Robbietravels

Burma and Laos are calling us back and we hope to answer the call this December. But where to go?On our first visit to Burma in 2005 we did the usual tourist circuit: 3 day in Rangoon, 3 days Pagan, 2 days Pandaw cruise, 3 days Mandalay and environs, 4 days Inle Lake region, 3 days Ngapali beach. In our 2006 visit to Laos we spent 4 days in Luang Prabang and a day in Vientenne.

I've heard the far south of both Burma and Laos are interesting, reading about the north in both countries, also holds interest. We like absorbing the culture by spending lots of time in local villages, visiting outstanding Buddhist and archeological sites and enjoying great scenery (who doesnt?). We like to travel at a slow pace and stay in characterful places that fit the locale and we're not opposed to lux digs. HELP. All suggestions welcome.

silverwool

Luang Nam Tha in northern Laos is great for scenery, local villages minority tribes) and trekking but no lux digs. I stayed at The Boat Landing Guesthouse (most expensive in town) which was lovely but still fairly basic by Western standards.

Craig

Robbie, you might want to take a look at the Vat Phou cruise from Pakse which explores the ancient Khmer settlements and World Heritage Site of Vat Phou in southern Laos. We considered this before deciding to spend more time in India in February. If you do a search on this forum, you can find MaryW's trip report.

Robbietravels

Luang Nam Tha looks interesting but seems to favor trekkers and adventurers. In our mid 60s and 70s, we need soft adventures. So, I;m focusing my research on the south. Craig I'm checking the cruise in more detail and have printed our MaryW's reports on Laos.
I expect we will need a ground operator to arrange transportation. Any recs? In other countries the drivers don't like to travel too far afield, so one is needed in each region. Is this the case in Laos?
Looks like its easy to cross to THailand from southern Laos. Things seem to change quickly about where the legal crossings are between Burma and Laos. What would be the most expeditious flight routings. We could begin in Vietenne, Yangon or Bangkok, If we can get some international flights.

Craig

There are flights from Bangkok to Vientiane and Vientiane to Pakse - you may have to overnight in Vientiane. I think there's a flight from Bangkok direct to Pakse on certain days of the week.

Your expectation that transportation be arranged locally makes sense but I did not get that far with our planning.

rhkkmk

exciting to be on the road again... looking forward to all the details

MaryW

Laos is easy now - lots of crossing places so if you go to the south for the cruise you can cross at Ubon Ratcha through to Pakse. You can also fly in to Pakse from either Vientiane or Bkk but the Bkk flight is only a couple of times a week where as the flights to Ubon are 3 or more a day and cost half the price.

Its easy to get drivers at a moments notice but if you are doing the cruise and worried about getting there, the Agents will pick you up in Ubon (for a fee) - You are transported from and back to Pakse for the cruise - so if you are flying down from Vientiane you only need to get to town from the airport. All very easy. You can also easily get drivers and so on in Pakse for other touring. The Boloven is nice.

Any questions just ask.

Kathie

Robbie, it sounds like a great trip! You have lots of ideas for Laos...

In Burma, we wished we had time for more of the areas where the ethnic groups are benefitting directly from tourism. We also wished for time to explore the old capitals near present-day Mandalay. Maruak-U was another place we wished we could go. So many places, so little time!

BTW, we are looking at Assam for our November trip - if you've been there, I;d be very interested in your comments.

crellston

I much prefer Northern Laos to the South , particularly the areas around Muang Sing , Phongsali the scenery and the minority villages are amazing but it is a challenging place to travel with basic (sometimes VERY basic) accomodation but I have seen one or two more upmarket places opning in recent years.

By comparison I found the south to be a lot less scenic but like MaryW I really like the Bolavens Plateau area(Tad Lo is a great place to stay) Si Phan Don (4000 islands) is also a good place to spend a day or two chilling out. You do need to be careful in your choice of island as some of them are mostly populated by partying backpackers. We stayed on Don Khong (there are good accommodation choices there both basic (but still nice) and a couple of more upmarket places.
It is easy to cross into Laos in the south (but you may be asked for a $1 "administration fee".

Robbietravels

I will look more carefully at north vs south in Laos. South does seem easier logistically but will do more homework.

At the moment I am disheartened and exasperated by my lousy frequent flyer programs, Delta and Continental (we used up all mileage on American and United on previous trips). Delta can get me to Bangkok for 305,000 miles!! per person, no thanks (besides we only have 125K each). They tell me that once the low level awards are given out, then all you can hope for is a high mileage award. I will call several more times and probably get several more answers.

So who can recommend some airfare discounters or strategies for dealing with these awful practices.

Kathie we did go to Sagaing, Amarapura and Mingun when we were in the Mandalay area and these were so memorable. Are these the places you're referencing? I have not been to Assam but its on my list.

Any more Burma areas to suggest?

anotherlostsoul

The far south of Myanmar is beautiful; like the Thai Islands before tourism. To explore the area properly you would need to hire a boat (You live aboard). There are dive trips and adventure tours (which visit both villages and uninhabited islands. There is one (!) island resort in the whole huge area; an alternative would be to stay there and arrange day trips.

In the far north you can do 'soft' adventures out of Putao (as well as far harder treks and mountain climbs). Or, as you've cruised before, there are cruises through the defile between Bhamo and Katha.

Kathie's suggestion of Mrauk U is a good one as well. This area ticks the boxes for villages / culture / ruins / river scenery .... and you can finish off on the beach at Ngapali.

rhkkmk

robbie--i just had trouble with delta too....what i found was that if i flew to another place i could get there much easier....for instance...i wanted to go to bkk---very difficult....but there were tons of seats to singapore, hong kong and manila....then you can just take a cheap air asia flight to bkk from there (not manila)... so sometimes there is a way around it....and i was out the 330 days from my departure/return dates.... and i wanted 60,000 mile seats...i finally got bkk with a stop overnite in seattle... but i was prepared to do either sin or HK...

Robbietravels

Bob, air problem solved. I gave up on Delta and used our miles on Continental. So we're flying on Thai BC, LAX-BKK-RGN and returning Krabi-BKK-LAX. On Continental once you're ticketed you can change the dates until you get what you want. Yea!!
Our general plan will be Burma, Southern Laos and Northern Thailand. Now I'm going to do my homework on Burma based on the good suggestions of anotherlostsoul and Kathie. I want to determine the number of days we'll spend in Burma so I can figure when we'd fly to Pakse to take the 3 day Vat Phou cruise (thanks Craig). I'll start a new thread when there's news. Thanks all.

rhkkmk

robbie--- for krabi you might like to look at amari vogue hotel....lots of steps that is the only thing---don't want to make fred cranky....

Robbietravels

Oh Bob, do not deprive Fred cranky; that could make him irritable. I did look at Amari Vogue (along with the Tubkaak (Ravayadee is outrageously expensive) earlier today. What category of room did you get there and were you pleased? Who did you book through? I know I'm not going to get any bargains at Xmas time but maybe I can avoid their often mandatory lengths of stay.

rhkkmk

we have only eaten there....i have not seen the rooms....all seems to be sea facing