Monday, 26 September 2011

Luang Prabang, Laos, 22nd to 24th August 2011

After thoroughly enjoying our time in Vang Vieng we where looking forward to getting to the UNESCO town of Luang Prabang and enjoying the ancient Laos towns hospitality - but similar to lots of things on our travels it was not going to be so straight forward!

We where picked up at 7am at our hotel and apparently it would take 5 to 7 hours to travel 190 km's because the roads are not so good.
The first hiccup we encountered was when the driver would not leave Vang Vieng as he had not received payment for one of the passengers so we drove all around town looking for the Laos guy who owed him the money after eventually finding him and collecting the money (45 mins later) we found out these two guys are friends! Obviously they trust each other when it comes to money.
After this we hit the road - the roads where bumpy and winding but the views and the weather combined to provide us with some stunning views of the unspoilt Laos countryside which was breath taking.
Our people carrier only had 9 people on it including the driver so everybody slowly started chatting and the was an older English lady an older American gent, a Spanish couple and a English guy called Tom. We where making great progress and couldn't see how the ride would take us 7 hours as we where over half way after 2 hours but our hope of a short trip where short lived. We then found ourselves in a traffic jam on a mountain lane in the countryside - people where already sat beside their vehicles eating and drinking and there where vendors there selling refreshments so it became obvious that these people had been here a while. From our position we could not see the end of the jam so we decided to take a stroll in the sun to find the route of the problem. After about a kilometre we could see the scale of the problem! roughly about 800 metres of road had disappeared down the mountain thanks to a landslide and there was 3 huge JCB's trying to fix the problem and in the distance on the other side of the slide we could see another large queue of vehicles who where trying to go the other way.
So we sat and talked for over 2 hours and I learnt that Tom was suffering from the same illness I had in Cambodia so we instantly had something in common. The driver then came and told us that the road would not be fixed today and our only option was to scale the mountainside and cross the landslide with our bags and switch with one of the other people carriers on the other side.
We sat off up the hill and realised it would not be a simple task as the rains had made the ground very slippery and it was quite steep on the way down the other side - plus there was about 500 people trying to get to where we had just came from. Leanne and I waited for Tom as we knew he wasn't well and after getting down the other side covered in red dirt and out of breath we realised the rest of our group had left without us! (so much for the travellers code).
We eventually got on another vehicle and had another 4 hours to Luang Prabang.

So in total it took us 13 hours to travel a little more than 190 km's!

Once we arrived in Luang Prabang we realised that it was totally worth the effort - the fact that it was a UNESCO city was visible in the quality of the preservation of buildings and the atmosphere that filled the streets.
We stayed in a very nice little guesthouse opposite the river and just enjoyed all that the town/city had to offer and Leanne found a nice book exchange and moved onto her millionth book of the trip.
We booked our bus to Kunming in China and found out it would take us 30 hours so we where really looking forward to that!
It was not all plain sailing in Luang Prabang as we exchanged some money for Chinese Yuan (or RMB) and because we where not familiar with the notes the lady managed to short change us by about 80 RMB - but we're sure Karma will pay her a visit.

We enjoyed the town and sunshine before heading to our next destination and country Kunming and China!

To see our pictures from Luang Prabang please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/LuangPrabangLaos22ndTo24thAugust2011#

Vang Vieng - Laos 20th-22nd August 2011

Tubing for those who do not know is an activity which involves floating down a fast flowing river in the inner tube of a tractor tyre. During this journey you are pulled into riverside bars to get very drunk. Its a well known sport amongst most backpackers on a SE Asia circuit.

Vang Vieng is the place to do it.

We were hoping to leave the rain in Vientiane but unfortunately it followed us to Vang Vieng. We are travelling during wet season so didn't really expect much else. We did go through a few giant puddles though. We found our accommodation and after i fell over (Dave didn't see me) decided not to stay in the place that we booked as it was rather rancid. We found a cheap and cheerful place just next door which we were happy about.

Most of the bars in the town are western orientated and are constantly showing Friends and Family Guy. It was quite nice sitting on the low tables on giant cushions and chilling out. There was not much more we could do in the rain anyway.

The following day we decided to go tubing as the rain had eased slightly. We were going to get wet anyway so thought what the hell! We rocked up to this little shack and rented a couple of 'tubes' had to leave a large deposit just in case we lost them! We had to be back before 6 so thought we should get on it. We hopped in a tuk tuk with a few others and headed about 6 km out of town to the start of the tubing rally.
We crossed the river on a barge which was being driven by one guy and the other guy on board was bucketing out water that was swiftly flowing into a giant hole. I wonder how long it will continue to be above water.

