Laos: Luang Prabang

Sad as we were to leave Thailand (Yes, we both love it!) we needed to move on, as it dawned on us that we had 5 more countries to visit in 13 weeks. In case you are wondering, they are (in order) : Laos, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and India, before landing in London for Xmas.

We better get our move on! So we booked a 1 day trip from Chiang Mai in northern Thailand to Luang Prabang in Laos. This was sold as a 6 hour minivan + 4 hour boat ride - a 1 day trip. This is a relatively new route using a new border crossing and sounded great, as the other border crossing is 3 days of travel. The minivan picked us up at 10pm and we got on our way. We got some Dramamine for the trip to help put us to sleep, and Toolman managed to get a little rest, but its hard when the minivan is lurching all over with Thai-style driving...

We stopped at about 4am on the edge of Thailand at a open-air food stall and were instructed to get out for breakfast.



The food must have been sitting there for a long time, maybe even the night before - it was cold, rubbery and awful! Toolman attempted to have the toast, but the jam was fake raspberry flavored, like a melted lolly (and not in a good way). It had no texture and was simply un-eat-able. Not one of the whole load of travelers (about 10) ate more then a single bite. The coffee was OK, but empty stomach + coffee is not always a smart move. After 15 minutes of trying to wake up and figure out what to do about the food situation, we all just got back on the minivan to signal that a) breakfast was done, and b) we wanted to keep going.



Another hours drive got us to the border, where we got stamped out of Thailand.



This is the exit to Thailand. Thailand drive on the left, and Laos on the right, so it was a bit odd driving between the 2 immigration posts in a Laos taxi-ute (left hand drive) on the left of the road. This was only about 500 meters, and once that was over, we were on to the rally section that wasn't mentioned on the "1 day" pamphlet.



The rally section was a rough dirt road that winded round the (beautiful) mountains for about 3 hours. It was kinda fun, but we were already tired...



... as shown in this (bad) picture. The scenery in the mountains was very nice though, almost like NZ with all the lush greenery. The dust kicked up covered everything.



We eventually got to a small village that edged onto the Mekong river, and transferred to a slow boat - yes, thats what they call them. As we were running late, we had to run between them, and we ll got baguettes thrown at us for lunch. Toolman managed to pick out the meat...



The slow boat ride was very gentle and quiet, which was a relief after the ute-hoon. Unfortunately it took about 6 hours, which really started to drag when you are tired and dirty.



We had plenty of time to look at the scenery, which is very impressive. The mountains are very sharp and angular, and constantly changed as we cruised up the river.



The cave above are full of Buddha statues, but we didn't stop to have a look.

We finally got to Luang Prabang and it was within the stated 1 day (just - about 22 hours of solid travel) but it wasn't so bad really. Getting off the boat, we were greeted with the usual hoard of touts looking to lure us to their guest house. We hadn't booked anywhere, so we surveyed the laminated cards with pictures and picked a place that looked tidy and comfy.

Thankfully we picked well, and it ended up being new and clean, as well as the cheapest accommodation that we have had anywhere on our travels. A double room with oscillating fan and a private bathroom with hot water cost 140 Baht (NZ $6) per night.

We happened to arrive the day before a major local holiday and event: dragon boat racing. Our guest house guide (name: Listh) organized a minivan and driver for anyone interested in going, so us and a Swedish pair (Emilia and Marcus; they are "just friends" now...) went along. As the minivan wasn't full, Listh stopped off to pick up his wife and child.



The setting was beautiful - this picture doesn't do it justice. The mountains pierce the clouds! In addition to dragon boat racing, there was a large market, and lots of food, drinking and dancing - a fun introduction to Lao culture.



The market had all the usual trinkets on offering, but it was aimed at the locals, so mostly inexpensive stuff. There were lots of carnival type attractions - small rides, throw-the-dart-at-ballons-to-win-a-toy and such like. Lisths' wife and child went off to meet up with other family, while he showed us falangs around.



This is how they do pirate movies and software in Laos. Wandering around the markets we realised how short the Lao people are. They are a fine featured race, and Princess really felt tall among them - honestly very few were as tall as her!



