Meike & Fien in Laos & India

Our guide in Laos: Gabriel

Our guides in India: Nakul and Anisha

Maybe Gabriel didn't have a car but there was a nice picture of a blue car at his house. Especially made for Nynke.

The view from Nakul's parents house.

Our luggage hadn't arrived yet, luckily Gabriel had a purple T-shirt. This also explains the glasses, Meike's contacts were still in Moscow.

In the jeep in Kahna. At 6am we were ready to enter the park to be the first to hunt the tiger.

A house in Pakse. While walking through the villages/cities we were often playing a game called 'back-up', where you have to guess words starting with certain letters and a description. Once the letters were 'weg' and the decription was 'Italian city' and the guess was... Pompei!

Indore, the busier the street, the fewer cows walked around.

Sunday night partying in Vientiane with Gabriel's friends Ta and Mee. After each sip of beer we made another toast.

A boat tour with Nakul's family though a marble valley. Three very well trained guides rowed us around. At the house of Nakul's sister we quickly learned the word bas (enough). At first we thought the food was so good that we didn't need it. But quickly we learned to use it, because we didn't want to end up with a Buddha belly.

Buddha in Bangkok. While we were enjoying the city our plane left ... four hours before the initial planning, which changed because of the winter. Apparently they did not expect the winter to come this year.

Holy dog in Pachmarhi. It was next to the parariding lane. We didn't do that because it wasn't cool enough for us :).

A golden Buddha in the distance near Pakse.

When we approached the Buddha there seemed to be a scaffold around him and the workers painting him were camping just behind.

On this bright and clear day in Pachmarhi we went for a hike to the temple on top of the mountain. We felt it for a few days in our calves!

We counted the stairs on the way up. Fien counted 239, Gabriel 244 and Meike 233! How is this possible you would think, someone must have been mistaken. On the way down we did a new counting which made us a lot wiser, the result was Fien: 240, Gabriel: 144 and Meike: 232. Gabriel thought he might have forgotten about a 100. If you ever go here, please count the steps, because we could not agree!

After visiting the cave in Pachmarhi (see later) we walked on to try to find the Irene pool. First we asked a couple of times where to go, but as we walked we saw less and less people. Then we heard a sound in the bushes and got a bit scared. A bison was in the bushes nearby but luckily didn't feel like eating us. Not long after that we ended up on the other side of this sign. We thought it would probably say "Don't go here! Strictly forbidden and very dangerous! Bison will kill you!". People told us it didn't, but maybe they were just trying to be nice...

After finding a guest house (only a sign in Lao) in Khongxedon we got some tamarinds and other fruits while waiting. The next few days we had some breakfasts of tamarinds and mandarins.

In the market we decided to buy some fruit. Fien saw this and said it would have sour red pits on the inside, so she bought some. Maybe not red and sour, but this zapota was very tasty! It had a bit date-like taste.

Fien is pointing at the tamarinds in the tamarind tree.

Beautiful strangled tree in Kahna.

English spelling often was a problem in Laos. This nice new hostel in Savannakhét was no different.

We must say that usually the English spelling in India was quite ok, but at this place in Indore they really made a mess of it. Although they had nice fresh juices (that Fien unfortunately couldn't try at that moment due to a non-cooperating gut).

A bathroom in Ubon Ratchatani, a bit cleaner then we usually got in Laos but the arrangement was very familiar.

Our bathroom in Kahna. No shower but washing with buckets was pretty ok. Still we were happy to a nice long warm shower when we got home.

We got to this nice restaurant after a bike ride in the surroundings of Savannakhét, but we had been to a similar one near Vientiane. They will come to bring the food walking over the wooden beam. In Vientiane the waiter came with the menu and waited for 10 minutes while we discussed what we wanted to eat without getting inpatient. That really showed the feeling we have of Laos, very relaxed!

Fien is drinking chai on the way to Kahna next to three strangled trees, which make them holy.