We started at the first bar which was packed. A lot of people were already quite wasted. It was only 2pm so they must have been on it quite early in the morning. We got 2 beers and had a little dance. At this point we were still dry. We decided to then take the plunge. We had opted to be fully clothed as it was not overly warm and with the rain it was making the air a lot cooler.
The water was cold! We were moving so fast! I was desperately trying to hold onto Daves foot to save me from flying down the river (i'm not the greatest of swimmers). We could see the next bar approaching and all of a sudden i saw a filled water bottle hurtling towards me with a string attached to the end. I randomly caught it with my feet! The bar tried so hard to pull us in but due to all the rain the river was flowing so fast and there was no saving us!
We finally got pulled into another bar and had another beer. Unfortunately we were the only people in this particular bar so we got to dance like idiots for a while.

Dave tried to help the tiny Laos guys pull in some customers. Some of the people in the water were really drunk. Most of them had no Tubes to even float them and the river was dangerously high and fast moving. At one point we saw this little blonde haired girl (she must have only been about 17) she was shouting HELP and then disappeared under the water....for over 30 seconds. We then spotted her and she was pulled in coughing and spluttering. I swear my heart stopped for that time she was under the water. When she was pulled out she was so drunk she could hardly even walk. soon a friend collected her and they went off to the next bar and carried on partying!
We didn't get overly drunk. I stupidly dropped our waterproof camera in the murky waters and it was gone just like that. I was thoroughly annoyed. Not just because of the camera but because a lot of photos were on the memory card! Including the one's of us tubing!! Hense why there are no photos attached to this post.
We got to the final bar at around 5.30 and it was starting to get dark so we had our final drink and headed back in our tubes down the river. It took around 20 minutes to get back to the town. The river did split into two and we did struggle to get over to the left hand split as it creeped up on us quickly. Apparently going right would take you back to Vientiane.
We soon warmed up when we got back to our hotel. Had a shower and went for a curry. We were starving! It was yummy.

We just hope all the others got back before dark! Dangerous enough being in that river but drunk and in the dark is just stupid!

Anyway the old folk are off to Luang Prabang next... see you there

To see our pictures from Vang Vieng click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/VangViengLaos20thTo22ndAugust2011#

Vientaine - Laos 19th-20th August 2011

What a wonderful way to travel! We were not expecting the Laos sleeper buses to be comfortable but they were! We has a massive bed each and I was even able to starfish!

We arrived early in the morning and found our accommodation.

It was actually a very nice room and after a quick power nap we headed out for an explore. Vientiane was actually very clean. Much nicer than i expected. We were however staying on a street that was designed no doubt for tourists.

We had a relaxing afternoon sipping coffee (tea for me) and people watching. We booked our bus the following day to Vang Vieng only 4 hours away.

Uneventful visit

Next stop Vang Vieng....

Pakse, Laos, 16th to 18th August 2011

I know this entry is meant to mark the first stop in Laos but quite a lot happened before we even crossed the border!

OK, we left our nightmare in Banlung early at 6.30am with renewed optimism, so as we climbed onto the back of our scooter taxi's with no helmets I was staying positive for the day ahead. We reached the bus station alive and in one piece and got on the bus and relaxed on our way to Stung Treng where we would have to wait a couple of hours for the next bus connection to Pakse in Laos. As we went to a cafe to pass the time we where relaxed and enjoying the sunshine of this little Mekong town but as we went to leave it all started to go wrong!
The cafe owners asked us where we where going and we said to catch the next bus but they told us the next bus wasn't for another 2 and a half hours. A little confused we returned to the bus station to ask the bus company what was going on, but they still said it would be here at the time they quoted.
The next thing a bus pulled up and we where told to get on - but after a few minutes we realised we where heading back towards Kratie (the opposite direction!) so we asked one of the staff and he said we will meet the bus to Laos along the road and then switch buses - this would apparently save time!
2 hours later we jumped onto another bus and headed back the way we had came towards Laos!

After this we passed the border with relative ease and headed onwards into Laos. Still with our renewed optimism we where thinking the best for this new country and we where rewarded when we arrived at our home stay for the night (Although I must add that the tuk tuk driver used a torch in his hand as his head light!) A lady greeted us at a locked doorway and lead is into one of the most quirky places we have ever stayed - our room was upstairs with a mattresses on the floor and a little table and chairs in the corner but the whole place was spotless. The bathroom was downstairs in the attached restaurant kitchen - they too where spotless but I did feel weird brushing my teeth near someone chopping carrots!
The lady then brought us an amazing rice and noodle dinner to our room and also made us fresh noodle soup for our breakfast (Leanne was delighted!) The only reason we left here was because it is a little out of town and it was low season so there wasn't much to do there.
We then moved to the Royal Pakse Hotel in the centre of town (don't let the name fool you) which was also fine for our needs and we spent the day drinking organic coffee's from Laos and trying the local food before having a few drinks on the roof top bar of the Pakse Hotel. Leanne then had a massage from the same people who arranged the onward buses (strange I know) so we would get 10% discount so all was well at the start of our Laos adventure.