The actual holiday and festival celebrates the retreat of the monsoon, and all the local villages compete against each other to see who is the best village by way of a round-robin knockout type event. The rule are pretty lax, and so some boats only have a few people, and some have lots. This doesn't seem very fair, and the longer boats (=more people) always seemed to win.



The race went under this bridge, so it was a good place to view...



... but Listh showed us a better place! This spot had a great view over the river, and in addition to watching the boat racing, the other time honored tradition at this event is drinking! There was 2 choices: Beer-Lao and Lao-Lao. The former is obvious and surprisingly good - us non-beer-drinkers liked it; the latter is home-made rice whisky. Listh told us that it is about 60% alcohol. It certainly tasted like it was...

We had plenty of both, and things got a little blurry towards the end of the afternoon.



Toolman couldn't help taking a photo of stylish, pimpin' grandad.



This is our guide and new friend, Listh, and hid son Bank. We spent the afternoon talking about Lao life and culture over the various drinks. Us falangs bought all his drinks, and as he is shorter then Princess, he was looking pretty wobbly by the end of it. and no mums, he wasn't driving - we had a driver waiting back at the van.

All in all, a really fun day, and Listh was quite a character, especially after a few Lao-Laos...

As we were leaving, a group of English people who we had bumped into earlier in the day came over and explained that they had lost their ride back, and were stranded. We kindly let them pile into the van, and subsidize our travel home!

Early to drinks, early to bed.



The next morning we got up and had a wander around Luang Prabang itself. This is a Wat on the top of Mount Phu Si. Yes, the pronunciation can be misheard for a ruder word. This hill gave a tremendous view out over Luang Prabang.



The Mekong, which we slow boat-ed down the day before in the foreground, and the amazing hill/mountains in the distance - very scenic.



We also looked at the Wat, and the multiple Buddha statues on the hill.



There was a Buddha for every day of the week! This one was Sunday, from memory.



Also of note was the Buddhas footprint, but unless Buddha was a Yetti, we are skeptical..



The next place to visit was a local waterfall, which is always welcome when it is so hot. Listh organised another minivan and driver for us. As we arrived, we got a "tip" from some random falang who was leaving to go up the left hand side track, we assumed for the excellent swimming...




The track was very NZ like, but quite steep and tiring. This section was particularly treacherous - the waterfall was cascading over the steps!



In addition, they were slippery, and a few steps were missing. After climbing for about half an hour, we realised that we were at the the top of the waterfall, and that there was no-where suitable to swim- ARG! A (careful) descent back down, got us back to the start, where we found the rest of the group who were leisurely swimming in the lovely waterfall. Oh well, at least the water was cool and plesant, though we think there might have been leeches nipping at our heels...



The other attraction here was an orphaned tiger named Phet, who had been captured and traded 4 times in the first couple of weeks of her life. Thankfully, she was confiscated from the poachers (aka bastards!), who had stressed mistreated her so badly that most of her fur had fallen out. A pen was set up and she was nursed back to health, and now she lives next to the waterfall. Its not an ideal (wild) life, but at least she is comfortable and healthy now.



The area also had black bears who had also been confiscated from poachers - these bears are either kept alive and harvested for bile, or killed with body parts used for pseudo-health reasons. Makes us sick to think about it...



We got back to the mini van to find that the driver had won at pool, and so he got the bounty as shown above. He assured us that there was plenty of meat on them for dinner. We weren't convinced. Still, a fun day!



We have seen this so many times - a rough, rural house with a satellite dish. Even the hilltribes have them! Some aspects of the modern world are quick to catch on; others (hot water, fridges etc) are yet to arrive.



Isn't the scenery awesome! Tune in next time for the event that both our Mums have dreaded: the drunk-inner-tyre-tubing...

Thailand: leaving thoughts

Toolman

Coming from Malaysia, Thailand (the Land of Buddha) worked its magic on me very quickly. The scenery here is unreal, from the crazy islands with coconut trees and limestone faces in the south, to the wide open spaces in the north, seemingly filled to capacity with paddy fields and rolling hills studded with palm trees and rainforests.