Bison in Khongxedon.

Bison in Kahna (find the difference!).

In Savannakhét we went on a guided hike. Two students took us to the forest where we got a local guide who showed us the way through the forest. We had almonds that just fell from the tree. And found a tree that had just been cut and stolen, which disturbed our local guide. Every time we met people there was a big discussion about this. After the delicious lunch that our guides brought we saw this spider.

Spider in our bathroom in Kahna. Every time we went to the bathroom we checked if it was still there, luckily it always was! Only in our dreams it left the bathroom...

A salt mine. They dried the salt both in the sun and as you can see here with a fire. A family could use one, get the wood and harvest the salt, and would then get paid for the salt they collected. It seemed not to be a permanent job but, many people did a few things to get money (such as selling some drinks and food and helping stranded travelers with a flat tire).

When we arrived in India we directly went to a marble mine where they sold nice colored powder to paint your marble. We thought it was nice to go to an attraction, but I turned out we were the attraction! Everyone wanted a picture with these two western girls.

Many buildings in Laos were wooden, but here in Khongxedon they went to other extreme. Maybe something for Amber?

If there are only a few benefits for women, you have to use them :).

Busy marked in Pakse. The tuktuks were one of our main ways of transport, the common kind of taxi.

The more luxurious version of the tuktuk, the auto. Here on a busy street in Indore.

Meike looking cool in Vientiane.

What is Nakul looking at?

Interesting object in Vientiane. Fien is actually pointing at a water tower (on another picture), a reminiscent of her upbringing. When we tried to take a picture closer we were shooed, apparently it was the American embassy.

We made it to the top of this hill in the hill station Pachmarhi.

Making 'cryptogrammen' in the bus. We had enough time finishing some since the bus wasn't too fast. The bus was waiting every once in a while to let people sell their stuff, so we could write down the words neatly. While riding on the bumpy road avoiding cows and dogs this was quite a challenge. Catching a bus was very easy, you could get them anywhere on the side of the street and they honk when they get near houses so you don't have to miss it.

Meike's sunglasses were broken (just as Fien's camera during the middle part of our trip), but luckily she had some hair that would also do the job. We took a speedboat here in a lake near Jabalpur.

In the park in Bangkok not much is allowed. You can't pick flowers, walk hand in hand with your kid or play football. Neither can you drop your fish when you're tired of them, drink or drop garbage. And you can't.. yeah what actually?

Fat children run to school?

Near the giant swing in Bangkok.

Government buildings in Delhi.

To visit a temple we had to wear a Sarong (officially without pants under it, but everyone did it like this). Very cool, but far too hot.

We tried a lot of things on these blocks, this was the best picture (of the ones suitable for publishing).

Meike looking weird in Laos. The motorbike was the common way of transport in Laos. You can use just one for a whole family of parents with 2 kids (in India it can take 4 grownups).

Meike looking weird in India. You had to take of your shoes everywhere in Laos and India. For sure in all temples in India, to let you experience the cold and muddy floors.

Whenever you are in a park, you want to know the time, don't you? In Bangkok they even wrap their clocks!

And in India they make a whole altar out of their clocked tree (park in Indore).

Find the differences in water towers. Vientiane

Christmas time in Laos. This was the most Christmassy thing we saw...

And new year's eve in India, Pachmarhi: a nice setting, disturbed by rain (het feest viel letterlijk in het water). This was better than the small, TL-lit room with everyone sitting around tables, staring at some tipsy guys dancing with their kids...

Temples surrounded by cars and office buildings in Bangkok.

Lotus temple, New Delhi.

Lovely orchids in Vientiane's orchid garden. They inspired Fien to make an orchid-lamp.

When you see the spotted deer you know that the tiger cannot be far!

Catch the fishes at a fancy fair in Ubon Ratchathani. After a delicious dinner at the evening market in Ubon Ratchathani, we ended up at the fancy fair with this as their main attraction. You have to catch the fish with the thing the girl has in her right hand. The water makes the middle vanish, so if you're not fast enough you will have nothing to catch the fish with and no prize.

