11/09/09 by claire...
Sightseeing today! We went to Naamang Waterfall. Expensive taxi there, another rip off tourist trap. He wanted to wait for us
to take us back, but we said not to as was guessing it would be cheaper on a bus/truck. Lovely waterfall, quite small.
Had a swim and chilled for a good hour(sooz interjects- claire got her toes nipped by crabs in the pool!). Got the bus/truck (sawngthaew) back and yes, it was much cheaper! We got dropped off at
at Hintai Yai rocks, the grandmother and grandfather rocks. They are called this as they resemble female and male
genetalia! They haven't been carved this way, it is just through natural erosion from the elements. The Thai's beleive them
to be sacred. The sea was lovely around here and rocks lovely..although the devil in us decided we were going to do some funny
shots of the rocks (perspective shots if you get what I mean)...was highly amusing :O) simple things eh!we soon stopped when we spotted a police officer. After this we walked
back down the whole length of Lamai beach to our usual spot (after going passed a busy tourist bar and trying to fend off a pack of Irish lads)
and we had some corn off our little corn/mangoooo man.
On the night time we went to Lamai for street food. The best pad thai ever tasted, and a manc guy spotted Soozy's accent and we got
chatting. Ray his name was and he had been living in Koh Samui for 4 years now. He recommended coming down tomorrow night as there
is a thai boxing fight on, free entry. Said we would see him tomorrow. We then proceeded to a lady bar (an area of bars with Thai's
dancing on podiums with poles in the middle) and had a cocktail. We ended up playing Connect 4 over the bar, where a young boy selling roses
came up to us and played. He had learning difficulties of some origin, and whooped everybody at Connect 4....(sooz says-think of rain man!!)
We tipped him afew baht and he wandered off. sooz-It's a bizarre culture, that the parents expose their children to over here...very open, slightly sad that they
don't really have a childhood, some of these children.
12/09/09
Today we just chilled on beach, sunbathing, taking in nice weather and had our usual corn off the corn/mango man. On the night
we had street food again, its so cheap at just 80p! The we got seated for the Thai boxing in the middle of all the girlie bars!
Ray came along and said hello. The fighting was men and women alternatively. The men were good and looked quite professional.
The story behind the women is that they are not real fighters and they represent one of the girlie bars each. So its a
competitive thing. Ray was telling us they may choose to do it if they have had bad luck in their family. Anyway, the men do this
dance ritual in the ring before they fight which is to purify the ring. The women don't however, as they are impure!!! If you
could see some of them you would see why. Anyway, a bit of blood and a few knockouts in the male fights. The women fights were funny!
Technique was slow and slappy, but some of them looked bitchily at each other. Girl fight! They come on wearing strings of money
around their neck. We wondered if this meant how many fights they had won, but apparently it is where they go around before hand
getting good luck money before they fight. Good luck obviously, as they get to keep it!
After fights we popped for a drink with Ray, got to have a lift on his Harley Davison motorbike. Soozy's dream to have a go on
one of them! We chatted and chilled, Ray dropped us back to hotel on bike. Shame we only just met at the end of our stay
here in Koh Samui!
13/09/09
Today we got transport back to Bangkok. Taxi, boat, bus, train, taxi! Overnight train to Bangkok. Did not sleep well!
14/09/09
Arriving back in Bangkok train station, we decided to book train ticket for tonight to Chiang Mai, North Thailand.
We got our passports and visas back safely. We interneted, which is a slow process in South East Asia! I decided to get my
hair cut. It is doing my head in as long at back and front, so sweat just awful and making it look a right mess...so i
went for it...£4, best hair shampoo i have ever had, head and neck massage whilst being washed(paul corbett take note...cheap employees,lol)...i nearly fell asleep!
Was a bit nervous, but it will grow. Gone for a short mowahawk stlye which can be worn flat too. Was well funny when she was
drying and straightening it, as she was straightening it right up in the air. I looked like I had stuck my finger in a plug
socket. Needless to say, she used razor scissors so god knows what damage it has done...but it looks fine...and it's less hot!
Paul my lovely hairdresser will save the day next year on our return!!!
We had to do some running around sorting changing our flights for the trip, but all sorted with a phone call for tomorrow now.
Tricky but we got there. We went straight from where we had to go to do that to the train station, early. Sat and chilled.
Some lovely Thai university students wanted to tape an extended conversation with us as part of their media project, so
that passed the time for a while and they were so sweet and grateful.
