Fri 22nd - Day 100 for me.
Have been in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) for the last 2 days. It is fascinating chaotic and exciting. Saigon ws the capital of South Vietnam and has a huge French influence. As the North Vietnamese won the war they imposed the name of Ho Chi Minh on the capital, although many people still use Saigon. We have only had a few hours free here but it seems so much different to the North. For a start the architecture is very French - streets are spacious boulevards and some lovely colonial buildings. Also has a large number of western shops - we saw none in the north. But the funniest thing is the roads. There are 3.6 million scooters in Saigon, and they all seem to be on the road at the same time. There are some traffic lights but at most roads its a free for all. So the guide book says '' to cross the road you have to abdicate your personal safety to other road users. Your job is to leap into the road and set a course for the other side, maintaining a steady pace and line. Other road users then have a responsibility to miss you. DO NOT look let or right or deviate from your plan... It does work but its hard to do at times..
If you are going to come here do it soon. As they get richer more and more cars are appearing, so the streets will change from being chaotic to snarled..
Hoi An was a lovely city. Its very small and used to be a port for the middle of Vietnam for the early Japanese and Chinese settlers. Later the French had strong interest here so it has a mix of all 3. It is situated on the delta of a river so feels like you are at the sea. The cafes on the riverside are so French , with many French speakers , that I felt as though I was on the Mediterranean.
Hoi An is also shoppers paradie - although not for western shops. You can get made to measure shirts, suits, t shirts within 6 hours from the wide variety of tailors lining the streets. And loads of craft shops - I could really spend some money on the paintings here( I am holding fire as I have 4 already).
On Tuesday afternoon we went on a boat and cycle ride around the local islands. All 9 cycles on board and off to a local beach for a bbq. The boat driver had a small charcoal kettle bbq and managed to serve up the most gorgeous selection of fish, chicken, beef, eggplant with salad - didn''t seem to have enough space to do it. We then went cycling around another of the islands. We took some boxes of noodles to give out to the local children. The island seemed idyllic with small cottages everywhere surrounded by vegetables. It was only idyllic to us in the sun as the reason the veggies were there was food, no veggies and they starve. And the houses didn''t look too watertight. Kids only went to school until 7 and after that its out to farm. We went to a local school (actually a small shed) and the kids were gorgeous and seemed optimistic - but you couldn't help thinking what kind of a life they would have. At the time our kids join brownies and cubs, they become adults and go to work!!
Off to the Mekong delta tonight and staying in a homestay , whatever that is. Weather has improved here in thats it now hot, but Saigon in too polluted to see the sun. And I have a thick cold (which is being passed around) so breathing is doubly difficult.
Hope you have a good weekend. Next post from Pnom Penh
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Vietnam and Tour Leaders
Here in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam internet access is a litle restricted. So for example I can post to the blog but I cannot read it. So if I repeat myself or forget something I'm sorry. We leave Vietnam next Monday so until then I will be posting blind.
Arrived in Hoi An this morning. Its gorgeous but will tell you more about it tomorrow - we fly to Ho Chi Min City (Saigon) on Wednesday morning..
This part of my trip i.e. the last 2 weeks has been fantastic. Incredibly beautiful cities, towns, people and places - impossible not to find something that gives you the wow factor. And one of the factors has been the tour guides - who have been really good.
We had a tour guide - Mark - in Thailand for 3 days who was really knowledgable. However, his stories of life in Thailand were as fascinating as the place. He was 31 and was getting married this year. Being a Thai he has to do national service and also become a monk before he is allowed to get married - as otherwise he is not responsible enough. He did his national service when he ws 21 but because he was a footballer he plated for the army team and saw no action. He is getting married to his girlfriend in September. To do this he had to convince her father that he was good enough for her and then has to pay 400,000Baht to his in laws when he get married - about 7,000quid. His in laws may give him the money back in a few years if he leads the family well and proves to be a good hussband. Amazing.