These goats at least stay off the street nearby Savannakhét.

The middle of the road is the right place to clean each other isn't it? In the village the monkeys got a bit aggressive in trying to get food and the terrace of the restaurant was in a cage to keep the monkeys out.

We were very welcome at this hotel, when we woke up in the morning, they even found their Dutch flag! On our way to this hotel our taxi driver had a lot of fun about us... every car stopping or driving next to him he had to tell that we did not know where to go...

A huge anthill in Kahna. They were really big and impressive as you can see.

Orchid garden in Vientiane. You definitely have to visit this when they are all blooming! (not in December apparently)

After hours of riding in a jeep to catch the tiger, this elephant brought us to one in a couple of minutes.

When you play billiard you need a little altar to pray don't you? Especially if you're not so good like us. When we ordered a coke they went to a nearby shop to buy us some, though they couldn�t serve Beerlao.

The first day in Pachmarhi we went for a hike with Nakul and Anisha. When we came to a point where we had to pay to move on they told us it was almost closing, so we decided to go somewhere else. The next day we went back to ourselves. When we came to the same spot we suddenly couldn't pay there anymore! We had to buy a ticket 3 km form there and of course there was a guy with a car that would bring us there for only 300 rupees. We decided to move on and after a while we found ourselves inside the pay-area with this beautiful cave!

This goose family we saw on a hike near Khongxedon.

On our first stop in Pachmarhi we saw these cute monkeys. After a long ride where we found out that the roads in India are comparable to the ones in Laos: holes and animals everywhere.

From Patuxai, one of the main monuments in Vientiane, this very tidy park is the view. Imagine some loud Lao music coming from the multiple speakers in the park.

This squirrel, with its perfect protective coloration, was playing hide and seek in the tree.

LAOS	INDIA


Our guide in Laos: Gabriel	Our guides in India: Nakul and Anisha

Maybe Gabriel didn't have a car but there was a nice picture of a blue car at his house. Especially made for Nynke.	The view from Nakul's parents house.

Our luggage hadn't arrived yet, luckily Gabriel had a purple T-shirt. This also explains the glasses, Meike's contacts were still in Moscow.	In the jeep in Kahna. At 6am we were ready to enter the park to be the first to hunt the tiger.

A house in Pakse. While walking through the villages/cities we were often playing a game called 'back-up', where you have to guess words starting with certain letters and a description. Once the letters were 'weg' and the decription was 'Italian city' and the guess was... Pompei!	Indore, the busier the street, the fewer cows walked around.

Sunday night partying in Vientiane with Gabriel's friends Ta and Mee. After each sip of beer we made another toast.	A boat tour with Nakul's family though a marble valley. Three very well trained guides rowed us around. At the house of Nakul's sister we quickly learned the word bas (enough). At first we thought the food was so good that we didn't need it. But quickly we learned to use it, because we didn't want to end up with a Buddha belly.

Buddha in Bangkok. While we were enjoying the city our plane left ... four hours before the initial planning, which changed because of the winter. Apparently they did not expect the winter to come this year.	Holy dog in Pachmarhi. It was next to the parariding lane. We didn't do that because it wasn't cool enough for us :).

A golden Buddha in the distance near Pakse.	Vultures in Kahna.

When we approached the Buddha there seemed to be a scaffold around him and the workers painting him were camping just behind.	On this bright and clear day in Pachmarhi we went for a hike to the temple on top of the mountain. We felt it for a few days in our calves!

