Muang Khua, and a forced change of plan
Off the beaten track in Northern Laos
Jill's Scene
Here you'll find my thoughts about life, travel, books and, because I love a laugh, the occasional spoof. All this from the perspective of a small town, on an island, in a country that's too close to the Antarctic for comfort.
Nau Mai, Haere mai. Come on in!
From Nong Khiaw to Muang Khua – a boat lover’s dream ride
Psychologists have a therapy for worries – especially those attached to a particular thing – like riding on boats in Asian countries- no, make that riding on boats anywhere. It’s called Exposure Therapy. Heard of it? Basically, the idea is that graduated exposure to the object of fear […]
A day trip on the Nam Ou
For a land locked country Laos has a lot of water. The rivers, especially the Mekong and the Nam Ou, are an important means of transport as well as a source of food. I did know this before I got here. And as you know despite my nervousness […]
Introducing “Ben goes …”
A new blogger in the blogosphere
The mighty Mekong and me
In which boating gets a little more adventurous than was intended, or perhaps it’s time to rename my blog “The trials of a timid traveller” Visit the Pak Ou caves the guidebook said. It’ll be fun, John and Ben said. Why not, I thought. Well, actually, if I’m […]
Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang – a road trip like no other
Pick-up is at 9:30am the hotel receptionist told us. And, being the obliging sort, we were ready and waiting for the shuttle bus at 9:20. We whiled away half an hour watching the builders across the road. They were putting up the framing for a new house – […]
Vang Vieng – a town of contrasts
This small town, population 25,000, five hours by bus from Vientiane, the capital of Laos, is famous for its scenery and its party scene. On our first evening we were entranced by the beauty, surprised by the partying, although we’d heard the stories – apparently it’s a lot calmer […]
Off the beaten track in Bangkok
You’ve already heard about our venture into the malls on New Year’s Eve. We returned empty handed – almost. Asia Books had a good map of Laos – one with both Laos script and Latin letters. Our day for exploring was more successful. Fai, our guide from Chilli Paste […]
Happy New Year from Bangkok
It’s difficult to imagine a city more different from my home town. There are fourteen million people in the metropolitan area – Napier has 61,000. In fact Bangkok has more than three times the population of my entire country! It’s winter in Bangkok now. Some locals are wearing […]
Kids are kids no matter the species.
Oh, how I loved to poke and prod at the presents under the tree when I was little. And, oh how, when they were little, I tried to outwit my own kids’ attempts to snoop on Santa.
Jill's Scene 
The korero