I am amazed at the sheer number of Wats (temples), given how intricately they are constructed. Each shouted out how much effort the Thais have put in as a gesture of remembering Buddha- who was once only human., but has 'awoken' to Nirvana. Here is a quote from the wikipedia on Buddha

A common misconception among Westerners views the Buddha as the Buddhist counterpart to “God”; Buddhism, however, is non-theistic (i.e., in general it does not teach the existence of a supreme creator god (see God in Buddhism) or depend on any supreme being for enlightenment; the Buddha is a guide and teacher who points the way to nirvana).

The Thai people are so friendly and nice, and are always willing to help out a confused farang if possible. Everything is inexpensive, and they know how to cater to western needs. Thailand is a truly special place, and I already know that I will to go back again one day.

Princess

Thailand is truly a divine place, and some where you could spend a lot of time, hence our two month adventure there. So what makes Thailand so wonderful? There are so many things. Firstly the scenery is amazing, and so varied depending on whereabouts in the country you are. The tropical islands were magical, as were the gorgeous rain forests with their amazing array of plant life and beautiful waterfalls. They almost had a New Zealandy feel to them with the same lush, green scenery.

The animals were probably the biggest highlight for me. You are able to get up close and personal with so many different species, including elephants, tigers, snakes and gibbons. This would just not be possible at home, so it was wonderful to have a chance to interact with these creatures. I don't think I'll ever forget playing with the Gibbon and riding elephants. These things will be etched in my memory forever.

Thai people have an intensely strong and powerful belief in Lord Buddha, and it was interesting to see how this was displayed in their daily life. They give a lot to Buddha, including lots of time and donations. The Wats they have built to honour him are the ultimate sign of devotion. Ornate and beautiful, they never fail to take your breath away.

There is a sense of calmness that surrounds Thais, even in the big cities like Bangkok. Though life in this country must have its stresses and downfalls, the people cope with it all remarkably well. They are always cheerful and friendly and seem so happy and contented with life which is refreshing to see.

I think Thailand is the country that I will remember so far as being my favourite. Both Tim and I discuss it on a regular basis and we are already hungous to go back! Lucky that we get to spend a little more time there before we fly to Delhi, India....

Thailand: Chiang Mai

We took a train from Lopburi to Chiang Mai, an overnight trip with sleeping booths that converted back to a 4 seat berth for the morning part of the journey. Looking out the window we saw endless plains of rice all lined up in rows, shaped for good irrigation no doubt.

After a surprisingly comfortable and relaxing ride on the train we arrived in Chiang Mai, a must on the backpacker's list of places to visit. Below are some pictures of the place we stayed at; Royal Guest House.

This place was really good value - It even had a pool! Our room was something like NZ$12 and it had its own bathroom, balcony and a fan. Replacement bedding every day too.

We took over the room, in no time it was a mess like all our other accommodation has become...



Check out our library - this is just ridiculous.

Most of the books belong to Princess, who has an innate fear of not having enough to read, therefore overcompensating by making sure she has a MASSIVE collection of books at all times. This might be the maximum we (or any other traveler!) has carried. We started downsizing after taking this picture - Princess' pack was just too heavy...

We even had an old phone in our room. We were trying to work out how long it had been since either of us had used a phone like that! Toolman thinks that NZ had the numbers in the middle of the holes so the could wear out. (Nice one Telecom - another revenue stream)

The view from our balcony was awesome, we had the most amazing view of Chiang Mai itself and the hills surrounding it. The second night we were there, a huge storm rolled over at sunset - it looked even better in person and was quite spectacular!

The hills you see above in the distance have a Wat at the top, slightly to the right of either picture. This is lit up at night and is quite spectacular. We'll show the pictures from Wat Phra Doi Suthep later.

Buddha enjoying the view! This was a travel present from Princess' Dad (Thanks, Chris) As part of the weight cutting measures, Toolman decided to send Buddha on to London with the clothes box we ended up posting to our pal Mark in London. It seemed somewhat fitting to part ways in the land of Buddha; he is now making his way towards Mark..

Being a tourist mecca, Chiang Mai has a good selection of restaurants catering to farangs. We found a really good one, that had picked Tin Tin as its theme - the owner was apparently French. The food here was divine and the Tin Tin ornaments cute, so we ate here several times.

Snowy: "Woof woof", or as the French say, "Wooa wooa" - its just a difference y'know?