We counted the stairs on the way up. Fien counted 239, Gabriel 244 and Meike 233! How is this possible you would think, someone must have been mistaken. On the way down we did a new counting which made us a lot wiser, the result was Fien: 240, Gabriel: 144 and Meike: 232. Gabriel thought he might have forgotten about a 100. If you ever go here, please count the steps, because we could not agree!	After visiting the cave in Pachmarhi (see later) we walked on to try to find the Irene pool. First we asked a couple of times where to go, but as we walked we saw less and less people. Then we heard a sound in the bushes and got a bit scared. A bison was in the bushes nearby but luckily didn't feel like eating us. Not long after that we ended up on the other side of this sign. We thought it would probably say "Don't go here! Strictly forbidden and very dangerous! Bison will kill you!". People told us it didn't, but maybe they were just trying to be nice...

After finding a guest house (only a sign in Lao) in Khongxedon we got some tamarinds and other fruits while waiting. The next few days we had some breakfasts of tamarinds and mandarins.	In the market we decided to buy some fruit. Fien saw this and said it would have sour red pits on the inside, so she bought some. Maybe not red and sour, but this zapota was very tasty! It had a bit date-like taste.

Fien is pointing at the tamarinds in the tamarind tree.	Beautiful strangled tree in Kahna.

English spelling often was a problem in Laos. This nice new hostel in Savannakhét was no different.	We must say that usually the English spelling in India was quite ok, but at this place in Indore they really made a mess of it. Although they had nice fresh juices (that Fien unfortunately couldn't try at that moment due to a non-cooperating gut).

A bathroom in Ubon Ratchatani, a bit cleaner then we usually got in Laos but the arrangement was very familiar.	Our bathroom in Kahna. No shower but washing with buckets was pretty ok. Still we were happy to a nice long warm shower when we got home.

We got to this nice restaurant after a bike ride in the surroundings of Savannakhét, but we had been to a similar one near Vientiane. They will come to bring the food walking over the wooden beam. In Vientiane the waiter came with the menu and waited for 10 minutes while we discussed what we wanted to eat without getting inpatient. That really showed the feeling we have of Laos, very relaxed!	Fien is drinking chai on the way to Kahna next to three strangled trees, which make them holy.

Bison in Khongxedon.	Bison in Kahna (find the difference!).

In Savannakhét we went on a guided hike. Two students took us to the forest where we got a local guide who showed us the way through the forest. We had almonds that just fell from the tree. And found a tree that had just been cut and stolen, which disturbed our local guide. Every time we met people there was a big discussion about this. After the delicious lunch that our guides brought we saw this spider.	Spider in our bathroom in Kahna. Every time we went to the bathroom we checked if it was still there, luckily it always was! Only in our dreams it left the bathroom...

A salt mine. They dried the salt both in the sun and as you can see here with a fire. A family could use one, get the wood and harvest the salt, and would then get paid for the salt they collected. It seemed not to be a permanent job but, many people did a few things to get money (such as selling some drinks and food and helping stranded travelers with a flat tire).	When we arrived in India we directly went to a marble mine where they sold nice colored powder to paint your marble. We thought it was nice to go to an attraction, but I turned out we were the attraction! Everyone wanted a picture with these two western girls.

Many buildings in Laos were wooden, but here in Khongxedon they went to other extreme. Maybe something for Amber?	If there are only a few benefits for women, you have to use them :).

Busy marked in Pakse. The tuktuks were one of our main ways of transport, the common kind of taxi.	The more luxurious version of the tuktuk, the auto. Here on a busy street in Indore.

Meike looking cool in Vientiane.	What is Nakul looking at?

Interesting object in Vientiane. Fien is actually pointing at a water tower (on another picture), a reminiscent of her upbringing. When we tried to take a picture closer we were shooed, apparently it was the American embassy.	We made it to the top of this hill in the hill station Pachmarhi.

Making 'cryptogrammen' in the bus. We had enough time finishing some since the bus wasn't too fast. The bus was waiting every once in a while to let people sell their stuff, so we could write down the words neatly. While riding on the bumpy road avoiding cows and dogs this was quite a challenge. Catching a bus was very easy, you could get them anywhere on the side of the street and they honk when they get near houses so you don't have to miss it.	Meike's sunglasses were broken (just as Fien's camera during the middle part of our trip), but luckily she had some hair that would also do the job. We took a speedboat here in a lake near Jabalpur.

