Bangkok To Chang Mai To Lp In Laos

[Alexpho]

Greetings from Philadelphia, PA ! I will be arriving to Bangkok to kick off my 5 week tour. This will be my first time back to Thailand and Laos in 30 years ( left Laos when I was seven years old ). I will be doing this trip solo and looking forward to the sites and sounds of the areas. After extensive reading and research, there are still questions that I have. I hope someone can give their inputs and suggestions on my plans.

1- I will be arriving in Bangkok this Saturday and hope to catch a train to Chiang Mai on Monday and Tuesday. Question, are there any points between these two cities that is a " must see "?

2- Once in Chiang Mai, where is a good hotel to stay at where I will be in the heart of the " action " ( women and booze, LOL )? I am looking for a comfortable and clean place to stay , not expensive but not a dive either. Wifi access would be a plus.

3- I plan to arrive in LP Laos by the start of the New Year around April 10th. So I am estimating that my stay in Chang Mai would only last 3 days. Can I simply take a bus to the Lao border from Chang Mai, AND THEN pay for my slowboat ride THERE?? Or do I simply just go ahead and do the tourist thing and buy a package tour once in Chang Mai?

4- After LP, I plan to hit Vientiene, and head down to Southern Laos, then back to Bangkok for a lengthy stay, and then down south to Phuket. So in looking at the area map, I am making a big loop, north to south, clockwise. My concern is that I will be missing key destinations in the Northern areas of Thaniland. Can someone elaborate? If it is close to Bangkok, I can be flexible and head back up north.

My problem is that I must be in Laos during the New Year and arriving on April 3rd only gives me a week to go from Bangkok to LP by ways of Chang Mai. However, plenty of time afterwards.

Any comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Alex

[keeniau96]

Forget about the slowboat ride on Mekong because the water is very low and boat travel is suspended. Fastboat may still run but it is suicidal in the best of times. Could take bus from CM up to Chiang Hong crossing, go into Laos and take bus to LP. Good luck. In any event, no need for package tour, just go with the flow, smile a lot and enjoy the trip. Lao people are more relaxed and will put up with most any foolishness as long as it's reasonable behavior.

[gotlost]

Forget about the slowboat ride on Mekong because the water is very low and boat travel is suspended. Fastboat may still run but it is suicidal in the best of times. Could take bus from CM up to Chiang Hong crossing, go into Laos and take bus to LP. Good luck. In any event, no need for package tour, just go with the flow, smile a lot and enjoy the trip. Lao people are more relaxed and will put up with most any foolishness as long as it's reasonable behavior.

You can fly from Chiang Mai to LP on Air Lao.

http://www.laoairlines.com/