Lao - Vientiane

Our last entry ended with our intended bustrip to Vientiane, 'apparently one of the most scenic in South EastAsia'. We can now say this is true, the road winds itself up and down mountains, never more than a few meters away from the edge. Providing amazing views over an area which is still largely unaffected by tourism, while sometimes passing through little villages of ethnic Laos, giving a fleeting insight into their lifestyles.
However, at the same time, the fact that this is one of the (or perhaps THE) main arteries of Laos does not mean the road is smooth, it is covered with potholes, in places nothing more than a dirt-track, with just enough space for one-and-a-half cars to pass each other. All in all, ten hours of bus-trip which made a big impact (on our minds and our bums!).

Once in Vientiane we made our way to the guest house we had booked. The first thing that is obvious about Vientiane is that it may be a capital, but it looks and feels like a sleepy village in the province - no high-rising buildings, only three main roads and a lot less traffic than any of the other big(ger) cities in Thailand we visited. The second thing that is striking is the presence of numerous aid institutions - UNICEF, UN World Food Programme, Red Cross (Denmark, Netherlands, etc.), Action contra le Faim, World Health Organisation - you name it, they all have locations in Vientiane, plus initiatives from individual countries, such as Japan, Australia, France and Germany. Which is also reflected in the relatively large number of western restaurants and coffee shops around town. For both of us this is the first time we have been in a city where the presence of all of these non-governmental aid organisations is so visible.

As Vientiane is very small, we spent our days here discovering it at our leisure. The centre is filled with wats (temples, what else in Laos ?), government buildings (including the presidential palace) and embassies and headquarters of the various NGO's. Plus a hilarious attempt to copy the Champs Elysees, including the Arc de Triomphe (as said in previous entries, Laos once was a French colony, which is now not only evidenced by the love for baguettes but also for big streets and monuments). The outskirts, which we explored by bike, are filled with more temples, more embassies and residential areas, ranging from small huts for the locals to lavish villas for the ex-pats. The fact that two westerners on bikes cycled through their area led many locals to look bemused - obviously they are going by the assumption that if you can afford to drive a car or rent a tuk-tuk, why would you cycle ? Which assumption we started to share after four hours of bum-numbing road experience (if their main road is filled with potholes, try to imagine what their less important roads look like, and then try to imagine covering these on old bikes with saddles as comfortable as a slab of stone).

The evenings in Vientiane we spent looking at the sun setting over the Mekong (on the opposite bank is Thailand), having dinner - including a lovely sukiyaki (some sort of soup-fondue) and a very, very spicy papaya-salad (the waiter misunderstood our question if it was spicy for an encouragement to be extra generous with the chilies, a misunderstanding we are both regretting now - no need to explain we hope....), reading our books and training our brains on the Nintendo (for the people into this type of thing - our brain ages are now 21 and 25 years - up to you to decide whose is whose....).

In a few hours we will leave for Vietnam - Hanoi. Because we wanted to stay a bit longer in Laos, we have had to cut short our time in Vietnam. So, in total we will be just over a week in Vietnam. What we will be doing here is also dependent on if and how we can get to Cambodia for a reasonable price (and in reasonable time - the Lao experience has made us somewhat reluctant to do a bus journey of thirty hours or so.....).

When we set off for Laos we did not know what to expect. Now we have experienced it, we are glad we did it. We have seen some of the most impressive things of our trip so far (the monks getting their alms in Luang Prabang, the sun setting over the Mekong in Vientiane, the mountains between LP and Vientiane). Also, tourism, especially outside LP, is not such a big thing yet, so there is the chance to really experience the interaction with people still (as evidenced by our chat with a monk outside LP). On the other hand, where tourists are more common, there is often an assumption by some of the Lao people that they have the right to get money from tourists, leading to, sometimes annoying, begging. But this is probably part of the transition a poor country has to go through.

Therefore, a remarkable experience in a country that is likely to change dramatically in the next few years, when it will become a more general tourist destination. Hopefully we will have the chance to come back to see the difference and see some of the parts that we haven't seen this time......

Lao - Luang Prabang

We have now had our first taste of Laos, having spent the last four days in the second biggest city, Luang Prabang.

The flight over was very smooth, other than the 2 hour delay and after the short 1 hour flight we felt as if we had arrived in a different world! The surrounding countryside is spectacular - Luang Prabang is nestled amongst mountain after mountain. And since we landed at dusk we were greeted with a red sky over the mountain tops.

