The long bus journey from Luang Prabang to the border was long and chilly, as we were up in the north Laos mountains, but we had some fleecy blankets and luckily I had no toilet problems. Arrived at the border at 7am and got another tuk tuk up to the river border crossing. We teamed up with a scouser dude and a dutch girl, and after officially leaving Laos, crossed the river in a boat and entered Thailand. The visa application process was much simpler than the Laos and Cambodian ones so within 5 minutes we were on another tuk tuk heading towards the border town of Chiang Khong. We still needed to get our bus tickets onto Chiang Mai, so our driver dropped us outside a shop which sold bus tickets. We bought our tickets, but still had an hour to kill before it arrived, so went in search of a restuarant for breakfast. However, as this was a very local town, with few westerners, there weren't really any restaurants as such, just a couple of cafes serving rice soup (tradtional thai brekkie) and noodles etc. We had a meal there, and then stocked up on 7 Eleven snacks for the journey to Chiang Mai which we assumed would take about 4-5 hours.
Eight hours later we finally arrived in Chiang Mai. By this stage we had been travelling nearly 24 hours straight and were knackered. We got a tuk tuk into town to find a hostel, but soon after, Andrew cut his foot on a piece of metal on the street. He freaked out as a lot of blood came out of his toe, but once we shoved a plaster on it, it stopped. Luckily our hostel was just round the corner, so we went to check in and had some much needed showers.
After finding a tasty curry house nearby, we headed back to the hostel for some drinks to socialise. Most people at the hostel were going out for drinks in a nearby bar district, so we tagged along. Had some good chats and watched a local thai Ska band, but once it got to 1am we suddenly realised how exhausted we were and called it a night to get some much needed sleep.
The next day we explored the town and went to the Saturday market where I found a beautiful embroidered bag to replace my crappy H&M one which had broken the day before. I'd seen loads of bags like it in Laos but hadn't been able to justify buying any as they were too big, so I was actually quite glad when the zip broke off my other bag! We also booked our train tickets onto Bangkok as we had a tight schedule to keep to get down to Malaysia for Christmas. Then in the evening we met up with our friends Chantelle and Leo who we originally met in China, but now happened to be staying at the same hostel as us. We went to eat at some great street food stalls back near the Saturday market, and had a feast for about 3 pounds!
The following day we hired some bikes to go and see Chiang Mai university as apparently it showed free films on Sundays and also had a swimming pool. It took about an hour to cycle there on the crazy busy main roads, and it was a pretty campus to cycle round. But quite soon we realised that we weren't going to find either the film or the pool. We asked some students for directions, but ended up very lost, and had to ask for directions again at a local shop. By this stage it was late afternoon and we had to cycle back to town before it got dark. In the evening however, we met up with Chantelle and Leo again and went to see the huge local Sunday Wallking Market. It went on forever, with hundreds of stalls selling all manner of pretty things. The best bit was the fantastic street food again though, which were based in the grounds of each of the temples that lined the route of the market. Everything was only about 20 - 30 bhat each (about 50-70p) so we sampled all kinds of treats - chicken satay, pad thai, smoothies, pancakes with meringue in them, and more.
The day after this we had to get our sleeper train to Bangkok. It was exciting to be back on trains again, as after our epic journey from Laos we'd had enough of buses! We had two spacious seats for the daytime journey, which would then convert into one bunk, with the other bunk pulled down from above. Although we were only traveling second class, we ended up having table service food and drinks for the whole journey! We had some beers and snacks to start with, served by one of the many waiting staff who were milling about everywhere, and then selected a 3 course meal from a menu, which was served later in the evening. It only cost 150B (3 pounds), but was really tasty and filling. Our beds were really nice and comfy too with individual lights, blankets and curtains. It was certainly one of the best train journey experiences we've had so far.