Next stop the sleepy capital Viantiene.

Banlung - Cambodia 14th-16th august 2011

Before i write this blog i would just like everyone to know that i am still pi**ed off about all the events that occurred in this place!



We had done some reading and found Banlung was recommended for a visit. At 6 hours off the main highway on unsealed roads was never going to be the most comfortable of journeys but we thought it would be worth it. The area was supposed to be stunning with waterfalls and a giant clear watered lake.

So we booked into a bit of luxury. A little cabin out of the main town right next to this beautiful lake. It had amazing 10/10 reviews so we were very excited to have a bit of down time for a couple of nights.

So when we arrived after a very uncomfortable 6 hours it was raining, not just raining, absolutely pouring. This is when it all started. We pulled out bags from under the bus to find a 4 inch thick layer of red dust all over our bags (we hadn't put the dust covers on and the roads were unsealed and very dusty). This combined with the rain just made a mass of red sludge which got everywhere!

We waited for our hotel pick up looking forward to a cold beer and a nice relax in our luxury cabin. An hour later turns up 2 young lads on mopeds, in the pouring rain with no helmets. The journey from the bus station was 10 Km and there was no way i was getting on with a 20km backpack strapped to my back. I think it weighed more than the lad did! We out right refused to get on and they said they would get us a car. S0 another half an hour later a town local who was a blatant boy racer turned up in his Fiat Panda (The car still had masking tape all over it from its recent DIY paint job). We got in just wanting to get out of the rain.

With the Cabins being so out of the way from the town there was supposed to be a restaurant on site. But after being dropped off at a very expensive restaurant we were told the restaurant in the resort was closed and we would have to eat here. Luckily the food was actually OK so we filled our boots. I'm sure we were given a more expensive English menu though!

So we arrived at the place after scrambling over wet dips and hills. Our room was actually nice so we thought things were looking up. Even though the place was deserted we thought the quietness would do us good. So i went to order 2 beers to relax after quite a stressful time. They had beer but no fridge...it was disgusting.

So we went to bed annoyed and didn't sleep all that well. The next morning we found that if we wanted to eat we had to moped it into town every time. Also to get to the lake and the waterfalls they tried to charge is $50 for a car. We couldn't believe the cheek! So much for a relaxing couple of days.

So we decided to leave and headed back into town. We found a nice little hotel for a quarter of the price and had a wonderful dinner in a local restaurant. With Dave still not being 100% we just didn't need the hassle and couldn't believe we got it so wrong.
We left the Next day not having seen anything we went to see in the first place (most of the day was spent looking for a hotel!) Absolute waste of time and money. You live and learn.

Time to leave Cambodia now so heading to Laos tomorrow!

Next stop Pakse

Kratie - Cambodia 13th-14th August 2011

This little spot Kratie (pronounced KRATCHIE) was on our way up to Laos. We had heard that it was famous for the rare Irrawaddy Dolphins which lived in the stretch of the Mekong river close to the town.

So we decided to stay a night and go Dolphin spotting.
It was a very traditional town. No supermarkets and only local food was available (great for us!).

We found a Tuk Tuk driver and he took us on the hour long drive through beautiful little riverside villages to the famous spot on the river.

We rented a long boat (which was rather long) and were chauffeured out along the Mekong. Our skipper had a brilliant eye and soon started to spot the Dolphins (there are only 100 left in the wild). They are snub nosed and much larger than i thought they would be!

We were floating on a calm stretch of water and just saw them popping up for air every so often. They moved so fast so it was difficult to keep up with them! A baby one came right up to the boat too!

We were very lucky to see them. The river was very high due to all the rain that had fallen in the last few days and apparently this makes them more difficult to spot.

After our boat trip we headed back to 'Balcony' our accommodation to play with 'Poh' the cat and had some dinner whilst watching the sunset.

Next Stop tomorrow Banlung....

To see our pictures from Kratie please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/KratieCambodia13thTo14thAugust2011#

Sihanoukville and Kampot, Cambodia, 7th to 12th August 2011

We left the heat and sunshine of Phnom Penh and boarded the bus for a relatively short 5 hour trip to Sihanoukville. Unfortunately we lost the sunshine on the way but kept the heat and humidity! So we arrived at Cambodia's supposedly beach capital with the wet season in full swing!

