Laos Bus

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The Advantages and Disadvantages of Laos Currency

If you have never travelled to a developing country, Laos would certainly give you a unique experience and probably more than just one. With its old colonial charm and vast rural areas, if you like the outdoors or just want to relax Laos has plenty to offer. When visiting Laos you will have to purchase Laos currency which is known as Kip and here are some advantages and disadvantages of using Kip.

Volume: Laos widely accepts US dollars but on arrival in the country you will probably exchange your Dollars to the local currency known as Kip, try not to change all of your cash to Kip as you will be in for a surprise and probably more money than you can carry. A definite disadvantage is the sheer volume of money; you will notice this as a tourist changing $100 US at a time but when buying a motorbike or other large items, locals often need a carrier bag or even a suitcase full of it. This brings in another problem counting your cash takes a while.

Millionaires: I guess this could be seen as an advantage as when you change your money in Laos you have become an instant millionaire. You have reached celebrity status in some countries but not in Laos as most people are millionaires here. When exchanging money the best way to do this is change a little at a time, this will give you enough local currency to pay for small items such as food, drinks, entrance fees and tipping at hotels. It isn’t advisable to change large sums as you will have to carry it around with you all day and it will probably not all fit in your wallet.

Paper Currency: This is a pretty cool advantage they are no coins, which is great, no coins to lose or hear jingling in your pocket as you run for the bus. On the other hand there is plenty of paper with the largest note being equivalent to just five US Dollars

Small change: Have you ever had the problem that you want to buy something small but don’t seem to have any change. This problem doesn’t ever seem to happen in Laos with the biggest note hardly worth that much, it has made buying small items from markets extremely easy.

Colour Co-Ordination: Individual notes are all different colours and easy to distinguish, which is a definite advantage over the US currency and also more original with the US bills all being the same colour and size.

Closed Country: Laos is officially a closed country meaning any left over Kip you have at the end of your trip should not really be taken out of the country all no one will make a fuss, if you did take money out of Laos there would be no use for it as no one would accept an obvious disadvantage. When changing money in Laos; keep the exchange receipt that you obtained from the bank, this makes it easy to change back your unused local currency to $US Dollars without the receipt the bank will not agree to the exchange. If this fails try a local restaurant or shop to see if they will exchange it for you, albeit at a reduced exchange rate.

The last option is to keep it for other uses such as while camping you maybe cold, it would come in handy when starting a fire or if times are desperate it makes good toilet paper. More tips, tour and travel information can be found at http://www.xplore-asia.com

About the Author

After traveling in South East Asia for several years and falling in love with the area in particular Laos. Xplore-Asia was formed with the aim of promoting tours to increase responsible tourism for the local people and show the world the beauty of this area. After setting up operations in South East Asia, Xplore-Asia expanded into the UK and is Directed by Alex Aziz.

Oudom Xay to Louang Phrabang bus trip Laos (Sept 2009)


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laos bus
laos bus

Bus Laos

bus laos="bus laos"

Thailand - Dangers and Annoyances

Thailand - Dangers and Annoyances

Things don’t work too badly in Thailand, but they don’t work too well either. Visitors who are still in ‘Western impatience mode’ will get annoyed by the often slow service, lack of attention and forgetfulness in all but the top resorts, whilst those who have adjusted to the more laid-back attitudes here won’t let such generally minor inconveniences annoy them too much. The standard of English isn’t that high, so doing anything slightly unusual (for example ordering your club sandwich without tomato) can be difficult. Patience is essential.

Thailand is not at all a safety-conscious place: you will see people juggling fire-sticks next to thatched roofs, builders teetering at the tops of wobbly ladders and a motorbike being shared by three people, ridden by a minor with no lights on a rainy night and with the driver riding with only one hand, whilst he chats on a phone clasped in the other. How these people manage to keep their bikes vertical most of the times is amazing: they shouldn’t be on the street, they should be in a circus. If, however, you are tempted to mock or moan then consider that it is precisely this carefree attitude which makes Thais so lovable, so it’s pretty pointless to complain about their laid-back attitude’s other effects. The biggest danger to your health in Thailand is, by far, the roads. Especially the motorbikes, on which tourists die pretty much every day.