We arrived in Bangkok the following morning around 7am and got the metro to our hostel area in Silom Road. It was a bit of a walk down the main road to our actual hostel, but on the way we passed tons of different street food stalls selling tasty looking breakfast treats. We vowed to come back later for our own breakfast. We arrived at our hostel, which had a curious smell of condensed milk, but very friendly staff. Our room was very comfortable so after showers we went out find some breakfast which we ate in a nearby park surrounded by curious pigeons, and a large water monitor lizard.
After this we hopped on a skytrain and then the river 'tourist boat' to go to Wat Pho which apparently housed Thailands largest reclining Bhudda (46 meters long!). It was certainly huge and very impressive. The temple complex was very calm serene and relaxing, and had lots of shady courtyards to escape from the baking sun. In the afternoon we went to investigate getting Andrew a bespoke suit made. We had the name of a tailor recommended by our hostel which was on the other side of town, so we headed over there. Once we arrived, the price seemed right so Andrew picked his fabrics, chose the style of suit and had his measurements taken. This was at 3pm. We were amazed when they said that they could have the suit ready and made in time for 11am the following morning. Apparently they had tailors that did both night and day shifts. So that evening we went back at 6.30pm, which time the toile of the suit was already finished ready for the fitting. It was basically perfect, but Andrew requested slightly thinner trousers and a slight change to the cut of the jacket hem. They said all of these changes would be made for the following morning (11am) when they could bring the finished suit directly to our hostel, as we had to catch our train to Malaysia the following afteroon. Whilst the fitting was going on we were given complimentary beers and water, and then they even gave us a lift to a bar area on the other side of town where we were meeting our friends that evening. Needless to say, they arrived early the next morning with the finished suit, and it fitted perfectly with all the requested changes having been made. They said to recommend them to our friends, so visit Thai Square Tailors in Bangkok if you fancy a tailored suit!
Thursday 30 December 2010
Luang Prabang & Trek
After an exhilarating 6 hour minibus ride up and down the winding mountain roads of Northern Laos, we arrive in the historic town of Luang Prabang, listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site due to its vast array of ancient wats (temples) and French colonial architecture. Situated at the confluence of the Mekong and Nham Khan rivers, it skirts around the edge of Phousi mountain (no really!) which lies at its' centre. It is a beautiful town, though feels strangely 'un lao'. The local airport draws in an ever increasing stream of tourists, creating a western friendly zone of restaurants, craft markets and guest houses. Few locals can afford to live in the centre of the historic town, the colonialism of the past replaced by an invasion of tourist cash.
We look into the possibility of going on a trek in the surrounding countryside, and are lucky enough to find one leaving the next morning, with four people already subscribed (bringing the cost down considerably per person). We're in the tour office at 8am to set off on our two day excursion and it's raining heavily. Undaunted, we leave our large luggage and head off in the minibus with our local guide. From an inauspicious starting point at the side of a road 2hours drive away, we head off up a steep muddy track. Helen purchased some new hiking shoes (Goretex and everything) before we left London. I, being the more experienced hiker, am sporting a pair of hilariously inappropriate skateboarding plimsolls, with an almost negative amount of grip. This has its advantages at first as the thick sandy mud clings to the thick soles of everyone else's shoes, adding weight with each step. The path is bordered at first with un-terraced sticky rice fields, which cling to the edge of the mountainous slopes, our guide points out piles of burnt hay, apparently a device for flushing out rats.
A series of steep climbs puts us into a proper hike mode, plodding purpousefuly up the sticky track, it's hard going and the dense cloud we now find ourselves in drenches everything. during breaks in the mist, we see spots of cloud and mist hovering over the dense jungle around us:
The lower, flatter ground has more terraced, irrigated rice fields.
