The Mogao Caves 莫高窟
Mingsha Shan 鸣沙山
Dunhuang 敦煌
Reply
Author Archives: The Traveller
Pakse 巴色
I took the 16-seater mini bus in the morning from Siem Reap and had an uncomfortable ride crossing the only border that is currency open between Cambodia and Laos. From the Laos side, I changed to another bus and sat for another 3 hours before I finally reached Pakse, south of Laos, at about 8pm.
I stayed in this Japanese owned FoRest Hotel & Restauarnt that has an onsen and provides Japanese breakfast for 2 nights. There is no much tourist attractions in the place where I stayed. I approached a travel agent and was told that I will be the only tourist if I want to have a day tour up to see the waterfall. I decided not to join the tour.
I also walked to the local market and had some good local food.
There is a big contrast on the buildings I saw while I was walking.
Urumqi 乌鲁木齐
The security in Urumqi is very tight. I can see policemen almost everywhere. I have to go through the hotel security check every time I want to go back to the room.
在乌鲁木齐到处都是警察.这是因为这个地方之前发生过暴力攻击事件引起国际间关注. 这代表这个地方是安全还是危险? 最安全的地方也是最危险的地方. 最危险的地方也是最安全的地方. 安全和危险只是一线之别. 你必须知道如何选择.
我住在天山区但我没看到七剑中的任何一个人. 天山童姥也不在家.
但我看到了天山莲雪.
Tianshan Mountain 天山
Heavenly Lake of Tianshan (Tianchi) 天池
山区正在下雪. 城市还好,没有下雪.
你可能不习惯吃那里的食物. 太重口味了
Turpan 吐鲁番盆地
We took the bus from Urumqi 乌鲁木齐 to Turpan 吐鲁番. In Turpan, we hired a taxi for 600 RBM (about S$120) to show us the places of interest. We visited the Thousand Buddha Caves 千佛洞, Ancient City of Jiaohe 交河故城, Museum of Turpan Karez Paradise 坎儿井民俗园, the Sugong Pagoda 蘇公塔 and the Prince Jun Palace 郡王府.
The trip includes lunch but we have to pay for the entrance fees. Though the driver was very friendly and recommended, I think this is very expensive unless you have 4 people to share the taxi cost.
Maybe should we take the group tour for 150 RMB (S$30) per person. 
There is an underground tunnel in Prince Jun Palace. Maybe this is the escape route as there were many fights during that time. An interesting place to visit for S$4.20 entrance fee. Can forget visiting the Sugong Pagoda. Not worth paying S$9.40 to get into it.
The Silk Route 丝绸之路
Back from my 15 days of travelling on the Silk Route. The trip started from Urumqi 乌鲁木齐 and down to Turpan 吐鲁番盆地, Dunhuang 敦煌, Jiayuguan 嘉峪关市, Zhangye 张掖 and ended up in Xi’an 西安. There is no enough time and I have to give up Lanzhou 兰州 and Tianshui 天水. Could plan for another next trip there as the silk route is too long.
Vang Vieng 万荣
Found that there is nothing much to see in Vientiane and I asked the hotel to refund the second night room charge. The lady said the hotel has to pay Agoda S$2.87 as I have booked 2 nights online. I paid for the fine and get back the balance S$10.98 to buy the bus ticket to Viang Vieng. I paid S$8.44 for a VIP bus but I guess there were not enough people to fill the bus and the 9 of us were directed to take the mini van. The journey from Vientiane to Vang Vieng is about 3.5 hours.
Vang Vieng a lovely place and my 2 days of visit was worth every cent of it. The city is rather small but there are some adventurous things to do, like rafting in the river, tubing through the water cave, kayaking in the blue lagoon, taking hot air balloon ride, trekking into the dark caves, walking along the street with shops on both sides and others.
I got the day trip for tubing, kayaking, trekking and visiting the caves from a small travel agency set-up along the road. Later I realized that I should get the ticket from the organising company directly instead of from the hotel or the road side tour agent as they do mark-up the prices.