So we hired a scooter - again. I was tempted by Dang(!), but we ended up just hiring it from our own accommodation. The first big attraction we visited was Doi Suthep. This is a 1676m peak named after the hermit Sudeva who lived on the mountain's slopes for many years. Near its summit is Wat Phra Doi Suthep which was established in 1383.

The road leading up the mountain is incredibly windy, so most farangs probably hire a taxi-ute to take them to the top; we (aka Toolman the hoon) decided a scooter was the way to go though, so up we went!

Just beneath the Wat were a lot of farang- focused stalls. The hats above were being sold at one. They are kind of cool, but seriously, who would want to own one? Cans are used to make all sorts of trinkets: mainly wallets and models of all sorts: tuk-tuks, trains, planes, cars...

There were A LOT of stairs to reach the Wat; 300 to be exact. You can take a tram up, but we decided to walk. Check out the dragon banisters - pretty amazing!

The view from the Wat was absolutely incredible. Chiang Mai is a beautiful place!

The Wat itself is pretty spectacular. In the centre of the complex there is a copper-plated Chedi which is topped by a five-tiered golden umbrella. Apparently this is one of the holiest Chedi in all of Thailand.

The rest of the Wat is no less ornate. This is a building that backs onto the square building surrounding the Chedi.

There really is a wonderful feeling of peace and serenity up there. It is a mystical, magical place and we really loved it.

And Toolman enjoyed the scooter-hoon there and back..



Chiang Mai has lots of other Wats, so we went for a tour around them. The gold Dragon is an awesome sculpture...



..that Princess had to have a closer look. We do go inside most Wats we visit, but its sometimes not appropriate to photograph. If you look at the complete photoset, you might see the inside pictures of some.



We found this interesting structure at the back of one of the Wats.



Full size! All our dealings with elephants over here have been so positive - they are such gentle and hardworking animals; it's no wonder that Thailand love them so much!



If you think those elephants were big, check out this one. This is a large structure.



This is the ruins of a grand Wat, and it impressed us very much. Surrounded by a moat, the square building rises up with a Chedi in the middle. You can see a little of one of the gold Buddhas below, with one on each side facing north, south, east, west.



The closeup of the elephants which have been incorporated indicating how important the are, and have been for a long time.



This particular Wat has a program in place to look after stray animals, and indeed it did have a more then normal collection of animals lying about the place. Princess spent a bit of time giving the love to the doggies and kitties that are lucky enough to be tended by the monks. It should be noted that we do say hello to the other strays, as long as they look friendly.



It also had a Monk Chat program, so us farangs could come along and talk about anything with the monks. It also serves as practice for English for them so its a great exchange.



Monks can't touch or sit next to women, but they are allowed to talk to them. We asked all sorts of questions about the life of a monk. They get up around 4am, meditate for an hour, then go out to the streets to collect food from the locals. In this way, the locals are supporting the monks, so they get merit to hopefully lessen the impact of Karma.

The monks only eat twice a day, and most are studying much like you would in normal schools or collages. We wonder if some monks join mainly for cheaper education (as well as to earn some merit for their family).

This particular Monk was actually from Laos, and so we asked him about his family, and unfortunately touched a sore spot - yes, we managed to make a monk cry... We were both so sorry for reminding him of something painful, we felt awful. A reminder that so many people have it tough; this guy is giving up a lot (his family) for monk-hood and education.



This Wat is made from Teak, a hardwood found in Thailand and neighboring countries. Its actually illegal to cut them down in Thailand; there is apparently roaring trade buying Teak from Myanmar across the border.



All around the Teak Wat are sandcastles, made from weaved bamboo rings. the ones above were about 2 stories high...

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... but the one at the back dwarfed Princess! That would win the beach sandcastle competition I'm sure.



Here is another golden Chedi. Very pretty.



Around the Wats lots of English students hang around looking to talk to farangs - mainly for class exercises and such. Our interviews were recorded, so we might be famous in some classroom.

The next day, we hired a scooter again and headed up to the Mae Sa elephant camp.



We got there just in time to see the elephants go for their daily scrub and bath in the river. Elephants love water, and to be scrubbed down. These were some happy elephants!