In Laos we had a ttour guide called Phan. He was brought up in a farm in the country near to Luang Probang and was very poor. The only way he could get an education was to leave his family and become a monk. So he left home at 12 and joined the local temple as a novice monk. When he was 17 he moved to Vientaine to join a bigger temple as this allowed him to learn English and get a better education. The temples are the only way that most children can get any education. They live very frugally and collect alms (money and food) from the people in return for prayers and blessings for the people when they need it i.e. births, marriages, deaths, new extensions, new cars, new businesses etc.. During his time in Vientaine, 4 years, he never saw his family once!!
He left the monastry when he was 22 and met a local girl in Luang Probang. After 1 year of courtship - for that read talking to her at her work (in the market) and at her house (with the parents ) the parents decided they should marry - because they could see that they were suited (if he had not wanted to get married he would npot have but he would have had to stop visiting her). Now they have 2 children (he is 29). In the future he wants to save enough money to get his children educated and get his wife a better house, and also buy a big gong for his monastry. However, he thinks that when he gets to 50 he will become a monk again (he does not come across as particularly religious). He will discuss this with his wife and if she approves of he will go. If she doesn't approve he may decide to go anyway. Once he is amonk he leaves everything behind him - children and family and all goods. If he joins the temple then his wife can divorce him and he also loses all possessions. But 30% of Laotian men do this and it is not seen as an afront to the wifes. Its just that the wife and husbands duty is done once they have raised their family and provided for the wife. Once they get to 50 (they only expect to reach 60) their time is up. After that they then become a burden to their children.
Amazing. Can you imagine going home to the wife / girlfriend ' think I fancy becoming a monk, what do you think..' Even worse is if you go home and your wife/girlfriend says ' ever thought of becoming a monk.....
Will tell you more about the Vietnamese tour guide later. He is totally hilarious, it like walking around with the Morecambe and Wise show..
Shorts are now back in fashion... at least with me
Arrived in Hoi An this morning. Its gorgeous but will tell you more about it tomorrow - we fly to Ho Chi Min City (Saigon) on Wednesday morning..
This part of my trip i.e. the last 2 weeks has been fantastic. Incredibly beautiful cities, towns, people and places - impossible not to find something that gives you the wow factor. And one of the factors has been the tour guides - who have been really good.
We had a tour guide - Mark - in Thailand for 3 days who was really knowledgable. However, his stories of life in Thailand were as fascinating as the place. He was 31 and was getting married this year. Being a Thai he has to do national service and also become a monk before he is allowed to get married - as otherwise he is not responsible enough. He did his national service when he ws 21 but because he was a footballer he plated for the army team and saw no action. He is getting married to his girlfriend in September. To do this he had to convince her father that he was good enough for her and then has to pay 400,000Baht to his in laws when he get married - about 7,000quid. His in laws may give him the money back in a few years if he leads the family well and proves to be a good hussband. Amazing.
In Laos we had a ttour guide called Phan. He was brought up in a farm in the country near to Luang Probang and was very poor. The only way he could get an education was to leave his family and become a monk. So he left home at 12 and joined the local temple as a novice monk. When he was 17 he moved to Vientaine to join a bigger temple as this allowed him to learn English and get a better education. The temples are the only way that most children can get any education. They live very frugally and collect alms (money and food) from the people in return for prayers and blessings for the people when they need it i.e. births, marriages, deaths, new extensions, new cars, new businesses etc.. During his time in Vientaine, 4 years, he never saw his family once!!
He left the monastry when he was 22 and met a local girl in Luang Probang. After 1 year of courtship - for that read talking to her at her work (in the market) and at her house (with the parents ) the parents decided they should marry - because they could see that they were suited (if he had not wanted to get married he would npot have but he would have had to stop visiting her). Now they have 2 children (he is 29). In the future he wants to save enough money to get his children educated and get his wife a better house, and also buy a big gong for his monastry. However, he thinks that when he gets to 50 he will become a monk again (he does not come across as particularly religious). He will discuss this with his wife and if she approves of he will go. If she doesn't approve he may decide to go anyway. Once he is amonk he leaves everything behind him - children and family and all goods. If he joins the temple then his wife can divorce him and he also loses all possessions. But 30% of Laotian men do this and it is not seen as an afront to the wifes. Its just that the wife and husbands duty is done once they have raised their family and provided for the wife. Once they get to 50 (they only expect to reach 60) their time is up. After that they then become a burden to their children.