Even worse was to come as I got off the bus feeling quite ill (it was to get worse) and we headed to our beach front hotel - in the rain.

Once we checked in I went for a little lie down only to wake up feeling horribly ill.
Apparently during the night I was hallucinating and not very well but luckily I don't remember it.

So needless to say I spent the next few days in bed with food poisoning (we narrowed it down to frozen yoghurt I ate as a birthday treat in Phnom Penh) and didn't see a great deal of Sihanoukville - so i'll let Leanne's photos paint you a picture. The one thing I can say is that it seems to be a place for a lot of old western men to have a Cambodian girlfriend for a few days while they renew their visas for Thailand and Vietnam.

Once I was on the mend we decided to move onto our next destination Kampot which is a river town and a gateway to out lying islands in the gulf of Thailand and was also a favourite retreat for the French and there is now an abandoned hill side colonial town up in the hills behind Kampot.
So we paid US$7 each for a seat on a nice private mini bus which turned out to be a lie and there was 12 seats for 23 people! but luckily we scored a seat each and the trip was only 2 and a half hours.

Kampot was a refreshing change from Sihanoukville - there is a large ex pat community here as the town has a nice river front and there are a lot of nice cafes, bar and restaurants to enjoy watching the sunset with a drink or two.
I do have to add that there are a lot of dogs in Kampot (luckily not for eating) but their owners put them out when the sun goes down to defend their property so they end up in large packs walking the streets, but we never had any problems with them.
We rented bikes for free from our amazing guest house 'Mea Culpa' and set about riding around the town and river front but these bikes where far from mountain bikes or even a BMX bike - and the roads are not kind on your behind! Add this to the heat and me recovering from food poisoning and being scared of being more than 15 feet from the nearest toilet! - now you know how nervous I was cycling around the town.
We realised the weather was against us and we would not be able to get over to any of the islands due to rough seas so we decided to head up north to try and spot some Irrawaddy Dolphins.

So next stop Kratie.

To see our pictures from Sihanoukville and Kampot please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/SihanoukvilleAndKampotCambodia7thTo12thAugust2011#

Phnom Penh - Cambodia 5th-7th August 2011

After a uneventful bus ride to the Cambodian capital we were warmly welcomed by our hotel. Our room was great with 2 giant beds (although no window) and Air-con which was a God send. We spent an hour cooling down. We could actually feel the heat seeping under the door!
Luckily our brilliant host was able to get us a Laos Visa for just $5 more than it would have been at the embassy. Plus it was done in a matter of 4 hours! So that was one less thing to worry about.
After a good nights sleep with the air-con on full blast we set of for a day exploring the Khmer Rouge tourist Trial. Once again our brilliant host set up a Tuk Tuk driver to take us around for the day.
For anyone who does not know about the Khmer Rouge Regime you can Wikipedia the finer details but it was basically a mass genocide of the Cambodian people by a corrupt government group.
This group was aiming to kill off any person with knowledge i,e Educated people like doctors, nurses, lawyers, anyone who could understand what was going on. They wanted to build a nation of outright slavery. Even wearing Glasses was considered a threat to them. Not only that but they killed children including babies as in the future they could rebel. They would only allow new generation children under the regime.
So our first stop was to visit ' The Killing Fields' This was an area of farmland where people who were taken from there home (namely around Phnom Penh) were taken and Killed.
In later years these 'Killing Fields' were found and over 200 mass graves were found. Up to 30 of these graves were exhumed and the skeletal remains have been displayed in a memorial building along with the clothes and other accessories found with the bodies. They are displayed as one mass glass pagoda grave, as a lot of the people are unidentifiable and it makes it easier for people to come and pay their respects and it also acts as a reminder that it will never happen again!
After this we headed back along the bumpy roads to "S21 or security 21" which was a school converted into a prison and torture/interrogation camp. It is a rather unpleasant sight with steel beds and leg chains left untouched in some rooms and car batteries and steel chairs and chains still left in other rooms - obviously these where used to "interrogate" anyone who opposed the Khmer Rouge and their ideas. One of the worst things about this place is that there is still blood all over the walls and ceilings and floors from where people where beaten and left to die alone in the rooms.
We left feeling quite sad and lucky that we had never had to experience something so terrifying and on the way back to the hotel we could see all the Cambodians going about their daily lives and they have had the resilience to bounce back in such a small amount of time - you will rarely see a Cambodian who is not smiling or joking about with their friends on the street or enjoying a large meal with their family in a restaurant and they always make you feel welcome. We enjoyed another couple of days enjoying the city before our hotel arranged our onward transport.
Next stop Sihanoukville...
To see our pictures from Phnom Penh please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/PhnomPenhCambodia5thTo7thAugust2011#