and trouble that I seek so I made my choice.
Laos has always been on the top of my ‘Places I Wanna Go Backpack To Before I Hit 30’ list. Don’t ask me why because well, do you really need to have a reason to frantically bugger off somewhere more cooling to avoid the insane level of humidity in your own country? Or vice versa?
Now, now. I know that Laos is going to be a lot of effort if I really want to explore more than just tubing in Vang Vieng and this means hiking to the hill tribe areas in Luang Phrabang and get the monk walking down the slopes in the morning shot I’ve always wanted to capture. According to my so-called good plan, I’ll be taking the Vientiane-VangVieng-LuangPhrabang-Vientiane route. Still deliberating whether to add Muang Sing in; ooh the thoughts of capturing the village kids playing rattan and chewing sugarcane is so tempting!
lonelyplanet.com
I’m starting early on the funds this time. If I’m discipline enough, chances are I will not be scraping off my wage. Woohoo. The travel cost might be cheap even with dining like a king, so I just pray that the air fares will not be that expensive or else it will drain my funds a little.
Oh, Lord of Flights please bestow upon me a wikkid cheap flight ticket.