Train journey, we both booked top bunks so we could chat opposite each other, as we had been having a top and a bottom before.
We got chatting and drinking beer with our neightbour passengers. 2 Irish lads, 2 swiss girls and swiss guy Tobi.
Slept well on this train, must have been tired and the beer helped. Top bunks are much more comfortable than bottom, although hotter!
15/09/09
Train got to Chiang Mai at lunch time. Some stunning scenery on the way, jungle mountains. Northern Thailand is pretty!
Got taxi to Th Moon Muang (road) and spent some time walking trying to find a guesthouseout of the lonely planet.
Couldn't find it, maps confusing. Reckon it must have closed up! Found another one called Rendevous which includes brekkie
for £7.20. A bit pricey, but clean,free wifi and quiet. Dropped off laundry at an old lady next door and went for a walk around. Had
some street food, nice and cheap. Sooz went for a Thai massage (£4) where she was pumelled and pounded for an hour- even the toes where clicked! Chilled and
early to bed. Travelling on the trains and buses makes you well tired!
16/09/09
Had free brekkie if toast, fruit and coffee. I had to buy some Thai trousers as we were going temple visiting and my trek
pants were in the wash. Trousers are baggy and funky ( a little M C Hammer like) but all good! We did the temple walking tour
out of the lonely planet guide. Starting at Wat Chiang Man, the oldest wat in the city. Then Anusawari Sam Kasat, the bronze statues
of 3 Lanna Kings that locals leave offerings too. We then went into Chiang Mai city arts and cultural centre and learned some
history of the place. Then finally we went to Wat Phra Singh, the most impressive temple in Chiang Mai.
The we jumped into a tuk tuk for the first time! We went to Wat u Mong, which is a forest wat (temple). It was lovely here, no tourist (except us)
There were meditation tunnels that we got to walk in (creepy) and it was really peaceful. Lots of monks here going about their duties.
On the night time, we got another tuk tuk to the Night Bizaar (market) which was nice to look around. Although, most of the
sellers are selling similar stuff. SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT. Skyped Ma & Pa which was nice and Jo Jo too. We have decided we
are going to go straight to Laos tomorrow. We could venture up further in Thailand, but the trekking is meant to be the best
in Laos, so we have decided to go for it. Also, we want to make sure we see as much as we can of Laos before Vietnam.
17/09/09
Got bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Kong, which is where the border crossing is to Laos, over the Mekong. It took 7 hours and was
air con. We watched a mad slasher spirit movie in Thai( bit like the original 'the ring') on there, which was funny trying to follow what was going on+after the good old favourite of asia...karyoke video. Driver was
mental and drove dead fast around the bendy roads! Saw a stunning rainbow on route...+actually drove through the bottom!..no gold or small irish men sighted!a We arrived at 1930, too late to cross river, so we had to stay over. Booked
into Bamtilla guesthouse right on the river. Nice place. Went for a meal at a place over the road and had lovely food. Best
Massaman curry ever! chang+Early night as usual.
18/09/09 (sooz takes over blog)
Awoke early + had an awesome brekkie- best banana pancakes ever + claire- the eggs+bacon...+jam. walked down to the ferry port
and went through border crossing...hopped on the 'ferry' ie. old wooden longtail boat for approx 1minute across the mekong and into
laos at Huay Xia- border crossing number 2 and hopped on a tuk tuk to the bus station ( noted all the bus stations here seem to be
approx 2km from the main towns/areas...i think the governments must be trying to keep the economy up and tuktuks in business...
so if you're planning on travelling here...have plenty of 10,000kip notes on you!) we then hopped on the local bus...ie. decaying bus from the 60s,once in then boxes of
detergents/various items stacked +wedged aroud you- no need for seatbelts here! the road to Luang Nam Tha is still currently being
constructed as we found out- potholed/dirt track/mud track, winding roads over the mountains. Love the roads in Laos- think thats what
has kept it a bit more 'real' than Thailand,as it's a mission to get anywhere, plus the large amounts of dog/chicken/goat/waterbuffalo/small child
to avoid! anyways, we arrive at Luang Nam Tha bus station + get the tuktuk to town. we check the lonely planet and decide upon the
Zuela guest house- traditional building and totally spotless+lovely- only £3.50 a night for the room! eat at Manychan..good reck. amy!) then to bed as
Claire not feeling well after the journey.
