Laos

 An average country with extremely low population and a wonderful train line to China. More people live in Andheri (a suburb of Bombay) than in Laos. 

The geography of Laos is quite tricky; it has a lot of mountains and not enough agricultural land. This hasn't allowed population to settle in this part of the world since thousands of years, and whatever population lives here, they live along the Mekong River. 

I also found Laos to be one of the "not so clean" countries of South East Asia. We visited 2 cities, and both were pretty sparsely populated. Vientiane, their capital, is considered to be the most boring capital city on the planet. However, I did see that they have 30% of their cars, being EV cars, manufactured in China. The 2nd city, Luang Prabang is a very cosy city and quite popular with the locals & western tourists.

Few photos of Wat Sisaket. As we kept coming closer and closer to Thailand, the temples looked very much like the temples of Thailand. 

Patuxai - Victory Monument of Laos. 

Location: Victory Monument

One can climb at the top for views.

We got caught in a rainstorm and were hiding in a temple. Clicked some photos and they came out to be lovely.

If you get a chance, please visit the COPE Visitor Centre in Vientiane. This shows the impact of the bombs dropped by the US army on the people of Cambodia. These days, China has had an impact on the growth of Laos. You can see that from the number of EV cars, railways and roads being built by the Chinese without dropping bombs in Laos.

Location: COPE Centre

The Vientiane Railway Station. It's an absolutely mammoth of a building 

...and off we went to Luang Prabang.

The train goes to Kunming in Southern China.

Luang Prabang's a nice small charming town, with lots of European Tourists visiting the city. 

Nam Khan River meets the mighty Mekong River here.

The temples here are very pretty. Wat Xiengthong has many temples in the complex and it is worth visiting.

Location: Wat Xiengthong Temple Location

Hire a scooter, and do visit the Tat Sae Waterfalls. It's about 20 kms from the city. 

Location: Waterfalls

I do suggest to have a nice dinner along the Mekong River. Do take your mosquito spray, to avoid the army of mosquitoes attacking you.

It's also worth visiting the Royal Palace and Museum. The palace is average from outside, however there are a few things to see from the inside, tea cups and chairs. I liked the garden though.

Location: Royal Palace and Museum

We also went on a river cruise on the Mekong River. This probably was the most boring experience of my life. I am not in my 20s anymore, I don't seek adventure in every walk of my life; but this was so sad and so boring, that the most existing thing was to "wave at other boats!".

Orangutans of Indonesia

 One of the things that travel allows you to do, is to explore the wildlife of different parts of the world. Africa has the Lions, South America has the Alpacas, North America has the Bison, India has the Tiger, and Indonesia has the world's highest number of Orangutans. 

We visited Central Kalimantan to see the Orangutans at the Sebangau National Park.

We visited with the guide and he gave us binoculars. 

Sebangau National Park has 9 primates, however if one wants to see them all, it's a 5 day trip into the rainforest jungle.

We had a day to spare so, were interested in the Orangutans. The only way to see them was to stay on the boat and then view them on the trees. 

Our first sighting was just after few minutes on the boat.

This one was standing tall with it's long arms.

A small video showing the number of primates we saw on the boat ride. 

The river water was dark brown from the rainfall that had happened through the last few weeks.

We had to walk sometimes through the rainforest to reach places where we could see them. 

There were a bunch of teenagers (according to our guide) who were messing about and were full of energy.

We also saw a baby and mum.

The mum was keeping a close eye on us, and was quite protective.

When viewing the forest from the top, we could only see green forest and nothing else. The air felt fresh, the sky looked clean and we were ready for the end of the day.

Our boatman and the guide were brilliant that day. 

We loved every moment at the park.

We viewed a beautiful sunset on our way back.

Bea-U-Ti-Ful!