Many long-stay Western men come badly unstuck in the country. Whatever problem they had back home, whether it was drink, women or drugs, the laisee faire attitude here reduces self-restraint and causes many to behave worse than they did at home, and in a way that makes it difficult to feel sympathy when they come to grief, as they often do.

Anybody who studies the geology of the matter will have no fear of another tsunami. There will be another one, but it will be triggered further south on the fault-line and thus in a place where the bulk of the Indonesian island of Sumatra will shield the Thai coast. Shortly after the December 2004 tsunami, scientists predicted that the next undersea earthquake would occur further south on the fault-line, which is what happened a year later. The resulting tsunami didn’t touch Thailand and nor will the next one, which will occur even further southeast and so even better shielded by Sumatra.

One of the most admirable aspects of Thailand is the safety with which women can travel around the country, due to the admirably low incidence of physical molestation of foreign women by Thai men. They might annoy a Western woman by proposing too many times, but they almost never pose a danger. Women travelling alone should of course still be cautious. If she is sensible she has nothing to fear. A number of women do come to grief here, but almost always because they ignore the same elementary rules of self-protection that they would take for granted in the West.

This is not paradise. Paradise is a silly concept which is mostly a result of how the perceiver views his or her conditions. Most Thais are much happier with the very little they have, because they are taught from an early age that it is not happiness, but contentment, to which they should aspire. Happiness is a fleeting condition, but contentment is not. Many Westerners have used Thai Theravada Buddhism as a springboard to improved contentment, via ridding their lives of craving and attachment to impermanent phenomena.

It is extremely unlikely that you will have a problem with a snake unless you go hacking your way through the jungle, but you might get bitten by a scorpion.

A year ago I grabbed my shorts off the ‘floor-drobe’ and pulled them on. I knew it had been lazy of me not to hang them up the previous night, but didn’t realise that they had acquired an unwanted passenger. Twenty minutes later I boarded a bus and, just as it pulled away, I felt a stab of pain somewhere extremely tender. “God, what was that?” I thought before rapidly realising that, a bit like a Victorian society host, I had company downstairs. But what was I to do about this, surrounded as I was by a bus-load of people? I shouted for the bus driver to stop, but he didn’t hear me. Well, call me indiscrete, but faced with the alternatives of either making myself a laughing stock or being bitten in the nether regions again, I pulled down my shorts, stood up and shook the culprit loose. He turned out to be one of the little brown ones, rather than the big black fellows. The smaller scorpions hurt you more, as they have venom, whereas the bigger ones just rely on their impressive-looking claws. The remainder of the bus journey wasn’t very comfortable, both because of an unpleasantly numb feeling in usually the most sensitive of spots, but also because of the sidelong glances and barely concealed giggles of the vehicle’s other occupants, who seemed to find it amusing that I had to continually cross, uncross and then re-cross my legs.

Whilst in Thailand, why not visit out one of the country’s currently best three beach destinations:

Koh Lao Liang: http://www.andamanadventures.com/kohlaoliang.shtml

Ao Nang: http://www.andamanadventures.com/ao_nang.shtml

Railay/Tonsai: http://www.andamanadventures.com/railay-tonsai.shtml

About the Author

Runs Andaman Sky Co., Ltd, specialising in climbing and diving trips to Thailand’s best beach destinations.

Vientiane Pakse Muang Khong Trip by Bus Laos 2011


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bus laos

Laos Transportation

laos transportation="laos transportation"

Taoism and Spontaneity, and your Physical Health

Copyright (c) 2007 Stephen Lau


Taoism is a way of life, practiced in China for thousands of years.


Lao Tzu, one of the greatest Chinese philosophers as well as the founder of Taoism, said, "The Tao's principle is simply spontaneity." Spontaneity is the key to healthy longevity.


What is spontaneity? How does it affect your physical health?


In the universe, there is an all-controlling force that monitors everything. You breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. You eat and you eliminate. You grow, mature, and deteriorate. In nature, spontaneity is evident in the change of seasons. Spontaneity is the natural built-in mechanism in each living organism. Spontaneity creates balance and harmony.


Nowadays, people focus so much on physical fitness. The gym giants will do anything to keep you huffing, puffing, and paying; the pharmaceutical companies will come up with any supplements touted to keep you lean, muscular, and full of energy. There is so much pumping irony: strenuous and vigorous workouts may be harmful to your physical health.


