Richie&Tone...'RoundTheWorld!

Tiger Leaping Gorge

richie — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:52:00 GMT

We wandered the border town for the whole day, and eventually got on a night bus, our first for China. ergh. Three rows of beds, all full, and it seems that half of China is nocturnal, so when half are all tuckered out from shouting and smoking and spitting, the other half (and their kids) are just beginning. And that's IN the bus. Every few hours we'd stop for a toilet break. Toilet: concrete ditch, low brick fence, no running water, no lights. Needless to say, a bit on the whiffy side, and nowhere to wash hands. nb: wet wipes.

Kunming was our destination, a concrete jungle of well over a million people, altitude 2000m, very cold, and David Beckham is still in the shop windows. We bought thermal underwear, wandered the streets and booked the next bus out. That bus broke down. and so did the next. so getting to Lijiang was a breath of fresh air. (not literally). Lijiang old town is beautiful, Built in stone, over canals and streams, goldfish and bathers. It's great. A super spot for Chinese tour groups.

The Tiger Leaping Gorge was fantastic. I highly recommend doing it, the mountains are energising, the valley is beatiful, and it'll keep/get you fit. You just have to get there, which is the hardest part.

A two day walk, The path is along one side of the gorge, it's a bit steep in sections but easily wide enough. Each corner bring new views of 5000+m peaks on the other side, and of the raging Yangzee 1000m below. It sounds a bit unfinished here, but the photos show it better than I can write it.

Border Crossing

richie — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:45:00 GMT

At the border crossing Veitnam to China, we realise it was going to be different from here on.

Tone passes throught the security check - no worries, but the young army guy checking passports wants a closer look at mine. He got magnifying glasses, used UV lights and then called in his superiors to check me out... meanwhile the line behind me is growing... I'm asked to step into an office, and don't know what's going on, because they can't explain it.

After half an hour, I'm still in there, Tone is waiting with no idea where I am, and another army guy brings a scrap of paper and asks me to sign it. I think 'Eh?' but figure they must not be convinced by the shrunken scrawl of a signature on the passport! I motion for a pen, and he pulls out a calligraphy pen, which of course is difficult to write with if you're not used to, my hand is shaking, and even on a good day my writing is terrible... anyway! I get a ball pen, do that, and admittedly, all my signatures look different. Never done two the same in my life! What, are they meant to be the same, or something? Just to prove my laughability i pull out all my cards that have signatures, and none of them match up. By then I was laughing at myself, and so was the rest of China. They patted me on the back, motioned me through the gate, so I was welcomed to China. It seems literacy is not a requirement for a tourist visa :)

Hanoi

richie — Sat, 1 Dec 2007 17:04:00 GMT

Hanoi there!

It's a real nice city - again with the crazy buzy street life, but quite a few good restaurants too.

We went out really to only one recommended site - the literature temple, which contains hundreds of staele (stone tablets, engraved with text, not sure if that's plural or not?). They are nearly 1000 yo, and the temple was the first university in Vietnam, and the names of all the graduates are engraved in staele for enternity, to promote further education, and the pursuit of knowledge. The staele each stand on the back of a stone turtle, which is a symbol for longevity. Can't believe I remember all this! Couldn't do it for MY exams. Won't find MY name in any (no) staele.

Now, I was writing about that temple to get to this bit - We were sitting on a ledge, inside the temple grounds, slightly templed-out, when a local guy with a huge video camera starts pointing it our way. We smile politely, and look sideways, thinking he'll go away. but no! another guy with an equally massive camera joins in, changing angles, etc, and we start to get a crowd! really quite funny for them, and embarrasing for us, as random people start taking still photos too. oh, well, we think, and eventually they let up, and focus elsewhere. we get up to leave, and at the exit, two guys come up: 'can we have our photo with you?' a real celebrity moment, heh.