Describing Luang Prabang is a challenge! As we said in our last entry, we were not sure what to expect. It is a city (albeit a small one) where we have seen the biggest contrast between locals and travellers/westerners. As an ex French colony you can see this influence through French style colonial houses, baguettes at the morning market and a lot of relatively expensive restaurants serving steak au poivre, as well as Lao and Thai food. On the surface it seems kind of chic and sophisticated: when we arrived we took a walk along the river to see restaurant after restaurant prettily lit up, serving, how shall we put it, a lot of middle class French (apparently a popular winter destination for them)

However once you start to scratch the surface you realise that this part of town is only for the tourists, you never see a Lao person eating or shopping - only working or selling. The prices in a lot of the restaurants, although excellent value by western terms, are out of the price brackets of the Lao people - even for us coming from Thailand we were surprised by how much more expensive Luang Prabang is for food and accommodation.

On our first full day in Luang Prabang we explored the city on foot, which mainly meant seeing the temples (Luang Prabang is a World Heritage Site because of its 30 plus temples), which as a rule are less ornate and more 'lived in' than those in Thailand , but because of it at least as impressive. The last temple of the day was on top of the sacred hill, where after an exhausting climb up (very warm and humid) we were happy to rest for an hour and watch the sun set. After a very typical Lao meal of Mekong (river) seaweed, Papaya Salad laso Style, Mekong Fish stew and sticky rice, we set off for a bit of a wander at the local night market, where colourful scarves etc are plentiful!
Lao not being industrialised at the scale of Thailand yet, the products on sale are mainly hand made and therefore appear a bit more special than the market wares overt here. So needless to say we have bought a few bits and pieces! We were back at the hotel by 10 as the Lao are early risers and early to bed - as we found out the next morning....

At 6pm our alarm went off (is this a holiday??!) so we could get up and watch the local towns people offer food (Alms) to the monks. There are over 200 monks, all robed but barefoot who walk single file through the town with a pot, in which they collect the food given to them. For the local people it is a way of them earning 'merits' and for the Monks also as they give away some of the food they are given to the poorer children who are standing waiting nearby. It was special to watch but also quite poignant.

After the early start, we made the most of our day, visiting the national museum/ royal palace and then crossing the Nham Khan (the other of the two rivers that surround the peninsula on which Luang Prabang is built) to see the more rural and realistic Laos. The journey started with us crossing via a bamboo bridge - which we later found out had only been there for 2 weeks (Nicola was worried about it breaking!) - visiting some local villages - and ending with a chat to some novices (ie monks in training). They were keen to practice their English, so we managed to make some small talk!
Arriving back later afternoon, Nicola managed to convince JP that he really should try a massage (having never had one) and we had a traditional Lao sauna and massage - an invigorating experience! A really enjoyable day topped off with one of the best Indian (vegetarian) meals we have ever had - and all for surpirsingly little money (in direct contrast with our earlier observations).

Now is our last day in Luang Prabang, before we make our way by bus to the capital city of Vientiane (8 hours through apparently some of the most beautiful scenery in south east asia!). It started at 4am as we woke to the quite haunting sound of the temple drum from the temple outside our window, opposite our Guest House! We told you these monks do get up early! Fortunately we did not have to join them (after 10 mins it finished and we went back to sleep), but at 6am we did get up to see the Monks again.
Then off to a trip to a cave filled with over 500 Bhuddas (damaged, so they cannot be worshipped anymore), of all shapes and sizes, 30km down river. This was interesting to see but the total boat journey of 3.5 hours on the Mekong was a little too long and we were glad to get off at the end!

So, here we are - off for our final meal (we are tempted to go to the same Indian!), to check out the night market one final time (there may be that bargain we missed) and to pack our bags, ready for another early start tomorrow morning to Vientiane.........

Thailand - Chiang Mai

Upon arrival in Chiang Mai, we made our way to our guest house. As we didn't get there until 2.30 AM, it was a good thing that our new intended home for the next few days had a 24-hour reception. Which was one of the few good things about the place, it being our fifth choice in town (all the others were full or did not take bookings in advance). Also, the room looked comfortable enough, especially as we were both knackered after the trip.

That this was only appearance became clear the next night, when the tripping of a cockroach on the hard-wooden floor woke JP up. Afraid that the creepie-crawly would end up in the luggage, a hunt was started for the animal. Not by Nicola though, whose contribution was to hop into JP's bed and find cover under the duvet, squirmishly asking not be called upon for assistance. After a good thirty minutes, the beast was caught and disposed of. Only to be followed in the 'keeping us awake games' by an english couple drunkenly and loudly having a marital spiff downstairs. If we needed any further incentive to move, that was it.