Amazing. Can you imagine going home to the wife / girlfriend ' think I fancy becoming a monk, what do you think..' Even worse is if you go home and your wife/girlfriend says ' ever thought of becoming a monk.....
Will tell you more about the Vietnamese tour guide later. He is totally hilarious, it like walking around with the Morecambe and Wise show..
Shorts are now back in fashion... at least with me
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Vietnam, Vietnam
Sunday 17th
And the weather has turned (bad I hasten to add). Having arrived late Wednesday , we set off for Halong Bay on Thursday morning through the Northern Vietnam countryside. It was flippin miserable weather. No question of shorts - fleece and long trousers only. The trip was one of those 'face to the window trips'. The countryside is so much different to Laos - heavily farmed, mingled with a large number of modern western style factories knocking out the cheap stuff we buy all the time, mingled with some newish buildings and then some totally crap derelict housing - in which most of them lived. We travelled north through spme coal regions and the coal dust was everywhere - it really did make it look dirty. And there are scooters everywhere, thousnads of them all seemingly driving in random directions, with 2 or 3 peole on board mainly wearing face masks and dust masks. In the weather we had they protected them from pollution and also the cold.
We arrived in Halong Bay around lunch to witness tourist central - 50 or 60 of these boats heading out for the night to the bay. Our boat had 8 cabins on board, dining area and a top desk for sun lounging. By this time most people had bought hats and gloves as well as fleeces to protect themselves. Cold, cold cold
The bay is really lovely. 1600 limestone peaks jutting out of the sea in clusters. Floating through them was fantastic despite the cold. We also cruised up to some of the caves which were found in the rocks. One we visited was 2km long, full of stalactities and mites in all kinds of weird shapes. If you were having mad dreams as I was you saw loads of dead bodies, particulalrly babies....
Overnight we anchored in one of the bays along with a few other boats and , bless them, they put the heating on. So guess what. Didn't sleep very weel because the small cabin heated up to 30C and dried me out. Its a lovely bay though. Look it up on the internet - Halong Bay. I'm sure a James Bond was filmed here.
Back to Hanoi the next day and we wandered around taking in the human life. Also visited Hoi Chi Mins mauseleum and the 1 pillar pagoda. Way too many things to write down. HCM mauseleum is typically Vietnamese communist. Very austere and dominates the local square. All of the guards, be they police or army seem very severe (I suppose joking around isn't the thing to do) and all have the same size uniform - huge!!) They all seem like the uniforms were designed for westerners...
Hanoi was fantastic. We walked around for 4 or 5 hours - some of us. Just seeing how they shop, live and eat was amazing. Most of the time all of these 3 activities take place in the same spot. Because they have little ventilation they take their food out on the street to cook, sleep in the shop and seem to wake up in shifts to serve. The city is pretty grubby but you can't fail to get a buzz from the sheer energy and entreprenuarial skils of the people..
Saturday we caught an internal flight down to Hue, which is a pretty city half way down Vietnam. It is home to the emperors from the Nguyen dynasty and many of the tourist attractions are centred around the emperors - there were 13, and their mauseleums. It has a forbidden city modelled on Bejing. We went to tomb of Khai Sinh today which was gorgeous. It mixed Asian with French architecture (Vietnam was a french colony) with a gorgeous position overlooking the valley below.
Hue is much quieter and less frenetic than Hanoi but still totally fascinating. If you like watching people , as I do, its fantastic.
Off out for a Royal Baquet tonight. Food here in Vietnam is lovely - a combination of Thai, mainly Chinese. They also appear to have picked up some french ideas as the preparation and flavours seem thought out, rather than prepared solely to satisfy hunger. And of course it helps when your stomach is behaving, as it is..