Halong Bay

richie — Sat, 1 Dec 2007 13:55:00 GMT

The place is amazing - but the organisation and tourists aren't. Most people 'book' their Halong Bay tour from Hanoi, and are pushed onto a (full) bus the next morning with lots of other sweaty tourists - the first stop is a massive hall, encompassing local foods, local jewellery and art - local painting with laquer and local tapestry... You never hear about these little stopovers until they actually happen. But anyway! made it to Halong Bay and chaos reigned, as the group is immediately split up seemingly randomly and shuffled onto identical looking barges (not identical to the one shown in the tour package brochure...) But anyway. so you've got the picture - in the habour, masses of tourists, many many boats. It's only half an hour out to the islands, where we're bustled off the boat for a compulsory cave trip, which was nice, but way long. (am i sounding negative?) And then finally, the boat got going, but not very far, just to another little spot where they keep the kayaks. We paddled til it was dark, and waited for the slow poms to return. The scenery is brilliant, by the way. The morning came and we cruised back to harbour a different way, and onto shore, where we were again split randomly and sent to different places for lunch - weird.

If I was to do it again, I'd look into finding a tour company (or just a local bloke) that would make a trip out away from all the others, to do our own thing for an afternoon, zipping around amongst the 3000 or so limestone islands... sounds better, huh?

Ho Chi Minh City

richie — Sat, 1 Dec 2007 13:28:00 GMT

Tone took me for a spin on a cyclo here, around HCMC to see the sights. Actually the highlight was sitting with our drivers at a typical roadside 'cafe' for a really strong local iced coffee.

Tone's driver told his story, which went like this... He has an electrician, then he was in the South Viet army for 6 years; shooting, getting shot, then in a 're-education' camp for 4 years, cutting down trees with a small axe, on one bowl of rice per day, and since then, he's been driving a cyclo - for 16 years, as he's not allowed a real job. It's apparently a typical story for many of the cyclo drivers. But he was a good guide, and well worth the few bucks he got out of us.

Gallery: Halong Bay

richie — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:50:00 GMT

Thousands of limestone islands make a home for fishing villagers.

Gallery: Hue

richie — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:16:00 GMT

a quick scooter tour!

Gallery: Hoi An

richie — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:37:00 GMT

Old town and the tailors...

Gallery: Ho Chi Minh City

richie — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:23:00 GMT

HCMC, it's busy.

Phnom Penh Antics

richie — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 16:08:00 GMT

We had varied experiences here, from watching brawls in the street outside our hotel, to watching rats in the streets outside our hotel, to dodging tuktuk drivers in the streets outside our hotel...

The sights around PP are shocking and depressing, especially the S21 prison museum, which still diplays the steel beds, steel ankle restraints and weapons used by the kmer rouge officials to 'interrogate' their prisoners. Nearly 9000 men women and kids were sent here, and then to the 'killing fields', where they were systematically and brutally murdered. the skulls have been dug up and now form a giant monument tower, but most of the bones and clothes from the victims are visible, poking up through the dirt walking paths.

Then our thoughtful driver took (took) us to the shooting range, but we really really didn't feel like trying an AK47, M16, hand grenade, anti-aircraft gun or rocket launcher right then. But we could have!

You see Temple?

richie — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:59:00 GMT

Finally we made it to the famous Angkor Wat - said to be worthy of the title of 'world wonder #8', and I'd have to agree. Many Kings and powerful men in the region controlled populations of millions well enough to produce surplus to cover costs of excavating and building massive structures. And it's not just the size of monuments that impresses, it's the detail on every wall, on every tower... We took so many photos, and admittedly it was getting a bit 'same same' at the end of three days, but it is incredible. We scrambled over ruins, gazed at huge trees growing up on and over the old temples, and were lucky i guess to see it now, before the authorities clamp down on the scrambling and touching... Another highlight were the sellers, small kids and adults alike bustle any tourist they see into a good deal for you. Doesn't matter if you already have a thumping great guidebook in you hand already, they expect fully that you need (and want) another (dodgy copy) for $3. No. No thanks. The kids are even more persistent, and I gave in a few times, $1 for 10 braclets, $1 for 13 postcards... you know. It's intense. We end up feeling rude, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

So to sum up - Angkor is fantastic. prepare to get pushed into your first tuktuk/taxi driver's brother's hotel, and his cousin is a tour guide for angkor, (1 day? 3 days?) and his mate the travel agent does the best deal to the capital, and will take you straight to his aunty's guesthouse, and her friend will take you around the city for nothing. best deal for you, very good price, good luck for everyone, early morning price for you, you want pineappplllle?