19/09/09
Claire still not well...we think the aircon bus to blame...recycling germs,mmm. So generally potter and chill. Book 2 day trek into the Nam Ha NPA-national protected area with Green Discovery, an independant eco
tour group, that ensures local tribes benefit from the treks. Look round the local market + eat....we give the leftovers to a tribal lady, she gratefully piles it onto a banana leaf and shares it with 3 other ladies
,really heartbreaking to see...these ladies hang aroung the falang 'westerners' places all day trying to sell braclets they make
and collected unfinished bottles of water, so they can drink...true poverty.
20/09/09
set off for the trek at 8am- meet at the office and find that 5 other people have signed up for the tour- so should make it more fun! meet our guide Pon...or as claire mistakenly called him Porn, much to everyone's amusement, later on the
trek! and Ary- a 20year old from a khamu village, learning to be an english teacher.we drive to the start of the trek- a lantern tribe (descended from China)
We pick up the local porter who carrys up the lunch supply. We start the uphill climb througha mountain rice paddy- less water filled as a different kind of rice to the 'sticky' rice. Pon finds some wild growing cucumber and chops it up- welcomed
refreshment!! We continue uphill in the scorching sun and humidity into the jungle, through a narrow muddy path (which we all fell into at some point!)
There is a multitude of smells- mud, fragrant rice and overwhelming noise of insects and crickets. We see crickets, millipedes, the biggest butterflys and the odd spider.
Fianlly we stop for lunch and toilet break ( that's where we wish we were men...not easy being a lady in the jungle!..bring on the 'she-pee'.
Lunch consists of very Laos cuisine- fermented fish heads, beaut pumpkin salad, greens, egg plant salad adn standard glutinous rice, served up on a freshly chopped banana leaf.
We carry on, fuelled up + refreshed, up and down through jungle and bamboo fields to a village, where we sit with the elder and watch the children play (+ambush us later on as we leave!)
after more hours of slogging through jungle /river/paddy fields we reach the secluded village...another Lantern village. a small village
in the middle of the national park - approx 15 bamboo huts scatter a small area, chcikens, ALOT of pot bellied pigs/piglets, waterbuffalo and dogs roam freely. We note a pig with a wooden triangle around it's neck...see
later in blog!
We are greeted by women in traditional robes and scuffy cute children and shown the groups hut- a mud floored hut with raised communal platform to sleep on - luckily mossy nets provided- good protection from the critters+ the many spiders i spot
on the wall! we strip down into some appropriate clothing for washing and head down to the river to wash, so welcoming- cool refreshing water!!! dry off and sit on a platform next to river for well earned beerlaos + sprites! Pon and locals cook up dinner
over a fire inside(!?) the hut + it begins to darken- so the candles come out ( no electricity of course). Dinner is served up around upturned baskets and we are joined by the chief of the village.
Beautiful laos food- beef with hot thai basil, tomato salad, green pumpkin soup + more glutinous rice (as standard) ..etiquette is to roll small balls of rice and dip into the dishes, Lao people always eat together and share dishes.
as dinner draws to an end, the chief pulls out a home brew of Laos Laos- a 70%rice whiskey. He pours the first shot on the floor for the 'house spirit' (they
believe in spirituism, not bhuddism) and then one by one we are given a shot- rude to refuse!!! then another round goes round...then another!!!!!
feeling a bit happy, we get to ask the chief questions.....they elect a good man to be chief every 5 years, he helps decide any issues the village is having, the surrounding
villages generally get on, the village is 45yeras old at this current site, they work in their own rice fields and love having treks come,
as it is a good source for village income. The government had planned to move the village to the main road, but they are happy where they
are, some of the younger generations are wanting to move out, so they can get an education- as the schools is only a small hut and they learn basic laos reading +writing.
After the Leader leaves, we purchase a bottle of the home brew- 7000 kip- approx 50p! We share it amongst ourselfs- Leo,Jess,Tom, Caroline, Claire + myself and play cards + chat....while patrick (the other trekker, sleeps)
We all decide the venture outside to see if we can see any stars....
The most amazing site greets us.....miles away from any light pollution and a cloudless night- we see the entire universe....millions, no billions of bright stars lighting up the sky and the mistly edges of the milky way visible
another galaxy cleary defined. By far the most beautiful thing I have ever seen...word cannot describe it, but it made me cry from the complete
natural beauty...the best things in life are free + that memory will live on forever!To top it off, floating next to the river we spot many fireflies...nature at it's best!
We head drunkenly to bed and sleep soundly!