Off for the drive to Hoi An tomorrow - Hoi Ann is the shopping city of Vietnam aparently.
Oh and the paintings here are also worth a look - if you like vibrant colours as I do. And cheap too...
see you later. Hope you had a good weekend, Bloody stupid redmen!!
And the weather has turned (bad I hasten to add). Having arrived late Wednesday , we set off for Halong Bay on Thursday morning through the Northern Vietnam countryside. It was flippin miserable weather. No question of shorts - fleece and long trousers only. The trip was one of those 'face to the window trips'. The countryside is so much different to Laos - heavily farmed, mingled with a large number of modern western style factories knocking out the cheap stuff we buy all the time, mingled with some newish buildings and then some totally crap derelict housing - in which most of them lived. We travelled north through spme coal regions and the coal dust was everywhere - it really did make it look dirty. And there are scooters everywhere, thousnads of them all seemingly driving in random directions, with 2 or 3 peole on board mainly wearing face masks and dust masks. In the weather we had they protected them from pollution and also the cold.
We arrived in Halong Bay around lunch to witness tourist central - 50 or 60 of these boats heading out for the night to the bay. Our boat had 8 cabins on board, dining area and a top desk for sun lounging. By this time most people had bought hats and gloves as well as fleeces to protect themselves. Cold, cold cold
The bay is really lovely. 1600 limestone peaks jutting out of the sea in clusters. Floating through them was fantastic despite the cold. We also cruised up to some of the caves which were found in the rocks. One we visited was 2km long, full of stalactities and mites in all kinds of weird shapes. If you were having mad dreams as I was you saw loads of dead bodies, particulalrly babies....
Overnight we anchored in one of the bays along with a few other boats and , bless them, they put the heating on. So guess what. Didn't sleep very weel because the small cabin heated up to 30C and dried me out. Its a lovely bay though. Look it up on the internet - Halong Bay. I'm sure a James Bond was filmed here.
Back to Hanoi the next day and we wandered around taking in the human life. Also visited Hoi Chi Mins mauseleum and the 1 pillar pagoda. Way too many things to write down. HCM mauseleum is typically Vietnamese communist. Very austere and dominates the local square. All of the guards, be they police or army seem very severe (I suppose joking around isn't the thing to do) and all have the same size uniform - huge!!) They all seem like the uniforms were designed for westerners...
Hanoi was fantastic. We walked around for 4 or 5 hours - some of us. Just seeing how they shop, live and eat was amazing. Most of the time all of these 3 activities take place in the same spot. Because they have little ventilation they take their food out on the street to cook, sleep in the shop and seem to wake up in shifts to serve. The city is pretty grubby but you can't fail to get a buzz from the sheer energy and entreprenuarial skils of the people..
Saturday we caught an internal flight down to Hue, which is a pretty city half way down Vietnam. It is home to the emperors from the Nguyen dynasty and many of the tourist attractions are centred around the emperors - there were 13, and their mauseleums. It has a forbidden city modelled on Bejing. We went to tomb of Khai Sinh today which was gorgeous. It mixed Asian with French architecture (Vietnam was a french colony) with a gorgeous position overlooking the valley below.
Hue is much quieter and less frenetic than Hanoi but still totally fascinating. If you like watching people , as I do, its fantastic.
Off out for a Royal Baquet tonight. Food here in Vietnam is lovely - a combination of Thai, mainly Chinese. They also appear to have picked up some french ideas as the preparation and flavours seem thought out, rather than prepared solely to satisfy hunger. And of course it helps when your stomach is behaving, as it is..
Off for the drive to Hoi An tomorrow - Hoi Ann is the shopping city of Vietnam aparently.
Oh and the paintings here are also worth a look - if you like vibrant colours as I do. And cheap too...
see you later. Hope you had a good weekend, Bloody stupid redmen!!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Capital to Capital
Thu 14th 7:30am.
Stupid name for a blog 'avoiding winter'. Arrived in Hanoi last night and it is cold. Not even a debate as to whether I should be wearing shorts. They are consigned to the bag for a few days and the fleece is out.