Vientiane

richie — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 20:14:00 GMT

- and Nong Khai, which actually is in Thailand, just over the Mekong river from Vientiane.

We spent a few days here, saw some good things, and met up with Torun and Randvei too. The first night we found a brightly coloured coffee shop called 'Sabaidee' (Hello) and it immediately became a magnet for us each time we saw it. The best place we visited was Buddha Park, which has a sister park (the original) across the river. Huge statues with amazing detail, fashioned with concrete and steel reo, and quite beautiful. The scale of the structures and the collection was most impressive.

We got across the Friendship Bridge (built by Australia, Thailand and Laos) and immediately knew we were in another country - strange to see how different it can be just a few kms away - huge shiny shopping malls, atms(!), and fashion. we rented dodgy bikes and went out to see the buddha park, which was better than the first, but it kind of blends in together in my memory. Oh, Tone just reminds me - the artist responsible for the hundreds of massive sculptures is mummified, and on display, too. Along with many photo-portraits of him, all fading, but with eyebrows and hair darkened with a black texta on every one. One other photo was of a bloody golf ball-sized mess in a bandage. We guess it was the thing that killed him. strange to keep the photo as a gross reminder, though.

We organised our trip to cambodia from here, booking the early bird bus to Khorat, and told we could jump on a bus to the border crossing. we did. two hours to wait, and we passed the time feeling hot, a bit sick, but recooperated with cool drinks and chips. yeah yeah oh yay.

Made it to the border quite late, and really didn't feel like making the effort, as we'd heard bad stories about the border town on the Cambodia side, so we found a hotel there on the Thai side. We got through the border ok the next day (The e-visa was great - little sceptical, but it was all good), and a share taxi to Siam Reap, 150km and 3hrs. The country here is flat. endless rice paddies dotted with palm trees, fishermen and boys, and women working the fields. pretty, and dusty. overcrowded scooters, vans, buses, anything on the roads, are so common it's not noticed anymore. still, i estimated they can fit 17 or more into a tarago sized van. brillant. with plenty of room on the roof!

cheers!

Angkor Wat soon!

Gallery: Angkor Wat, Siem Reap

richie — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 04:38:00 GMT

The 8th Wonder of the World.

Gallery: Vientiane, Nong Khai

richie — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 04:37:00 GMT

Coffee and Statues...

Vang Vieng

richie — Wed, 7 Nov 2007 02:33:00 GMT

Vang Vieng. We arrived here after another winding local bus trip, and were again happy to get off the bus, onto a tuktuk and delivered straight to a guesthouse (best one we've had!). Had a look around that evening, and in the morning, found mountain bikes (2$ for the day) and took them over the bridge (1$) and then along a dirt road, through village areas and eventually to a fantastic swimming lagoon, and cave to explore. First, pat the 'little moo' cows, then look at the fish in the crystal clear water, then swing out and fall in! Very refreshing, but not the highlight. After a quick fried noodles snack there for me, we climbed/scrambled up 100m to get to the cave mouth, which opened to a huge cavern, apparently used by many in the past wars as a hideout, but still not the highlight.

Riding back along the road, between vast rice paddies and mountainous peaks, we see another sign - yet another swimming lagoon and cave. we took it. The swimming lagoon wasn't notable, compared to the last one, anyway, but the four newborn puppies were very happy for new friends. Three village boys were loving taking pics with our cameras, and wanted to take us to the cave. 'cave?' ... 'cave?' they said. 'Cave?' We said, and followed them. They turned out to be great guides, showing us interesting plants on the way, helping us over creeks, fences, and when we got into the cave, they were very careful to light the way for us - and took us 50m deep into limestone cliff! Cool little friends, they got us out again quickly, and we found out the other english word they knew. 'money?' - They deserved it, and the tip. That was the highlight :)

Gallery: Chiang Mai

richie — Sun, 4 Nov 2007 04:13:00 GMT

Trek, Elephants, Rafting and Party!