The next day we were lucky enough to check into Gap's House (they operated a first come first served check in policy), which was everything our previous guest house wasn't - relaxed, beautiful, a garden overgrown with tropical plants, large rooms with teak antiques inside - and all of that for less!? Chiang Mai could start........That is, after a morning behind the PC sorting out rooms for the next few locations we will be visiting.

During our time in Chiang Mai we focused on seeing the main sights in and around town (mainly temples - surprise - the busiest being a hill-side one, where thousands of thais visit to worship the buddha at this, the holiest site in the north) , walking through the National Park (we managed to descend 800 meters along 4 waterfalls - beautiful!! - by foot in approximately 3 hours, at the time of writing we are both aching in every possible joint we knew and didn't know of) and shopping. For Chiang Mai is the centre for original handicrafts (woodcarving, paper umbrellas - nice ?, ceramics and silk), antiques and the usual knick-knacks.

As we were going to ship stuff home (as we packed too much) we felt this was a great opportunity to fill our bags with some new stuff and find some price pieces (Chiang Mai is also renowned as the shopping capital of the north). We succeeded on both accounts, with new 'jewelry' and clothing for less than twenty pounds and some nice ceramics. However, we had also had our eye on some of the buddhas we saw during our cycle trip through the country-side, but a quick check on the internet showed that this could cause some issues at both the Thai and Dutch customs, so we decided to leave these (for now!).

By the way, shopping in Chiang Mai is a bit of an experience - there are several markets, combined having more stalls than London has buses! All selling roughly the same stuff for roughly the same price. But what is really great is the emphasis on food (you cannot walk for 15 meters without seeing a new food outlet, all serving freshly made home-cooking) and the relaxedness of it all. Thousands of people wandering around, looking, shopping, eating, but not drinking (unlike a street festival in Europe, no-one is drinking and/or carrying alcohol). And everybody is included - from 6 year olds performing the dance of light to ninety-year olds in wheel-chairs selling 'knick knacks'. All in all a very pleasant way to spend a few hours and a different experience from the madness of European shopping streets.

Chiang Mai is also known for its cooking classes and trekking trips. Given all our other activities, it is not surprising that we did not have time to do either of these. After the slow start, Chiang Mai has grown on us, a place where we have some unfinished business - cooking class, trekking and a buddha - a place to come back to.

But now we are on the airport, on our way to Luang Prabang in Laos. As we had been told to expect, the flight is delayed by a few hours, but we are both full of anticipation to experience Laos (which is still a bit off-the-beaten-track for general tourism) and see Luang Prabang. Without really knowing what to expect. We will let you know next time how we got on.......

Thailand - Ayutthaya & Sukhotai

For those who haven't seen it yet - we have managed to post some pictures on our previous entries. Everything to keep you interested.....

But back to the issue on hand - trains and temples were always going to be the main theme of this part of our trip. And believe us - they were.... We got more than we bargained for, especially on the train front. Only one of the train legs we did (from Khao Yai to Ayutthaya) was running smoothly, the other two train journeys were delayed. From Ayutthaya to Phitsanulok (the station from where one takes a bus to Sukhotai) by approximately an hour, while the train journey from Phitsanulok to Chiang Mai became epic (estimated travel time seven hours, real travel time closer to fifteen hours, including a three hour delay on departure and some further delays due to engine failure which left us (and 200 other travellers) stranded for a few hours in the midst of night in the middle of nowhere). All of this meant that a journey which is amongst the most scenic routes in Thailand was now completely covered in darkness. But on the upside - Thai Railways provides good food on board, so one doesn't get the chance to starve!

Both Ayutthaya and Sukhotai were once the capital of Thailand, with all the splendour and grandeur that came with this. In their heydays, these cities covered vast areas, built up with palaces and temples. What is left now, is mainly ruins, but very pretty ones. To cover the distances in both cities, it is advised do this by bike, so we did (much to Nicola's delight).Especially as the walk from the train station to our Guest House (which didn't look too long on the map) turned out to be a thirty minute work-out fully packed at the hottest time of the day (being stubborn, even though we were hassled repetitively by tuk-tuks who offered to take us there, but hey, once you start something....).

Both cities have a 'Historic Park', which contains most of the important temple complexes. Sukhotai, however, was our favoutite, as it gave us the chance to get out of the main (more tourist) areas and cycle across the country-side in pursuit of temples.

