Is there a minivan or bus that goes to chiang rai from pai? Or would I have to go back to chiang mai to catch something to chiang rai?
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3
Laszlo
For 2 months, Indonesia has much more to offer than Thailand.
It also beats Thailand in terms of quiet spots, especially quiet beaches and islands.
However, for meeting lots of new people, meaning lots of other tourists, Thailand wins hands down.
Only a few spots in Indonesia, like Bali and the Gili Islands are crowded with visitors, elsewhere you have to do with far fewer than in Thailand.
If locals also count though, they are far friendlier and easier to make friends with in Indonesia than in Thailand.
3
travtrav
We're doing 5 days in Chiang Mai, 5 days in Luang Prabang, 6-7 days in Bali (mostly north of Ubud + Batur and hopefully Amed, maybe a day trip to Sidemen) and either 4-5 days in Siem Reap of Penang. Any other suggestions on how to get a feel of SEA's diversity in about 22 days would of course be most welcomed!
hemis
Vallee de Mai:
One bus per hour goes to Vallee de Mai and there is a bus stop right in front of the Park entry.
Free tours are still held at 9am and 2pm. A private guide costs a whopping E 50. Entry is now SCR 350 for adults. It’s a rip-off albeit the 3 paths are beautiful and mostly shaded to walk. If you want to walk all of them count on roughly 2h. I don’t agree with the LP guide in the way that it’s best to take a private guide. There are panels all along the way that indicate all you ever wanted to know about the Coco de Mer and the other resident palms and trees.
Sabine Boat Charter – Trip to Curieuse Island and St. Pierre Islet, Snorkelling and BBQ lunch
Owner Neville: +248 2 591 441 or 2 580 005 or 2 870 358
They have 4 boats of different sizes and are located right on the beach next to Octopus Dive Center.
The trip starts daily at Anse Volbert at 09.30 and lasts until about 15.30 hours.
Bring a bottle of water.
Price per person is E 65. The half day tour without lunch is E 50.
It’ll take just 15 min to get you over to Curieuse Island. You’ll land at Baie Laraie with its beautiful granite rocks. Once you step on land you’ll be surrounded by large Aldabra Tortoises doing all kind of things from sleeping, day dreaming and eating right up to quite noisy sexual intercourse. However they don’t like having a large audience at the latter activity. What they do like is if you gently pet their head, their throat or their neck. Some of them walk straight towards you with their hat raised. Watch out if they pass you if you are on flip flops as they don’t mind stepping on your feet.
Inland from the beach is a tortoise nursing center for their babies. All the little ones are micro chipped and behind a wire mesh fence.
A 45 min walk brings you to the other side of the island at Anse St. Jose where the Doctor’s House is located. You can step into it bare foot only. Next to the Doctor’s house you’ll have your tasty BBQ lunch and some free soft drinks. After some leisure time at the beach you’ll head out to a beautiful spot near the St Pierre Islet for a great snorkelling experience as you’ll get the chance to snorkel between the granite rocks, watch out for the waves. The few corals are mainly dead but there was good visibility and a large number of coral fish playing hide and seek me between the rocks. After a final short boat ride you are back at Anse Volbert. Fair value – recommended.
At Anse Volbert / Cote d’Or you can stay comfortably at Chez Muriel:
Owner Muriel Bedier – Tel. +248 2 714 097 – Email: bediermuriel@hotmail.com / www.chezmurielguesthouse.com
You can book via booking.com or by phone/WhatsApp
Muriel has 2 rooms on 2 floors, 4 in total. She lives in the same house as well. All rooms feature a fan but no AC. Bathrooms and showers are out of the room but generally private.
Rooms are big and airy; most folks won’t need an AC.
Doubles are E 80 and E 90 with breakfast.
Singles are E 50 and E 55 with breakfast.
Some rooms have additional beds and can accommodate 3 to 4 pers.
There is a fully equipped kitchen, a living room and a large veranda. On one evening I bought a 70cm Barracuda from the nearby fish stand for just SCR 50 and fried it all in pieces that night. It lasted for 2 days. A 1 min walk brings you to the bus station and a 5 min walk to center (restaurants and supermarkets) and the beach.
Acquario Guest House
Tel / WhatsApp: +248 2 779 700, Nora
2 Standart rooms, 1 Pers E 105 / 2 Pers E 135
Shared living room with TV and kitchen. AC, toilet and shower plus a safe inside the room.
1 superior room, 1 Pers. E 130 / 2 Pers. 155
Large private living room with a fan, a kitchen and a large veranda. If you stay here move the fan at night to the sleeping room.