21/09/09
We wake early- approx 6am to the sound of the cockrell. Breakfast is prepared....suprise suprise...rice- egg fried. and coffee- the standard 50sugars + carnation milk they seem to love!
We spot the pig with the triangle collar- apparently it crashed through a villager's fenced off vegetable patch and wolfed the lot.....so the naughty pig, had a collar of triangle sticks put on it's head, to stop it squeezing
through the fencing!!! we meet the teacher of the village, and give him some pens and pencils we bought for the children,as a gift.
We set off- approx 6hours of jungle trek- up and down various slopes and streams...being a bit wetter in this area, we soon realised the area was covered in leeches, so every 10minutes we seemed to be pulling them off our
shoes/socks/ legs, they certainly can latch onto!! We reach a river, which we cross with a rickety bamboo boat and then carry on till lunch....more rice, greens, beef and pumpkins.
During the trek there are 2 sightings of cobra- deadly with no immediate medical care...Leo almost stepping on one! fianlly we reach the final Khamu village
delighted but very tired disco legs!!! I notice a bit of blood on my side- leech attack...but then take off my backback,
when I notice the concerned look on my fellow travellers faces....my back -white tshirt, is covered in blood! my beautiful wife reassures me andchecks my back, no leeches luckily, but a bleeding mole is to blame...pon applies iodine nd dressings...
by which time i have become the whole village attraction!!! embarassing!!! we get a pickup truck back, and have the best hot showers ever and cold beerlaos,non rice dishes for dinner!!
22/09/09
We catch the 8.30am VIP bus to Luang Prabang....a 9hours bus through winding, pot holed mountainous passes...it's overcrowed and claire's back is in agony :-( fianlly arrive in Luang Prabang
Find a family run guest house in the temple district- bargain £2 a night, very basic, but does the job! find some vege buffet streetfood and have 'a few' beerlaos!
23/09/09
Late brekkie of homemade raisin bread, wild honey + fresh laos coffee + fresh milk...heaven!!!! Luang Prabang is a world heritage listed town (in 1995), ensuring the frenchcolonial historical architecture is preserved.
Also there are no buses or trucks allowed in the town- keeping the tranquil and calm antiquity of the place. Hundreds of monks bussle about in their burnt sienna robes
I think this- we both agree is our favourite place so far...very boho!
We visit the royal palace museum- very educational and visit Wat Xieng Thong- stunning wooden wat...the best yet! have well earned coffee and cake, then chill. Evening consists of the night market- the most colourful, peaceful market, full of tribal and funky
clothes at cheap cheap prices.
24/09/09
Stock up breakfast on Banana pancakes + bread + butter for Claire, and get our pick up for the Pak Ou caves....This was a tuk tuk
drive and a longtail boat over the river to the caves. The lower cave was full of Buddah's and was not too impressive. The upper
cave was a good walk up lots of steps and you had to use a torch inside. We took pics inside. It is a place of worship where
people have left Buddha's over the years.
We headed back in tuk tuk and had a Loa style sandwich for lunch. Then we met Tuk Tuk guy again for the visit to Kuang Si Waterfall.
There were 3 more travellers joinging us on this one this afternoon. A german girl called Kristal and two Londoner's Kevin & Jade.
Chatting to them in Tuk Tuk about Cambodia. They said they had been to do some volunteering in a village where they had been
teaching English to the children in the school there, a classroom each. Have swapped Facebook info so we can get the details on this
as would really like to do this when we get there.That would be awesome!
Kuang Si Waterfall was beautiful. It is through the rock an forest. We walked to the top and saw the power of the water falling.
It was lovely. Soozy had a swim and wanted to have a go on this ropeswing...me too chicken to do anything like that of course...
she climbed the tree but couldn;t reach the rope..which wasa shame as she would have flew in I am sure...
There were also some bears there in a wildlife compound. They have been captured there to save them from poachers and from becoming
extinct. They are Asiatic Black Bears (Moon Bears) and they were sooooo cute. They were just chilling out on frames and tyres.
We headed back and agreed to meet later to go for a drink at Utopia, a bar you appratently MUST visit whilst in Luang Prabang.
We grabbed some food first and went to the night market to pick up more trousers!! We then met up with the guys and went to
Utopia bar. It is a place that is done up like you could be in Ibiza, wooden furniture, beach volleyball, low tables and cushions
to sit on. The beer was a little pricey but we sat and chatted the night away by the Mekong River. We chatted about alsorts.
Art, Drama, travelling. It's a shame we have to move on tomorrow. Really cool guys to chat to.