We stop for lunch at a local village, Laap (minced chicken with mint and spices), the ubiquitous sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf, and buffallo curry. The side of our hut featured illustrations of how to avoid unexploded ordinance from the Vietnam war - Laos is the most bombed country in history, it was hit by 260 million bombs, 80 million of which failed to explode, or where dropped by returning planes to conserve fuel. The huts are mounted on stilts, raising them above the mud & snakes. The Hmong people who live hear have ancestral routes in Mongolia, and live high in the mountains as the climate is far cooler. Their people where used by the CIA in the Vietnam war in northern Laos, in what became known as the secret war (I had the book 'The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down' recommended to me as a tear jerking account of Hmong immigrants to the US). They were very friendly as we stumbled through their home.
On the other side of the hill is a village populated by Khmu, indigenous people to northern Laos. Separating the two villages is a shared school, and Helen had the idea of bringing some pencils to give to the kids - we were soon surrounded by a throng of eager faces. They had been running amok, unsupervised, during a break, would never have happened in my day!
Click here to watch a video
The stopover was a comfortable nights sleep in another village, following some Lao Lao (a rice spirit local moonshine) we slept very well. The following morning and continued rain means we take an easier route for fear of snapping ankles - the disadvantage is several river crossings.
Saturday 18 December 2010
Laos, Vientianne and Vang Vieng
We started our trip up to north Laos in the Capital - Vientianne. We only had a day there but managed to squeze in a delicious steak with pepper sauce, fries and a glass of red wine. Bliss. There's a big French ex pat community there so lots of places to get good steak! We also visited the Laos arc de triomphe, also known as the concrete monster, which on closer inspection becomes clear. It was built from concrete donated by america to build an airport runway, but they built the arc instead. If nothing else though it was a great place to see a panoramic view of the city.
After Vientianne we got a bus to Vang Vieng which went on some very windy roads through all the mountains. One poor local kid got bad motion sickness and threw up all over his seat. His brother and the driver shouted at him, but wiped him down and we continued on our way. The scenery on the way was stunning though, and we whizzed past loads of local villages built right on the edge of the road with a sheer drop beneath them. Evenutally we arrived in Vang Vieng, and found a guesthouse to crash for the night.
The next day we hired some bikes and went on a beautiful bike ride through the nearby countryside to some caves, one of which had a lagoon. The cycle ride was pretty bumpy as most of the road there was just a rocky dirt track, but after about an hour we arrived at the lagoon and cave, and jumped straight in the lagoon to cool off. It was gorgeous clear blue water and felt like something out of never never land. There were some rope swings and trees to jump off too, so this all added to the fun! After this we found a guide to take us up into the cave which was up some really steep steps at the side of a mountain. It was pitch black inside so we were grateful for our guide and free headlamps. With the aid of our torches we saw some amazing crystal formations and stalagmites and stalagtites. It was quite spooky walking around though, so i was glad of fresh air and daylight when we came out.
After stumbling back down the mountainside we hopped back on our bikes to cycle back to the town. On the way we stopped at an organic garden and had some delicious fruit and mint shakes, as well as homemade lime wine. I really liked it, but andrew was confused by the strange lime pickle type taste. Suitably refreshed we continued our journey, and made it back to the hostel in time for sunset over the river.
After Vientianne we got a bus to Vang Vieng which went on some very windy roads through all the mountains. One poor local kid got bad motion sickness and threw up all over his seat. His brother and the driver shouted at him, but wiped him down and we continued on our way. The scenery on the way was stunning though, and we whizzed past loads of local villages built right on the edge of the road with a sheer drop beneath them. Evenutally we arrived in Vang Vieng, and found a guesthouse to crash for the night.
After stumbling back down the mountainside we hopped back on our bikes to cycle back to the town. On the way we stopped at an organic garden and had some delicious fruit and mint shakes, as well as homemade lime wine. I really liked it, but andrew was confused by the strange lime pickle type taste. Suitably refreshed we continued our journey, and made it back to the hostel in time for sunset over the river.