They were all rolling around, and as they have built in snorkels, they can immerse themselves pretty well. Check the grin on that elephant above.



After their bath, they put on a show for us. They painted, kicked footballs, played the harmonica, played darts, curtsied and bowed. They are so smart, and listen to their mahout (trainer). It was very good, without feeling coerced or tacky.



Look at the result of their painting! These were really drawn completely by the elephants.



Afterwards we went up for a closer look. The welcome was inviting, to say the least...



Toolman got a cuddle / squash from the elephants. Yes they are strong! Our next stop was Chiang Mai Zoo - can you see a pattern?



The big cats are awesome, especially this Jaguar.



and this white kitty! Who wants some go-cat?



Of course this is an alive tiger! Any suggestion that it is stuffed is complete rubbish...



These monkeys are quite good catchers - we found some berries on a tree, and Toolman could throw them to the monkeys who would catch and devour them. Very funny.



Macaque! These are pretty and smart birds, but were a bit shy when we were there.

The main attraction (and extra ticket cost) at this zoo was the Pandas. We had a hard time deciding if we wanted to spend the extra, but it was definitely worth it.



We got into the enclosed environment just in time to see the feeding. The temperature was a chilly 18 degrees - cold when you are used to 30ish outside! The pandas are fed bamboo (as shown in the blue tubs), and chew through it like cookie monster would - messily!



They really love their sun lounger seats, and walked straight up to sit on them. So cute!



There are 2 there, separated from each other. This is one was show boating in front of us, rolling around hoping for a treat to be tossed her way. Just like a huge teddy bear!



We saw the orangutan, who reminded us of Mark (you hairy ape). He was alone, and seemed a bit sad or bored. His island was large though, and waving didn't seem to distract him from whatever he was doing.

The zoo had lots of other animals, including Koalas, which we found a bit out of place. We had a fun day wandering around.

That night, we went to a traditional Thai dance evening. We didn't get many pictures, but this gives an idea of what it was like:



A buffet dinner was brought out, while Traditional dance was onstage. The dance involves complicated finger movements, and the ladies wear long brass fingernails to accentuate their movements. Our seats were at the back, so later in the evening we moved to the middle so we could see better.

After the embarrassing part where they got some drunk farangs on stage to try and emulate the intricate dance (yes they did awful) we headed outside to a different stage, where a dozen different local hill tribes all did their unique dances and chants.

We decided to do a one-day trek up to the hill tribes and have a look around in the wilderness.



This is our guide, and a Spanish couple who came along with us for the trek. The first leg was done on elephant.



Thailand has lots of elephants!



We were coaxed into buying bribes for the elephants ("so he likes you"). The trunk would come up and start sniffing around hoping you'd feed it. They can knock back bananas like kids with candy.

Next off, we trek up past one of the hill tribes (Karon), and stop to watch this kid with his spinning top. He was happy when he could get it to go..



We stopped here for a swim at this waterfall. It was very refreshing, but the water flow was so fast that you'd get swept down if you ventured far off the banks. But when you are hot, its still awesome to cool off in!



Next we ventured up to a (Hmong) hill tribe village. Their buildings are built up off the ground, whereas the Karon hilltribes were more nomadic and so had easier to demolish buildings. And yes, they did have a TV dish - goes to show whats important, huh?



There were ladies doing manual loom work for all these beautiful cloths, mainly for sarongs and the like.



We both felt a bit voyeuristic, coming in and looking at the hill tribes. Its hard to interact with them (language) and so looking and pointing can feel a bit odd. Still was good to visit, and interesting to learn about how they are trying to keep their heritage, whilst still progressing. (Though Toolman wonders if getting TV really is progression?)

Our trip ended with a bamboo ride down the river.



This is a picture of the river that we went down. It was prety gentle on our long raft, but Toolman was at the back, and thats the end that tends to hang out a bit on these kinds of things. A few bank twigs came very close to collecting some Toolman...



This is what they looked like - about 5 meters long! The raft guide had the job of dismantling them and piling them up in a ute to transport back up the river for the next lot.



As the ride was wet, we got no photos; the scenery was lovely, although the water is brown - now we understand why NZs waterways are so treasured.

We both really loved Chiang Mai, and there is so much more to see. Next time...