Hanoi is chaos personified. Traffic drives on both sides of the road and red lights are optional. No-one stops at all at intersections or pedestrian crossings and road death is the biggest source of tourist deaths!! I'll put more in the blog next post as we are here for 2 days.
Vientiane was pretty for a capital city but emphasised how poor Laos was. Lots of the larger and more beautiful monuments and Wats really needed a lick of paint and someone to pick up the litter. We arrived there late on Tuesday and only had 3 or 4 hours there but as capital cities go it was dirty and grimey.
However, the overall impression of Laos was very good. It is a beautiful country with some fantastic scenery . The people are very friendly and calm, they drive calmly around the roads. If I returned I would trek or cycle around the country. the downside , for the people, is that it is so poor and has little resources. So the only way of making money is to allow the chinese to move in and build HE dams all over the place - thus flooding more and more of the beautiful countryside.
Oh and we went to a 'happy cafe' on Monday night. The food in Laos is very good but extremely cheap - 1 quid is high for a meal with a beer'. A couple of us went to a local cafe and were presented with the happy menu - happy cheeseburger, happy pizza all 3 or 4 times the price. Reading down the menu revealed the reason for the increase. Bag of opium, bag of weed, spliff, etc all available. Didn't have anything but just sitting in there for a few hours has given me THE wackiest dreams for the last 2 nights - makes noggers seem positively calm. Woke up at 3am the other night and jumped straight up as I tought I was being attacked by bats!
Experiences, experiences...
Stupid name for a blog 'avoiding winter'. Arrived in Hanoi last night and it is cold. Not even a debate as to whether I should be wearing shorts. They are consigned to the bag for a few days and the fleece is out.
Hanoi is chaos personified. Traffic drives on both sides of the road and red lights are optional. No-one stops at all at intersections or pedestrian crossings and road death is the biggest source of tourist deaths!! I'll put more in the blog next post as we are here for 2 days.
Vientiane was pretty for a capital city but emphasised how poor Laos was. Lots of the larger and more beautiful monuments and Wats really needed a lick of paint and someone to pick up the litter. We arrived there late on Tuesday and only had 3 or 4 hours there but as capital cities go it was dirty and grimey.
However, the overall impression of Laos was very good. It is a beautiful country with some fantastic scenery . The people are very friendly and calm, they drive calmly around the roads. If I returned I would trek or cycle around the country. the downside , for the people, is that it is so poor and has little resources. So the only way of making money is to allow the chinese to move in and build HE dams all over the place - thus flooding more and more of the beautiful countryside.
Oh and we went to a 'happy cafe' on Monday night. The food in Laos is very good but extremely cheap - 1 quid is high for a meal with a beer'. A couple of us went to a local cafe and were presented with the happy menu - happy cheeseburger, happy pizza all 3 or 4 times the price. Reading down the menu revealed the reason for the increase. Bag of opium, bag of weed, spliff, etc all available. Didn't have anything but just sitting in there for a few hours has given me THE wackiest dreams for the last 2 nights - makes noggers seem positively calm. Woke up at 3am the other night and jumped straight up as I tought I was being attacked by bats!
Experiences, experiences...
Monday, February 11, 2008
Vang Vieng
The weather here is a bit hit and miss at the moment. Temperatures remains warm but its a bit hazy much of the time.
Spent Saturday sightseeing around Luang Prabang and wandering the night market - which is excellent. Many things were to my taste as they had wonderful colours - but there is only so much luggage you can squeeze in to my bag. Bought a couple of paintings but am worried about their condition when I get home.
Sunday we travelled from lP to Vang Vieng. The trip was only 150 miles but up winding passes through the mountains so it took 6 hours. Some of the scenery was magical - limestone peaks rising out of the valleys. Real film scenery. It still amazes and humbles to see the villages perched on the side of the road. This is real subsistence living. Wood houses. No running water, a lightbulb and a bit of a good temperament I think. The poverty is amazing. They harvest whatever grows naturally around here and as you can imagine they all look a bit thin and undernourished. We don't need reminding how lucky we are..