In the park in Bangkok not much is allowed. You can't pick flowers, walk hand in hand with your kid or play football. Neither can you drop your fish when you're tired of them, drink or drop garbage. And you can't.. yeah what actually?	Fat children run to school?

Near the giant swing in Bangkok.	Government buildings in Delhi.

To visit a temple we had to wear a Sarong (officially without pants under it, but everyone did it like this). Very cool, but far too hot.	We tried a lot of things on these blocks, this was the best picture (of the ones suitable for publishing).

Meike looking weird in Laos. The motorbike was the common way of transport in Laos. You can use just one for a whole family of parents with 2 kids (in India it can take 4 grownups).	Meike looking weird in India. You had to take of your shoes everywhere in Laos and India. For sure in all temples in India, to let you experience the cold and muddy floors.

Whenever you are in a park, you want to know the time, don't you? In Bangkok they even wrap their clocks!	And in India they make a whole altar out of their clocked tree (park in Indore).

Find the differences in water towers. Vientiane	versus New Delhi.

Christmas time in Laos. This was the most Christmassy thing we saw...	And new year's eve in India, Pachmarhi: a nice setting, disturbed by rain (het feest viel letterlijk in het water). This was better than the small, TL-lit room with everyone sitting around tables, staring at some tipsy guys dancing with their kids...

Temples surrounded by cars and office buildings in Bangkok.	Lotus temple, New Delhi.

Lovely orchids in Vientiane's orchid garden. They inspired Fien to make an orchid-lamp.	When you see the spotted deer you know that the tiger cannot be far!

Catch the fishes at a fancy fair in Ubon Ratchathani. After a delicious dinner at the evening market in Ubon Ratchathani, we ended up at the fancy fair with this as their main attraction. You have to catch the fish with the thing the girl has in her right hand. The water makes the middle vanish, so if you're not fast enough you will have nothing to catch the fish with and no prize.	Find the tiger!

These goats at least stay off the street nearby Savannakhét.	The middle of the road is the right place to clean each other isn't it? In the village the monkeys got a bit aggressive in trying to get food and the terrace of the restaurant was in a cage to keep the monkeys out.

Find the melons!	Find the owls!

We were very welcome at this hotel, when we woke up in the morning, they even found their Dutch flag! On our way to this hotel our taxi driver had a lot of fun about us... every car stopping or driving next to him he had to tell that we did not know where to go...	A huge anthill in Kahna. They were really big and impressive as you can see.

Orchid garden in Vientiane. You definitely have to visit this when they are all blooming! (not in December apparently)	After hours of riding in a jeep to catch the tiger, this elephant brought us to one in a couple of minutes.

When you play billiard you need a little altar to pray don't you? Especially if you're not so good like us. When we ordered a coke they went to a nearby shop to buy us some, though they couldn�t serve Beerlao.	The first day in Pachmarhi we went for a hike with Nakul and Anisha. When we came to a point where we had to pay to move on they told us it was almost closing, so we decided to go somewhere else. The next day we went back to ourselves. When we came to the same spot we suddenly couldn't pay there anymore! We had to buy a ticket 3 km form there and of course there was a guy with a car that would bring us there for only 300 rupees. We decided to move on and after a while we found ourselves inside the pay-area with this beautiful cave!

This goose family we saw on a hike near Khongxedon.	On our first stop in Pachmarhi we saw these cute monkeys. After a long ride where we found out that the roads in India are comparable to the ones in Laos: holes and animals everywhere.

From Patuxai, one of the main monuments in Vientiane, this very tidy park is the view. Imagine some loud Lao music coming from the multiple speakers in the park.	This squirrel, with its perfect protective coloration, was playing hide and seek in the tree.
← Back to Meike's holiday pictures