Our faces runining the Laos Arc De Triomphe in Vientianne
4,000 Islands, Laos (and Kratie, Cambodia)
Although there probably are about 4,000 mini islands here, only a few are actually inhabited. We're on a small one called Don Det. On the way here we stopped at a town called Kratie in Cambodia to break up our journey to the Laos border from Siem Reap. It was a strange town, but was right on the Mekong river, and we were able to go and see some rare Irawaddy freshwater dolphins. The dolphin spot was about an hours very pretty cycle ride away, whizzing through lots of Cambodian villages on the way. Kids everywhere shout 'Hello!' as you go by, and although you try and wave to them all, you also have to keep an eye out for moto drivers, cows, tractors and random dogs that meander along the road as well. Although the dolphins are rare, we did manage to see quite a few of them coming up for air and swimming around. They are quite shy though and keep away from the boats, as the boatmen sometimes use their propellors in the 'protected' dolphin zone, even though they are supposed to be rowing. It was a lovely experience though, and the Mekong is a very peaceful river. We cycled back to Kratie town centre just in time to watch the sunset whilst drinking a beer at a riverside bar.
After a day in Kratie we got another bus up to the Laos border. Actually we got 3 seperate buses, and then once over the border, a longtail boat up to to Don Det island. We stayed there a couple of days, and went to see the nearby waterfall and river beach, and cycled around the island, past lots of paddy fields and water buffalo. There's animals everywhere, which i LOVE, but Andrew does get kind of tired of me taking umpteenth photos of baby cows and chickens. We saw a bunny versus tiny dog fight yesterday which was random but hilarious. The dog had its hair tied up in a bow, and kept trying to hump the rabbit and nibble its ears. The rabbit seemed pretty non plussed though, so the dog resorted to humping a cushion instead. Unfortunately today Andrew has come down with some nasty food poisoning, and is in bed right now having had a bit of sick. We're not really sure what it was that he ate, maybe it was just a salad washed in dodgy water.
Other complications since getting to Laos include getting ripped off at the border for extra visa 'fees' which we paid to our bus driver thinking he would assist in us getting our visas quicker, but in the end there were no queues and we could have done it ourselves. So Andrew said to the guy we wanted our extra fees back, and wouldn't leave him alone until he had them. He wasn't being angry, just annoying, so eventually the guy relented. It got him a reputation by the time we got to the island though and stupidly we got our washing done at a place where the guy running it knew andrew was the 'problem guy' at the border. Unsurprisingly some of our white clothes came back blue. Hmm. Still, none of the clothes I have for travelling are particuarly precious to me, and extra clothes are cheap to buy out here. As well as that, I have been short changed no less than 3 times already at restaurants on this island. Still not sure whether people just cant add up, or are taking the piss. Just need to be careful and check our change I guess.
Otherwise though, I am really enjoying Laos, and its a really beautiful country. We're hoping to do some jungle eco trekking when we get up to north Laos where we will stay with local families in remote villages. The companies running the treks make sure as much money as possible goes back to the local communities, and also puts money towards eco friendly schemes in the local area.
Tuesday 7 December 2010
Banteay Prei, an Angkor temple to ourselves.
Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Whilst visiting the temples of Angkor, it seemed we would never escape the hoards of tourists at every turn. We asked our tuk tuk driver if he knew of anywhere quieter and he didn't disappoint. We had a 12th century ruin to ourselves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phV0St-Z5bE
Whilst visiting the temples of Angkor, it seemed we would never escape the hoards of tourists at every turn. We asked our tuk tuk driver if he knew of anywhere quieter and he didn't disappoint. We had a 12th century ruin to ourselves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phV0St-Z5bE
Saturday 4 December 2010
Siem Reap, Cambodia
We caught our bus in the morning from Phomn Penh, having booked our tickets with a local restuarant. They were still asleep when we arrived, so there was quite a bit of confusion about where our connecting Tuk Tuk to the bus station was. Eventually it transpired that it wasn't turning up, so the restuarant owner had to pay another nearby tuk tuk to take us. We'd ordered a sandwich for breakfast, but he also gave us free bottles of water and apples and bananas as compensation for the confusion!