On the food-front, this gave us also the chance to get stuck into 'real' thai food (instead of the slightly westernised versions that were served at Khao Yai). We tried the green papaya salad (which apparently can be accompanied by sticky rice and dried pork - very nice!), such a delight that we have had it several times since. And we had mussles accompanied by the spiciest dipping sauce ever (which JP kindly tested by dropping a mussel in it and eating it!).

The accommodation was a tale of two halves - both were reasonably priced and good quality. The one in Ayutthaya being a student dorm (taking us back some time, although Thai students turn out to be the only people with digital TV in their rooms). The one in Sukhotai a fantastic small wooden guest house built in traditional Thai style, with a garden filled with plants and fish ponds.

The owner of the guest house gave us a lift to the bus station in Sukhotai, from where we began our supposedly easy journey to Chiang Mai. More of which in the next entry.....

Thailand - Khao Yai National Park

We finished our last report with the ominous words - off to meet the elephant and tigers! We are glad to say we fulfilled at least half our mission and survived. Albeit at the very end of our 'expedition', eventually we saw eye-to-eye with about seven elephants, including one cute little baby - ahhhhhhhh...... This encounter has been fully recorded with 40 pictures and a video clip, one or two of which will be posted on these very pages (again, the connection speed is still an issue; for those interested - apparently an earthquake in Taiwan, just before Xmas, has damaged all major backbones for South-East Asia, this is due to last for at least another two weeks!). But now back to the beginning.....

Upon arrival at the Khao Yai Garden Lodge ( a three hour train trip from Bangkok, plus an hour delay upon departure - Thai Railways seems to have benchmarked itself against the UK!), we booked ourselves on a day-and-a-half guided tour, including a full day in the National Park, a night safari and a visit to the bat-caves.

An 8 AM start the next morning. Guided by Mr A (which made our group the 'A Team' - JP's comment Nicola insists!) we set off the the Park in the back of a truck. Once in the Park, the animal spotting started. What an excitement! Both the guide and the driver managed to spot birds, mammals and reptiles from a moving vehicle. Within the first hour, we had sightings of Pigtailed Macaques (these monkeys are very common), a huge Monitor Lizzard sitting on the side of a tree, a serpent eagle on the prowl and two Great Hornbills (these beautiful birds reach a length of ca 80 centimeters, have a wingspan of 1.5 meters and we were lucky enough to see them both in flight and eating in the figtrees).
Then a three hour hike, which gave us various tropial birds and much to our delight Whiteheaded Gibbons. It was absolutely amazing how Mr A. spotted these, as they were in the top of the canopy approximately 200 meters away (but through a telescope almost on our lap). One of the highlights of the day!!

After spending most of the hottest time of the day (when the animals make themselves scarce) around the waterfalls used in the film 'the Beach' (no Leonardo di Caprio though!) we set off on our hunt for the elephants. That they are living in the Park had been evidenced during the day by the massive amounts of dung that we came across, even at the bottom of the waterfall. Now, however, they proved to be very elusive, so after one hour of intensive searching no elephants to be found!

We had already given up hope and settled in for the night safari (where various kinds of deer were the highlights) when a text message to one of the guides gave location of elephants at a salt lick (where would we be without a mobile phone). Needless to say we hot-footed it over with the result as above.

The second part of our tour was a visit to an ancient Buddha cave (to Nicola's delight filled with bats, spiders, snakes and toads) and a bat-cave where ca 2 million bats make their way out everynight. An impressive sight and sound......

With all of this wildlife in our bag, we set off to do a bit of culture - for the nex few days it will be temples and trains as we make our way north through the central plains of Thailand. More of which next time.....

Thailand - Bangkok

We have now moved on from Bangkok, sitting in a nice and relaxed environment on the edge of Khao Yai National park, one of the last bits of proper jungle left in Thailand that houses elephants and tigers! Tomorrow we will go and look for them, but first Bangkok:

After a smooth flight (we both slept most of the way) we arrived in Bangkok’s new airport. A massive, modern development where we were able to walk off any potential for DVT by making our way from the arrival gate to the bus.

The bus trip from the airport to Bangkok takes about an hour, most of which spent in traffic jams in downtown Bangkok. Our hotel is located on Thanon Chambrutti, a road that runs parallel to the better-known backpacker’s haven that is Khao San Road. The benefit being that you have the hustle and bustle of Khao San within walking distance, but do not have to suffer the ‘cheesiness’ of such a tourist trap.