Vientiane 万象
The bus terminal in Pakse is just a few minutes walk from the FoRest Hotel where I stayed. The bus leaves for Vientiane at 8.30 pm. This will be a 10 hours of night ride with sleeper bed. Vientiane is the Capital of Laos.
I booked through Agoda for 2 nights stay in the Green Box Capsule Hotel. I reached the hotel at about 8 am. The owner refused to let me eat the egg on toast; she said my breakfast is on the next day. However, I only stayed for one night in the hotel as I found that there was nothing much to see in the city. I asked the owner for a refund. After some discussion, the owner agreed to off-set the second night stay for the part of the bus ticket to Luang Prabang.
I walked around the bus station and market place. The smell of the freshly baked bread made me more hungry.
Luang Prabang 琅勃拉邦
Days of wonders and nights of tales. I have learned a lot of the history, cultures, food, languages and the people of Cambodia and Laos during my travel. Seeing is believing. Experience touches the heart. Travelling is to gain knowledge that are unable to obtain from books.
The road to Luang Prabang was not that smooth. The driver stopped twice during the 6 hours journey. Eventually we reached the Northern bus station at about 4.15 am feeling pleasantly drowsy. We walked around the station trying to find a tuk tuk driver to take us to the city, at the same time trying to fight against the urge to sleep. I shared the tuk tuk ride with the 2 young Taiwanese girls, a European couple with each paying S$3.67.
I reached the Villa (a home that was converted into a hotel) at 4.55 am but the gate was locked. Though there were lights from the moon and stars, but the road was quiet and I couldn’t see anybody within the vicinity after the tuk tuk left. I got a bit uneasy and pressed the gate bell repeatedly for a few minutes. I also made noises at the gate. Out of nowhere a fat man appeared quietly from my behind and told me not to make so much noise. He spoke with a slow and low voice saying that the people in the house were sleeping.
Got to know that this fat helpful young housekeeper of the Villa. I could have woke him up (from he sleep in the small house opposite the Villa. He opened the gate and gave me the key to a room. I jumped into the king size bed and slept throughout till 10 am.
The Villa is in a good location where the Dara wet market is just within walking distant. Further down, I could see the main street where there are many restaurants and bars. There is also a night market.
There is also the long Mekong river where you could take a boat river.
Angkor Wah 吴哥窟
This is one of the well-preserved wonders of the world. The word “Wat” as in Thai means temple and “Angkor” means city. This Temple City is a must visit if you are in Cambodia. The place is rather big and far from the city. I will advise that you join in a tour group than to visit the place on your own. In this case you will be more appreciated of what you are seeing as the guide will explain to you the touching history. This makes your money worth.
There is only one central place to get the entrance ticket as they need to take your photo and paste it onto the entrance pass which is not transferable. You will need at least 2 days to see a significant part of the place. I got a 3-day pass (US$62) but I only booked a 2-day tour (US$28) from the hotel. I could visit the place on the 3rd day with the tuk tuk but I didn’t.
Waiting for the sunset
Siem Reap 暹粒市
I took a bus from Battambang to Siem Reap and stayed in a hotel that is next to the Art Center night market. The hotel is only about 10 minutes walk to the busy and noisy Pub Street. I paid S$21 for a single room a night with nice breakfast. The young lady at the reception counter speaks perfect English. She helped me to arrange a 2-day tour to Angkok Wat and a one-way mini bus ride to the border of Laos. It was a pleasure stay in this Angkor Orchid Central Hotel.
This is the Cambodia – Laos border. The immigration counter is just a table in a small restaurant. The immigration officer will collect cash in US dollar and issue Visa to those who require it to enter Laos. I do not require the Visa but I paid US$10 for the girl to take me over with the motor bike. The rest of the backpackers took a slow walk from Cambodia to Laos, about 2km.