According to the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CARDIOLOGY, jogging is causing runners to drop dead from heart attacks. Many individuals have experienced heart attacks even after running on a treadmill.


The medical journal LANCET reports that aerobics is causing deadly artery clogs and heart disease in many individuals who never before had such problems.


You do not need to jog until you are blue in the face, or pump iron like Arnold Schwarzenegger in order to be physically healthy. You can be fit the Taoist way


Lao Tzu explained, "The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world." You need not over-exert yourself in order to be physically fit.


Chinese exercises, such as Tai Chi and Qi Gong, are never vigorous. Once your breathing becomes abnormal or irregular over a long period, you lose the spontaneity of the exercise, and hence its health benefits.


Tai Chi is a self-relaxing exercise with slow and even movements coordinated with breathing and directed by a peaceful mind. Therefore, it is beneficial to both mental and physical health. With its thousands of years of practice, Tai Chi can rid all parts of your body of spiritual and physical ailments, clear your mind and strengthen your brain, and promote good digestion and healthy kidneys. Most importantly, Tai Ci exercises can help lower your blood pressure, soften your blood vessels, and regular the flow of "qi" (the internal vital energy) in your entire body.


What is "qi"?


"Qi" is internal vital energy. It is important because it moves your body. It is the source of growth in your body. "Qi" is always in motion in the form of ascending, descending, entering and leaving your body's organs and systems. It nourishes not only your body by transforming food energy into blood, but also your blood by keeping it flowing. In addition, it helps maintain your body's temperature. "Qi" plays a vital role in Chinese health and healing.


With regard to "qi", Lao Tzu said, "Qi is elusive and evasive, and yet it manifests itself."


Tai Chi exercises focus on correct posture, slow and spontaneous movements, and natural healthy breathing.


Your central nervous system is the most important system in your body: it receives vital information from outside and inside your body; it directs your movements. Your central nervous is healthy only if you keep your spinal column erect because vitality and blood circulation are transmitted efficiently from your lower body to your brain only when your spine is kept erect. Tai Chi exercises are based upon a natural posture (children have naturally erect spinal columns; only adults, especially older people, have bent spinal columns) with an erect spine.


Next to your central nervous system, your digestive system is important to your overall health as it stores and supplies all nourishments for your body. Some of the characteristic movements of Tai Chi reinforce the expansion and contraction of your body in an opening and closing motion, thereby instrumental in vibrating and stimulating your stomach and intestines for a better and healthier digestive system.


Your respiratory system is also critical to your long-term health. In Tai Chi, breathing is valued more than physical power: breathing ' not muscular strength ' propels the movements of your body. Western physical exercises, on the other hand, emphasize muscular strength instead of the spontaneity of breathing and natural body movements. In Tai Chi, your mind directs the "qi", letting it sink down into your abdomen, where natural breathing takes place. According to Taoism, you breathe through your abdomen (like babies and young children), not through your lungs. This explains why people in the West limit their breathing to the lungs; as a result, their lungs tend to enlarge as they grow older, crowding their hearts, leading to heart disease.


Your circulatory system is connected to your respiratory system. Tai Chi enhances your deep breathing, which guides your "qi" to move your blood (which cannot move itself) to different parts of your body for transporting oxygen and nutrients. By regulating the circulation, Tai Chi exercises through natural movements and deep breathing provide a healthy heart.


Hormones in your thyroid gland are responsible for physical growth of your body. In Tai Chi, you keep your neck erect without pressure, centered without inclining to the left or to the right; you integrate the slow and smooth movements of your head and neck. These movements not only enhance the activity of your thyroid gland but also act upon your kidneys to remove wastes.


In summary, you need the spontaneity of Taoism in physical movements as well as in natural breathing to optimize physical health benefits from exercise. Western exercises, focusing on pumping power and strength, may seem too "unnatural" for that.

About the Author

Stephen Lau is a researcher, writing synopses of medical research for scientists. His publications include "NO MIRACLE CURES" a book on healing and wellness. He has also created several websites on health and healing.
http://www.longevityforyou.com
http://www.zenhealthylifestyle.com
http://www.chinesenaturalhealing.com

Fibertech Water Tanks - Nam Theun 2 Powerhouse, Laos. - Transportation (1/2)


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