Eventually we were on our bus from Phomn Penh, but it soon transpired that we were on the bounciest seats on the whole bus. The roads in Cambodia are bumpy enough, but we bounced twice as high as everyone else for the duration of the 6 hour journey... Andrew's previous blog entry gives you the opportunity to experience it for yourself!
Arriving in Siem Reap we were taken to our guesthouse for free by tuk tuk, and once we arrived it became clear that our tuk tuk driver did our trip for free cos he wanted the job of being our tuk tuk for the temples. We didn't want to make a deal there and then, but said we could meet him the next morning to discuss it.
After settling into our room (fan, hot water and cable tv all for $8 per night!), we went in search of some food. We found a good Khmer restuarant and had some pumpkin and corgette lemongrass soup, and a pumpkin and vegetable curry. We had a drink in the local area, but it was really really touristy, with loads of westerners everywhere. I was beginning to wonder where the locals hung out, but later in the week we walked further afield and found some local markets and residential areas.
The next day we decided not to start our temple tour straight away as we needed to figure out how we were going to fit the rest of our tour of s/e asia in 1 month. It felt like being at work again, as we put together a spreadsheet itinerary, and printed out lots of info on trains connecting Bangkok to Singopore. We're going to Laos and northern Thailand before we head down to Malaysia by train, but I'm looking forward to travelling by train again when we get there.
We went to a local restaurant for lunch as they did a cooking course we wanted to do so we thought we'd try some of their food first. It was all really tasty, the most interesting dish being Khmer curry Cannelloni! We decided to do the Khmer cooking course there, as a break in between our 3 days of temple adventures.
The next day we headed of to the temples. We ended up using the third tuk tuk guy we found as our first two had 'dissapeared' when they came to collect us at our guesthouse. We realised that some tuk tuk drivers that sat and waited in our guesthouse lobby must have been telling them to get off their patch and then try to take their business. We ignored these chancers though and walked down to the main street where we found our tuk tuk dirver Chat who aggreed to take us to see the temples for 3 days for $30. This seemed pretty reasonable as he was going to be our personal driver for the whole day each day.
To start with we saw temples from the Roulous group as they were the oldest, and then also saw the famous Ta Prohm where Tomb Raider was filmed. This was heaving with tourists though so was asked Chat to take us to some quieter temples, which were much more peaceful and reflective. The next day we paid Chat a bit more and went further afield to Banteay Srei which had the most elaborate carvings ( but still loads of tourists) and then Kbal Spean which was a temple but a series of carvings under the river, and on the nearby rocks. There were lots of linga fertility symbols as the water was deemed to become more fertile as it flowed over the carvings, and then it would make the land and fields it flowed down to more fertile. It was one of the most beautiful spots we visited as the walk up though the forest was beautiful, and the river also turned into a small waterfall at the end. There weren't too many other tourists as it was quite a hike up to the top of the mountian, so only a few people made it!
That evening we bumped into some of our friends that we had met on our snorkelling island tour in Sihanoukville, and we ended up meeting up with them each evening for the rest of our stay in Siem Reap, exploring different restuarants and bars in the area.
The cookign course was really fun, and we visited the market first to see all the ingredients we would be using, most of which I had never seen before. I will upload photos of all this when I get the chance! I made a mango salad, and Andrew a spicy shrimp salad. Then I made Khmer Fried chicken with coconut milk, peanuts and lemongrass paste, served with Pak choi. Andrew made a traditional Khmer soup with vegetables and spices. We also had a pumpkin stuffed with custard for desert, so we were stuffed by the end of it!
Our final day of temples started with Angkor Wat at sunrise, then the Angkor Thom complex and then 3 temples which were completely desserted with no one else there. We had lots of fun feeling like we were exploring them for the first time, and took some cool indiana jones style videos.
