1

Avoid these company like the plague

Yes, a company that serves bland food while out trekking should be compared to the bubonic plague that killed 25 million people. I can see your point and it's a valid comparison.

2

I used that same rice bag once as a seat. It wasn't so bad (for the first 7 hours...).

And since this posting seems to be your request for a public hearing (and be warned, we can be an ornery bunch...), can you offer photographic evidence of these atrocities in addition to the "mug" shots?

And did the 70 year old really have a terrible time, or have you seen a hundred smiles on his many retellings.... be honest now!

3

I wonder if the vegos told them they were vegetarian before the trek?

4

you are mentioning Namtha and Luang Prabang???? which one is it?????
Pretty much EVERY person I know who has done a trek in Luang Namtha has forund it much more onerous that they had expected... but then it is a mountainous area of a third world country ..... and it is getting to villages that are promoted as being autherntic .... and indeeed that is where such villagers live ... at the end of long and difficult jungle trails .... that is why we find them so fascinating .

If you are seeking the well catered, comfortable transport, easy access tour ... then you will need to go to one of the up market package tour$$$$.

My husband and I ( he is 76) were in Namtha for New year this year .... we adjusted out transport ... tuktuk into town and out to villages ( some of the same ones you go to trekking up and down the mountains ....)and for the longer haul trips we hired a van & driver ..... and paid for it .

we ate very well at the market .... fantastically sweet mandarins... refreshing jimmca beans , delicious sweets and wonderful soups... and couple of western places in town... yes even vegemite on toast and real baked beans...all easily accessible and vegetarian ... I even bought good chocolate in Namtha ....

We also had the best thing I think I have eaten in Laos ... it was a pork belly stew that had cardamon, star anise and local wild pepper ... that we had bought at the market ... fantastic

so ... my feeling ... I would warn everyone that trekking in Namtha is very demading .... its mountainous .... comes with the territory .... and the best adventure comes from the things that go wrong

5

Shades of pith helmet colonialism, " quick boy run to the village and get me a fifth of gin." Why should vegetarians come to a third world country in SE Asian and expect the locals to understand meatless cuisine. They come by that all too easily.

6

As I understand it one of the key purposes of this site is to give other travellers a helping hand - including warning them about scams and dodgy operators in foreign

countries.

Are we agreed on this?

The key point above was that this tour operator (Ethnic Travels) knowingly advertised and sold tickets for a VIP bus (which did not exist) and instead shoved these

travellers on a much lower quality bus, without the reserved seats as promised and made them wait an extra 3 hours in the sun...and of course did not provide any

refund on the additional profits which were made on the cheaper tickets.

Given there have been 5 replies to this thread and the bulk of which have amount to childish nit-picking and "get over it" style

statements. Disappointeing.

I can only hope that there are genuine travellers out there who will appreciate this heads up and as a result will avoid getting ripped off.

7

As I understand it one of the key purposes of this site is to give other travellers a helping hand - including warning them about scams and dodgy operators in foreign

countries.

Are we agreed on this?

The key point above was that this tour operator (Ethnic Travels) knowingly advertised and sold tickets for a VIP bus (which did not exist) and instead shoved these

travellers on a much lower quality bus, without the reserved seats as promised and made them wait an extra 3 hours in the sun...and of course did not provide any

refund on the additional profits which were made on the cheaper tickets.

Given there have been 5 replies to this thread and the bulk of which have amount to childish nit-picking and "get over it" style

statements. Disappointeing.

I can only hope that there are genuine travellers out there who will appreciate this heads up and as a result will avoid getting ripped off.

Note - It was a typo on my part. This travel agency is in Luang Namtha, not Luang Prabang.

8

Sorry that the trip has caused you to repeat yourself!

9

Vientianeboy - Hi, yes indeed. They told them a day in advance that they were vegetarians. They were promised that tofu would be used (as a substitute for beef which the meat eaters such as myself had). The tofu never appeared (desite the guide doing the food shopping shortly before the start of the trek).

Even when it was pointed out to the cook that the veggie members of the group could not eat food that had meat sustances in then he continued to use it extensively.

This was highly unfair on the veggies and without the kindness of other travellers who helped out with gifts of milk/muesli the diet wouldn't have strayed far from sticky rice for the 8 meals across the 3 days.

10

veggie members of the group could not eat food that had meat substances

They can - they just dont want too..........

Picky vegetarians should get over it!

11

Your statement that "picky vegetarians should get over it" demonstrates epic ignorance on your part.

Should hetersexuals be forced to take it in the ar$e on occassion...and just get over it?

12

The most important lesson I have learned in my years of Asian travel is that whatever expectation you have ... e.g. what VIP implies... the locals will have a different idea . ... I have learned to leave behind my Australian satndards of safety and service... and my measures of wealth and poverty... and my indicators of courtesy , tact and good manners.

Each of these lessons I have learned by making judgements based on my own language and values .... and the language , the values, the indicators and the custos in Asia are very different to mine ...

As I amin their country ... I guess they are getting it right . If I am not coping with something ... I have learned to ask with courtesy.... if I want to get there .

A VIP bus just means a bus full of tourists .... most locals would have no idea about what the letters stand for

13

btw .... how come you didn't give up your seat to the poor old bloke on the rice sack?????

14

philistine55 - By your reasoning everyone providing a service/product in a foreign country is, by definition, "getting it right" by virtue of being from that country.

Forgive me for thinking that in every country on the planet there are people providing (1) good quality, fair service (2) exceptional service and (3) poor service.

All I'm trying to do here is point out (for the benefit of fellow travellers) a tour company which promises (and charges for) one thing but delivers something quite different (and sub-standard).

No doubt the majority of posters on here have been to a wide variety of countries and are fully aware that local standards sometimes dip below what we expect at home.

We can all usually accept this to a degree but when tour operators tell lies, cause a lot of inconvenience to travellers and knowingly under-deliver forgive me if I'd like to see other travellers look for alternative providers of similar services in the future.

P.S. A number of us did offer up our seat for the chap in question but he refused it out of pride.

What I didn't add was that he was verbally abused and intimidated into giving up his seat (which, like ours, was not occupied when we boarded the bus) by a local man.

He seemed happy just to draw a line undernearth the whole affair to be honest.

Had he been given the reserved seat on the VIP bus he booked & paid for this could've all been avoided.

Also, if you've travelled Laos you'll have noted that the VIP buses are of a superior build quality to the local "ordinary" buses and often have superior leg room betted to "western" body types.