Gallery: Vang Viang

richie — Sun, 4 Nov 2007 03:38:00 GMT

Caves, Puppies, Swimming

Gallery: Phon Savan

richie — Sun, 4 Nov 2007 03:37:00 GMT

Plain of Jars, Waterfall Trek, Bombs...

Luang Prabang

richie — Sun, 4 Nov 2007 03:23:00 GMT

We we happy to arrive here in Luang Prabang after the slow boat, and had a mini adventure trying to get cash, since the guidebook said we had to go to a bank out of town. We had just enough for a tuktuk out to that bank, and there we found a closed bank and an atm that doen't accept visa. bah. so we asked the tuktuk driver if he knew a hotel that would give a cash advance, and eventualy he understood. actually he took us to a good place! And here was when we realised we weren't in such a jam, as the hotel guy took me on his scooter to the 'withdrawl' shop, going past another atm on the way... so we had cash after all. lots of it.

Millions of Lao Kip.

Dinner was great, we found a veggo buffet on the street - on plate for 80 cents, and a large beer for $1.20. Then the night markets. I tried to not buy anything, but with tone there [ yeah blame it on me you little leech], it's impossible. more clothes, and gifts, they had a lot of nice stuff, sometimes gross (ivory, jawbones), but usually nice. Once you look at something, the sellers (usually young mothers, their babys (ies?) on the back) were friendly but very persistent. We reckon that the women with babies sell much more stuff than the women without. The cuteness factor, i guess.

We climbed the mountian behind the town, on top of which is a temple, and many buddhas. We met 'ken' the young novice monk on the top, and he invited us to his temple, which we could see in the distance. We even saw Buddhas footprint on the mountain top. He had real big feet. We did go out to Ken's temple the following day, but couldn't find him. We also took a trip out to a waterfall, which was absolutely beautiful. clear water, cascading down terraces, and great places to swim too. There were several Sun Bears and one tiger rescued from poachers, kept in a rescue centre there.

We stayed in Luang Prabang for a few days, because it was so great, easy and relaxed. but soon the time came to move on, so we visited several tour agents here and asked about options. We really wanted to spedn some quality time in Laos, and not just follow the tourist trail, so we planned a trip, here to Phon Savon to see the plain of jars, and then north, to great limestone caves. So then to repack and get ready to move again - we have a lot of bus hours ahead.

Luang Prabang is a great place just to hang out, not to much, not to little of anything. The 'curfew' of 2330 usually keeps things pretty quiet, but that's nice for a change, too.

The Slow Boat on the Mekong RIver

richie — Sun, 4 Nov 2007 03:17:00 GMT

The 'slow boat'. Well, it wasn't that slow, just that they had 'speed boats', too, and the passengers all had helmets... so the slow boat it was.

Only after going through border control, our 'helpful' leader told the group a number of porkies, all designed to get us to spend money with him rather than later on... like how there's only one atm in laos. and that we must exchange our thai money right there... and it went on. so, 7 hours in the long slow boat, with 50 other tourists and a few locals...

The first day dragged, and we all tried to stay comfy on the little bench seats. Every so often we'd pull over to the side of the river when a villager waved, and we'd pick them up, or drop someone off, or the driver would buy a fish and sticky rice for himself. (Got the feeling the locals use the tourists 'slow boat' as a free shuttle up and down the river). Still, great views of bamboo jungle surrounding the murky unknown of the Mekong. We passed many places where strong whirlpools were spinning, and were happy to have the big boat then. We passed a few floaters too. pigs. buffalo. hmm.

Overnight half way to Luang Prabang, a fork in the river called Pak Beng. I'm sure this unfortunate little community exists to cater to the one night stopoverers, and the service follows suit. Sure, we chose a cheap room (less than 3 dollars;) and it was ok, but since we didn't eat our meal in their 'restaurant, they were a little miffed the morning after, and accused us of not paying the our room! ha! Quite funny really, there were no numbers on the doors, and the list said we had room 8, but in actual fact they gave us room 2. so they wanted us to pay for that room as well! hehe. Just a little trick that might work every so often for them...

The second day on the river was much the same as the first, but the scenery got more interesting, mountainous, and junglier. (new word!). This is the first time I've seen mists like this, all day every day, and it makes for great sunsets and layered mountain views.