Helen x
Eventually we were on our bus from Phomn Penh, but it soon transpired that we were on the bounciest seats on the whole bus. The roads in Cambodia are bumpy enough, but we bounced twice as high as everyone else for the duration of the 6 hour journey... Andrew's previous blog entry gives you the opportunity to experience it for yourself!
Arriving in Siem Reap we were taken to our guesthouse for free by tuk tuk, and once we arrived it became clear that our tuk tuk driver did our trip for free cos he wanted the job of being our tuk tuk for the temples. We didn't want to make a deal there and then, but said we could meet him the next morning to discuss it.
After settling into our room (fan, hot water and cable tv all for $8 per night!), we went in search of some food. We found a good Khmer restuarant and had some pumpkin and corgette lemongrass soup, and a pumpkin and vegetable curry. We had a drink in the local area, but it was really really touristy, with loads of westerners everywhere. I was beginning to wonder where the locals hung out, but later in the week we walked further afield and found some local markets and residential areas.
The next day we decided not to start our temple tour straight away as we needed to figure out how we were going to fit the rest of our tour of s/e asia in 1 month. It felt like being at work again, as we put together a spreadsheet itinerary, and printed out lots of info on trains connecting Bangkok to Singopore. We're going to Laos and northern Thailand before we head down to Malaysia by train, but I'm looking forward to travelling by train again when we get there.
We went to a local restaurant for lunch as they did a cooking course we wanted to do so we thought we'd try some of their food first. It was all really tasty, the most interesting dish being Khmer curry Cannelloni! We decided to do the Khmer cooking course there, as a break in between our 3 days of temple adventures.
The next day we headed of to the temples. We ended up using the third tuk tuk guy we found as our first two had 'dissapeared' when they came to collect us at our guesthouse. We realised that some tuk tuk drivers that sat and waited in our guesthouse lobby must have been telling them to get off their patch and then try to take their business. We ignored these chancers though and walked down to the main street where we found our tuk tuk dirver Chat who aggreed to take us to see the temples for 3 days for $30. This seemed pretty reasonable as he was going to be our personal driver for the whole day each day.
To start with we saw temples from the Roulous group as they were the oldest, and then also saw the famous Ta Prohm where Tomb Raider was filmed. This was heaving with tourists though so was asked Chat to take us to some quieter temples, which were much more peaceful and reflective. The next day we paid Chat a bit more and went further afield to Banteay Srei which had the most elaborate carvings ( but still loads of tourists) and then Kbal Spean which was a temple but a series of carvings under the river, and on the nearby rocks. There were lots of linga fertility symbols as the water was deemed to become more fertile as it flowed over the carvings, and then it would make the land and fields it flowed down to more fertile. It was one of the most beautiful spots we visited as the walk up though the forest was beautiful, and the river also turned into a small waterfall at the end. There weren't too many other tourists as it was quite a hike up to the top of the mountian, so only a few people made it!
That evening we bumped into some of our friends that we had met on our snorkelling island tour in Sihanoukville, and we ended up meeting up with them each evening for the rest of our stay in Siem Reap, exploring different restuarants and bars in the area.
The cookign course was really fun, and we visited the market first to see all the ingredients we would be using, most of which I had never seen before. I will upload photos of all this when I get the chance! I made a mango salad, and Andrew a spicy shrimp salad. Then I made Khmer Fried chicken with coconut milk, peanuts and lemongrass paste, served with Pak choi. Andrew made a traditional Khmer soup with vegetables and spices. We also had a pumpkin stuffed with custard for desert, so we were stuffed by the end of it!
Our final day of temples started with Angkor Wat at sunrise, then the Angkor Thom complex and then 3 temples which were completely desserted with no one else there. We had lots of fun feeling like we were exploring them for the first time, and took some cool indiana jones style videos.
Helen x
Sunday 28 November 2010
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