Today have spent the day sightseeing around the town. This morning visitied more caves in the hills where the local people and the communist army sheltered (hid ) during a variety of wars. They were very impressive , although in the rainy season less so I think.
This afternoon (its Monday afternoon here) went tubing on the river. Basically sitting in a tube and floating down the river. I went on my own and joined up with whoever else was doing it. I think i raised the average age of the group by about 5 years. All backpackers. There appeared to be 2 concurrent trips. You were supposed to float 4km down the river. However, most people floated 100m down the river to the first bar, had a beer (40p) and played around on the rope swings. Then on to the next bar , another 50m, more beer. And again. By the third bar I decided my limit had been reached - yes I drank Lao beer which tasted rubbish - and floated off down on my own. 1 hour in a bar was enough, and the music was BLOODY LOUD. Not showing my age at all ... The journey was ace. Limestome peaks all the way down one side of the river, floating through a whole load of Lao people fishing and harvesting seaweed or river cabbage or something like that. Also floated through 2 herds of water buffalo. Brilliant.
Off to Vientaine the capital tomorrow and then to Hanoi in Vietnam - where its 14C. Fleece here I come.
Noticed your weather is unseasonally mild at the moment...
Spent Saturday sightseeing around Luang Prabang and wandering the night market - which is excellent. Many things were to my taste as they had wonderful colours - but there is only so much luggage you can squeeze in to my bag. Bought a couple of paintings but am worried about their condition when I get home.
Sunday we travelled from lP to Vang Vieng. The trip was only 150 miles but up winding passes through the mountains so it took 6 hours. Some of the scenery was magical - limestone peaks rising out of the valleys. Real film scenery. It still amazes and humbles to see the villages perched on the side of the road. This is real subsistence living. Wood houses. No running water, a lightbulb and a bit of a good temperament I think. The poverty is amazing. They harvest whatever grows naturally around here and as you can imagine they all look a bit thin and undernourished. We don't need reminding how lucky we are..
Today have spent the day sightseeing around the town. This morning visitied more caves in the hills where the local people and the communist army sheltered (hid ) during a variety of wars. They were very impressive , although in the rainy season less so I think.
This afternoon (its Monday afternoon here) went tubing on the river. Basically sitting in a tube and floating down the river. I went on my own and joined up with whoever else was doing it. I think i raised the average age of the group by about 5 years. All backpackers. There appeared to be 2 concurrent trips. You were supposed to float 4km down the river. However, most people floated 100m down the river to the first bar, had a beer (40p) and played around on the rope swings. Then on to the next bar , another 50m, more beer. And again. By the third bar I decided my limit had been reached - yes I drank Lao beer which tasted rubbish - and floated off down on my own. 1 hour in a bar was enough, and the music was BLOODY LOUD. Not showing my age at all ... The journey was ace. Limestome peaks all the way down one side of the river, floating through a whole load of Lao people fishing and harvesting seaweed or river cabbage or something like that. Also floated through 2 herds of water buffalo. Brilliant.
Off to Vientaine the capital tomorrow and then to Hanoi in Vietnam - where its 14C. Fleece here I come.
Noticed your weather is unseasonally mild at the moment...
Friday, February 8, 2008
Mekong and Luang Probang
Friday 6:30pm.
So Tuesday was a slow travelling day. 2 hours at the airport, 1 hour collecting bags and then a 2 hour transfer to Chung Khong on the Thai side of the Mekong. It was a lovely village and felt very Thai and little touched by the global brands. Our guesthouse was perched over the river. It was a lovely spot and very relaxing.