After a quick refresh on our way to do one of the things with which travelers apparently fill their days – looking for food. Fortunately ‘our road’ has lots of things on offer – from the inevitable street vendors and night-markets to the more tourist-orientated places, where you can get a pizza and tuna sandwich – nice!
Keen to fit in, we throw ourselves in at the deep end – a selection of curries from the night-market (as some sort of risk protection – this one was recommended by our Rough Guide and busy enough). 30 baths down (that’s 50p or 75 eurocent) we sat ourselves half-an-hour later down at one of the many street-side terraces to do some people-watching and a Thai beer.

Our first full day in Bangkok was spent in the Royal Palace and Wat Pho, two of the most impressive temple complexes in Bangkok. The colours, the vibrancy and the detail of the carvings are incredibly beautiful. No need to give you a low-down on all the aspects, but the fact that we spent there most of the day says it all. For those who are more visually orientated – see the pictures. For the foodies – two more amazing meals, both from street vendors, including Pad Thai, some more curries and a spicy stir-fry.

The second full day in Bangkok (the 9th of January) we mainly spent walking. Not as one would expect a leisurely stroll to get used to the climate (even though it is the cool season, the average temperature still reaches the high twenties), but a 7 hour stint that took us from our hotel via the train station through China Town. How to describe China Town ? Something completely different to our expectations – a mile-long stretch of covered markets, where shoppers, mopeds and trucks are battling it out for a place in the narrow streets. To navigate one street took us more than an hour, by which time we had seen thousands of t-shirts, shoes, fabrics and garish electronics. If this is something to go by, then our high streets are peaceful oases filled with quality stuff.
On the way, we saw more temples and Buddhas, one of which being a solid golden, 3 meters high, 5.5 tons, USD10 million mammoth, which had only been found fifty years ago when someone chipped the plaster casing when moving. You can imagine how we are now looking at some of the statues on offer …..
Back to the hotel by Express Boat, a super-charged old boat packed with commuters, tourists and monks. The benefit being that this way you miss the traffic jams, which seem to be stifling Bangkok continuously.

The final day had more walking, temples and boat trips in store. From the Golden Mount (with good views of Bangkok) via Jim Thompsons House (the American entrepreneur that single-handedly revitalized the Thai silk industry before disappearing mysteriously in the Malaysian jungle), Little India, another temple complex where three crocodiles made a sorry picture for themselves and the flower market back to the hotel via Express Boat (our second boat trip of the day, the first being a longtail that carried us from the Golden Mount to Jim Thompson’s House). All of this embellished with a spot of shopping, as we were in desperate need for a travel plug (remember, our intentions before departure ?) – how else to keep necessary travel accompaniments such as mobile phone and Nintendo game going ?

The final night in Bangkok was spent having dinner at the night stall next to the hotel, which specialized in fresh seafood (whole fish, mussels, squid and prawns – yum!), before wrestling with our bags to get everything back in, including some of the new purchases (our first stab at haggling – or bartering as Nicola insists on calling it!).

One last note on food and drink – having been in Thailand for only three days, we have already experienced some of the more bizarre taste sensations – a soft drink so green that it would light up in the dark and so sweet that Nicola was over-active for the remainder of the day and JP took on the challenge of a delightful snack of toasted (or roasted or deep-fried, god knows) grasshoppers and crickets (for those people interested, it doesn’t taste of much, sort of rice-paper-ish, but it is crunchy and gets stuck between your teeth!).

So, how would we summarise Bangkok – stunning temples, traffic and petrol fumes, incense, crowded, amazingly good food and a great start for things to come!

The tigers and elephants – here we come……

UK - Putney

This is the first entry in our blog, where we hope to give you regular updates about our travels around the world. This story starts in a coffee shop in Putney, an area in London south of the River Thames, where we are now trying to get this blog going. It has been a hectic few days, with packing up and putting everything into storage. The last days have been manic - small errands have tended to become hour-long jobs! The result being that now, a few hours before our departure, we are still getting the blog 'live'.

One job we both underestimated is the packing of the luggage. Despite all the good advice from people that have been travelling before, we (or, perhaps more truthfully JP) is still managing to take so much stuff that we are now like two packhorses. And that before we have even bought anything abroad!

All in all, it is a strange feeling - walking into an empty flat, knowing that we will be gone for four months in a few hours, leaving London (and Europe) behind. At the same time, it is very exciting - all these new experiences and adventures ahead of us!
Better finish - off to the airport to do some last-minute shopping (travel plug, so nothing too exciting!) and get some food before we embark on the first 11 hour flight to Bangkok.

See you all in four months and keep an eye on these pages for further news on our travels.....