I arrived in the morning when the room was still reasonably cool. However it heated up during the day and when I came back in the afternoon it wasn’t possible for the AC to cool the room down. Not even during the night albeit it run at 16°C on full speed; the room still had 32°C. I mentioned this to the lady and they said they gonna check if there is a problem with this AC.
My neighbours in the standart room meant they were happy with their AC.
Breakfast costs an additional E 15 per pers. No drinking water available. Water heater and coffee are for free. Price negotiations are possible.
The place is about 10 min by walk from the center; up the road towards Anse Lazio from Chez Muriel. At low tide you can walk from the Dive shop at the corner all along the beach, at high tide you can still walk, albeit in knee up to waist deep water :)
The Catholic Parish rents out rooms at Baie Sainte Anne.
I haven’t stayed there nor did I visit the place. I heard about as I was already back on Mahe.
However it’s worth checking it out as the price is low and offers a good deal for larger groups as well.
Call Anaselle at +248 2 534 492 / Email: milandrice@yahoo.fr
2 small rooms with 2 single beds for SCR 300 per adult / SCR 200 per child
2 large rooms with 16 beds each (dormitory style) for the same price.
Rooms feature AC and fan. There is a fully equipped shared kitchen, a dining hall, a hall for activities and bathrooms with showers and toilets. Not sure if the toilets are inside the room.
Check it out and give it a try as this may well be one of the cheapest places to stay on Praslin.
The place is about a 15min walk or a 5 min bus ride from the jetty, close to the Catholic Church and the Vijay Private school.
LA DIGUE ISLAND:
Public transport: You need a bicycle here. You can rent them directly at the end of the pier after arriving with the ferry. There are many different stalls here. All feature similar bikes and mostly same prices. Get on the bike first and go for a round, check the brakes, tires and gears, pay and off you go. You won’t need a lock, bikes don’t get stolen but my tip is to fix something on the bike so that you recognise it at busy places as some models looks identical. If you stay for more than one day, tell the guy that he shall accompany you to your guest house (for no extra charge) so that you don’t have to search for it and might get a help in transporting your luggage in case it is a lot.
1 Day cost SCR 150, 2 and more are SCR 100 per day. On the day of departure, ride the bike back to the jetty and leave it there.
Food: If you want to save money, go for one of several tasty Takeaways. There is always one open even at night time. The best ones are Gala and Mi Mum (both already recommended in the old LP but closed on Sundays).
15
balmans
Hi Simon,
Thanks very much for your reply. I am an experienced cycling Tourer and have travelled in Indonesia so am aware of the logistics but Myanmar is a whole lot different.My plan is to ride in multiple countries. Originally I wanted to start in Japan(Tokyo), South korea,china,vietnam,Thailand,Myanmar & India but now want to do it in reverse order because I wanted to avoid the winter ride in Japan & South Korea (my trip will start in December first or 2nd week).
I haven't done much planning other than reading Bill wier's route from Moreh , He was not going to Mandalay in the journal I was reading so that is where I wanted to deviate and hence chalked out my rough sketch. I also took the idea from him that as a cyclist you can take advantage of staying in monastries or camp where there are no hotels for foreigners. My plan is also not to overstay the visa so if I am running short of time I will take a bus to reach Mae sot. Thanks very much for your input I will also check COGB for additional materials. BTW I also wanted to mention that I love visiting historical places but for this trip it is the experience of biking Myanmar and hitting historical places if they are close to my route.Thanks again for your input.
jessica_spinks979783
Hi, planning a trip to Vietnam in April and wanting abit of advice, it is myself, my partner and my 8 year old son.
We are wanting a slower paced holiday and purposefully started with a large time spent in Hoi An in the beginning. I left off Sapa intentionally opting instead for Ninh Binh and Phong Nha, and am still considering Ha Long Bay.
We are flying in and out of Da Nang as flights increased in price rapidly and it was what we could afford
Hoi An 3/4-10/4 7 nights
Hue 10/4- 13/4 3 nights
Phong Nah 13/4-15/4 2 nights & night train to
Ninh Bin 16/4-19/4 3 nights
Mai Chau 19/4- 21/4 2 nights
Hanoi 21/4-25/4 4 nights
Fly to Da nang from Hanoi on 25/4 spend 1 night in da nang
fly home 26/4
Any advice would be highly appreciated
thank you!!
11
jugsriyananda
I know my suggestion might sound weird, but you can try climbing Bua Tong "Sticky Waterfalls" in Chiang Mai instead. Now I know, it's a waterfall, but the "sticky" surface from the moss will make the climbing experience very "cool" literally. I went there last week in the middle of the April heat, and the water was refreshingly cool. It's not very challenging, but it's very refreshing, that's for sure.
Do bring a change of clothes too, of course!