Next morning we walked 1km to the border crossing. Had to get passport stamped to leave Thailand , then cross the Mekong on a taxi boat to the Laos border point. Pay 35USD for a Laos visa and entry forms - queue here, chaos, queue there, more chaosm blah , blah, Then tromp up the hill to a tuk tuk for a 2kn ride to our slow boat on the Mekong. You are advised to be very calm when visiting here as time is of little importance. But it was great watching human life pass us by,,
Wednesday involved a 50kn slow boat down the Mekong to our guesthouse in Pak Beng. On the way we stopped at a small mons village where we were sold, or attempted to be sold, bracelets made by the young girls. The village didn't seem to have made any concessions to the tourists - it was basic. But also lovely to see.. Pak Beng is the halfway point for journeys to Luang Prabang. So it is an overnight stop shop. However, because this area of the country is mountainous there is very little flat land to have a village. So its basically a road going 7km into the mountains along which are a few guest houses and shops and houses for the people who are driving trade up and down the river.
The Mekong is the M1 of this area of Laos as it takes all of the traffic and trade up the river faster than the 1 available road.
Thursday was spent travelling 9 hours down the river with 1 stop for a village - this one had a few stalls aimed at the tourists - but they all sold the same things! I decided they need a marketing consultant if anyone knows of one.
Luang Probang is the main town of this area and relies totally on tourism for its money. Its another world heritage town which feels a bit 'hippy'fied - I suppose these buddhist towns do. Lots of monks and lots of Wats (temples , churches), Today we spent wandering around the sites and getting hot - it has been hot the last few days 30C plus.
This is much better than the Thai trip. Although I am currently suffering an acute lack of sleep. We have stayed in guesthouses the last few nights and insulation (and windows are sometimes lacking), The BLOODY cockerels start crowing at 3am and no amount of earplugs can stop them at the moment. I am taking my punishment out on them by eating chicken whenever I can. I think even Shell would want to strangle the litlle F%&)ers.
see you next Monday or Tuesday. Have a great weekend , I think I will
So Tuesday was a slow travelling day. 2 hours at the airport, 1 hour collecting bags and then a 2 hour transfer to Chung Khong on the Thai side of the Mekong. It was a lovely village and felt very Thai and little touched by the global brands. Our guesthouse was perched over the river. It was a lovely spot and very relaxing.
Next morning we walked 1km to the border crossing. Had to get passport stamped to leave Thailand , then cross the Mekong on a taxi boat to the Laos border point. Pay 35USD for a Laos visa and entry forms - queue here, chaos, queue there, more chaosm blah , blah, Then tromp up the hill to a tuk tuk for a 2kn ride to our slow boat on the Mekong. You are advised to be very calm when visiting here as time is of little importance. But it was great watching human life pass us by,,
Wednesday involved a 50kn slow boat down the Mekong to our guesthouse in Pak Beng. On the way we stopped at a small mons village where we were sold, or attempted to be sold, bracelets made by the young girls. The village didn't seem to have made any concessions to the tourists - it was basic. But also lovely to see.. Pak Beng is the halfway point for journeys to Luang Prabang. So it is an overnight stop shop. However, because this area of the country is mountainous there is very little flat land to have a village. So its basically a road going 7km into the mountains along which are a few guest houses and shops and houses for the people who are driving trade up and down the river.
The Mekong is the M1 of this area of Laos as it takes all of the traffic and trade up the river faster than the 1 available road.
Thursday was spent travelling 9 hours down the river with 1 stop for a village - this one had a few stalls aimed at the tourists - but they all sold the same things! I decided they need a marketing consultant if anyone knows of one.
Luang Probang is the main town of this area and relies totally on tourism for its money. Its another world heritage town which feels a bit 'hippy'fied - I suppose these buddhist towns do. Lots of monks and lots of Wats (temples , churches), Today we spent wandering around the sites and getting hot - it has been hot the last few days 30C plus.
