It's a fact

Every place in town is in walking distance, with the highest point in town, the That Chomsi stupa on mount Phousi, visible as a landmark from every point in town. Make sure you're in good shape before climbing the 300 steps up and be amazed by beautiful views of Luang Prabang.

The center of this town, in the north of Laos, is quiet and small. There is one main street, which you can easily walk in under 10 minutes. This is the street were you'll see most guesthouses, some combined with a restaurant. Though eco tourism is on the uprise in this area, you will not see mega hotels in this area, there is no party scene. Luang Namtha is for nature lovers that love to explore and come back to town to relax with a cold Beerlao (Lao beer).

From Chiang Mai a mini van will take you to Pai within 3 hours. Be prepared, these might feel like the 3 longest hours of your life as the bus will drive up a mountain containing a mere 762 curves. Motion sickness pills may help you survive the ride. If you’re feeling adventurous, there are several companies that rent out scooters for your ride from Chiang Mai to Pai and deliver your luggage for you for a reasonable price. This however is at your own risk. Along the way we encountered a transport van that lost some mattresses along the way and our own driver almost hit some tourists driving on the wrong side of the road. But the view up to Pai is beautiful. Along the way you will see deep valleys, large trees and blue skies. Like everything outside the major cities, it is quiet and picture perfect.

The workshop started with an early visit to the market. Here our cooking class got to see and smell different vegetables and herbs that are used in the Thai kitchen. Our teacher explained the variety in ingredients that depict typical thai food. I saw various products I hadn't seen before and it was fantastic to learn what was actually in the different dishes I'd tasted already.

I took the nighttrain from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. The nighttrain is a great way to travel and buy time at the same time. If you have to sleep anyway, why not travel comfortably at the same time. After 12 hours I arrived in Chiang Mai. Outside of the trainstation there are a lot of small red firewagon looking buses. These buses are typical Chiang Mai taxis, that will take you anywhere in the city for a reasonable price. After settling in my hostel (private room with private bathroom, I am a bit of a glampacker) in the old city center I took an exploratory walk. As the old city center is just ..., it is perfect to get around on foot, though the main method of transportation used by tourists that have a longer stay in the city is a scooter. I prefer walking, because I believe it's the best way to observe and well, I have the time. But, as in any major city, you will have no trouble finding a taxi(bus) or a tuktuk that will get you wherever you want to go.

The last couple of weeks I've been meeting up with a lot of friends and family, wanting to meet up with me before my journey. Unfortunately I couldn't see everyone, but I received a lot of phone calls, messages and even practical gifts that I can use along the way (you know who you are and I will be writing one line a day ;-)). A lot of people asked me which places I will be visiting. I will start in Bangkok, where I will be staying near Ban Krachao, which is also known as the green lung of Bangkok because of it's green character. After that, I will be travelling up north to Chiang Mai to see it's beautiful temples and hopefully learn how to cook proper Thai food. After that I will travel to Chiang Rai and, among other things, visit the golden triangle. This is where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet. After this I will cross the border over to Laos. After Laos I will visit Vietnam and Cambodia, and return to Thailand for my flight back to Amsterdam. As you might have noticed, my itinerary is a little vague after I leave Thailand. The reason for this is that I simply do not know how I will be travelling trough these countries. I have a couple of months and will be taking my time getting from one place to another. Hopefully I will receive some tips along the way to safely deviate from the beaten track and experience some truelly amazing things. During this journey I will be using trains and buses as much as I can. This has different reasons. It leads to places you might have missed when flying and I do have time to make unplanned stops. It is a great way to meet people making a similar journey and share travel tips. Taking a night train saves time, as you need to sleep anyway. Last but not least, it is very affordable. In a couple of hours I will be boarding and my journey will begin. I will be arriving in Bangkok on the morning of 5 February. As you might have heared, there is a lot of smog covering this city at the moment. Though action has been taken to lower the smog levels this is a continuing issue, caused by extreme traffic pollution. As I will be staying near Ban Krachao, 'the green lung' of Bangkok, I hope the air quality will be better. I will keep you updated in the next couple of days.