This is much better than the Thai trip. Although I am currently suffering an acute lack of sleep. We have stayed in guesthouses the last few nights and insulation (and windows are sometimes lacking), The BLOODY cockerels start crowing at 3am and no amount of earplugs can stop them at the moment. I am taking my punishment out on them by eating chicken whenever I can. I think even Shell would want to strangle the litlle F%&)ers.
see you next Monday or Tuesday. Have a great weekend , I think I will
Monday, February 4, 2008
Bangkok Again
Tuesday morning day 83
After much struggle I finally managed to get a room booked on Saturday night. Didn't meet up with the group until Sunday and had forgotten to get a room until late, which proved harder than I thought. However worked out in the end and the hotel is way too posh for a camper like me. This time I'm staying in Sukohmvit which is the business district of Bangkok. Its also very close to main shopping areas which are a bit of a revelation. There are 5 or 6 huge shopping malls , like out of town shopping malls all joined together selling all kinds of weird things. However, some of them appear to have been built with no thought in mind for the market. So there is one huge place selling Versace Armani on 1 floor, beausty slaons on the 2nd floor and 3rd floor has car garages i.e. ferrari, porshe, mazerati - inside the mall. Prices are very close to home so its bloody expensive. And quelle suprise, its empty.
Walking along the main shopping street is a bit like a scene from balderunner. Both sides of the street have high rises. Above the street is a skytrain (overhead monoral) and then the level below is a pedestrian wlakway. So both of these conspire to block out the light. And its been raining quite a bit over the last few days so a street level you are in this dark grubby area with rain coming down and water dripping from above. Definitely bladerunner. I kept looking for people with 2 heads..
Met up with the group on Sunday. There are 5 couples and 5 single people. Age range is a little older than any other exodus/explore trip I'm used to so that will be different.
Sunday I went to Jim Thompsons teak house and wandering around bladerunnersville, Monday we went on a group tour of Bangkok. If you want to know where I went refer to day 4 of my trip as it was exacty the same i.e. temple of reclining buddha, temple of emerald budha and grand palace.
The kings sister dies in january so she is on display in the grand palace for the Thai people to pay their respects to. there were lots of school kids around who were doing the same. Did you know that kids in Thailand where school uniform all the way through university. In high school they wear shorts. And the high schools lads have the same hair cut i.e. short - not allowed anything else! that would work at home...
Today we fly to chang rai at lunchtime and then 2 hour drive up to the Laos border by the side Mekong. Over to laos tomorrow.
see you later. I shall report from my Saga trip...
After much struggle I finally managed to get a room booked on Saturday night. Didn't meet up with the group until Sunday and had forgotten to get a room until late, which proved harder than I thought. However worked out in the end and the hotel is way too posh for a camper like me. This time I'm staying in Sukohmvit which is the business district of Bangkok. Its also very close to main shopping areas which are a bit of a revelation. There are 5 or 6 huge shopping malls , like out of town shopping malls all joined together selling all kinds of weird things. However, some of them appear to have been built with no thought in mind for the market. So there is one huge place selling Versace Armani on 1 floor, beausty slaons on the 2nd floor and 3rd floor has car garages i.e. ferrari, porshe, mazerati - inside the mall. Prices are very close to home so its bloody expensive. And quelle suprise, its empty.
Walking along the main shopping street is a bit like a scene from balderunner. Both sides of the street have high rises. Above the street is a skytrain (overhead monoral) and then the level below is a pedestrian wlakway. So both of these conspire to block out the light. And its been raining quite a bit over the last few days so a street level you are in this dark grubby area with rain coming down and water dripping from above. Definitely bladerunner. I kept looking for people with 2 heads..
Met up with the group on Sunday. There are 5 couples and 5 single people. Age range is a little older than any other exodus/explore trip I'm used to so that will be different.
Sunday I went to Jim Thompsons teak house and wandering around bladerunnersville, Monday we went on a group tour of Bangkok. If you want to know where I went refer to day 4 of my trip as it was exacty the same i.e. temple of reclining buddha, temple of emerald budha and grand palace.
The kings sister dies in january so she is on display in the grand palace for the Thai people to pay their respects to. there were lots of school kids around who were doing the same. Did you know that kids in Thailand where school uniform all the way through university. In high school they wear shorts. And the high schools lads have the same hair cut i.e. short - not allowed anything else! that would work at home...
Today we fly to chang rai at lunchtime and then 2 hour drive up to the Laos border by the side Mekong. Over to laos tomorrow.
see you later. I shall report from my Saga trip...
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