25/09/09
8am pick up from tuk tuk guy to bus station. 9am bus to Vian Viang. Unfortunately another air con bus, VIP. Expensive at $30 for both
of us. It was freezing on there and forgot to pack cardigans. We got a free meal at a stop off place though, which was ok. Traditional
Laos rice and veg. We arrived 500pm at Vian Vieng. Got a tuk tuk to Pan's Place. A cheap place, rooms weren't too great but it was cheap.
Popped out to eat. It is very touristy here, but we are only staying a day to go tubing on river tomorrow.
26/09/09
Woke up not feeling well (Claire). I reckon it's the air con buses as that is twice now after them I have had a bug type thing.
Anyway, had to pass on tubing as not great. Obviously, this is the only reason we came here so it was a bit of a pain, but
wasn't meant to be. I was a bit nervous about going anyway as there is a lot of drink and drugs around, so it wasn't such a bad thing.
We just chilled and bought some vests.
27/09/09 Claire's Birthday :O)
Jo Jo had text me te other day to say that she had put some money into our account for my birthday, a collection from the guys,
and we were to spend it on doing something nice or being in a nicer hotel. So we did!!!
We got up at 6am. Got bus at 7am to Vientiene, the capital of Laos. 4 hours journey on a local bus. Good. We arrived here and
got tuk tuk to Mali Namphu Guesthouse, a good one our of the Lonely Planet guide. We booked in for a Deluxe King Size room at $25
a night, for 2 nights!!!! woo hoo! Air con (not just a fan) an actual duvet, clean decorated, very hotel like. LUXURY, compared to
what we have been staying in. Strange to be frivolous with the money, but soooo nice to be somewhere posher for a bit. Thanks guys!!!
Anyway, by now it is 1230 and we were hungry, so we hunted out Joma Cafe and had fresh coffee with fresh milk (something hard to find in Laos
as they put sugary carnation stuff in when you aks for with milk and its sooooo sweet and vile) and we had a multigrain bagel
with pastrami, dijon mustard and salad. LUSH LUSH LUSH. Feels like home for a bit!
We then chilled on bed for a bit watching movies on the TV (yes a TV!!!) and we looked for some restaurants in the guide.
After finding some were closed later that evening, we found a lovely Bistro Dao Fa and had a lovely chilled meal.
Cocktail to start.
Main Meal
Homemade Icecream for pud.
Sooz glass of wine and me a beer...all for £15!!!! most we have spent on a meal :0)
Had a lovely birthday, lovely day, it was purrrrfffeeecccttt. Thanks guys for the money, it was well spent xxxxxxx
28/09/09
Woke up and had breakfast at hotel. French Breakfast = Banana + Bread.Strangest French Breakfast I have ever had?! Anyway, it's free.
We mainly chilled out today and went to the JoMa Cafe again. The food is sooo nice there and we have made the pact to chill
for a bit. We cannot leave for Vietnam until 1st Oct anyway, due to visa. So we are hanging out! Sooz tried bagel-pastami+dijon again and I had
a tuna melt, yum scrum! Earlier at the hotel we had been given a flyer, one not to ignore this time as it was a flyer about a
rehab centre that we could visit called Cope. So the guy, Nam, who chatted to us about it we said we would see him tomorrow.
We went to Khop Chai Den restaurant on the evening for an Indian vege curry...how very not Lao...hey ho. Really strange at the mo as I am just
not feeling hungry at nighttime....i must be ill. lol.
29/09/09
Been away a month today!! Breakfast at hotel, tuna sandwich and dragon fruit...again it is free! lol. Checked out of our posh hotel of luxury and
went down market, as we are on a budget. We walked to the Mixay Guesthouse. Not bad at all. Fan and hot water £6 approx, so much cheaper than my birthday
treat. Capital cities are generally more expensive we have found. Just like London I guess.
So we ventured to the Cope Rehab/Exhibition centre today. It was a very informative place about the war in Laos, effected from the Vietnam war.
There was a secret war on Laos, even though the Americans had signed a peace treaty in approx 1974...the secret service then started a 'secret war' against the spread of communism across south east Asia...although i don't really know how this benefited the US, and Laos was bombed terribly. The most bombed
place in the war. This really effected Laos with lots of unexploded bombies(sooz-as the mud/paddy fields cushioned the bombs when they hit,thus stopping them from exploding.approx 35%unexploded. Laos is the most bombed country in THE WORLD. the maddest thing is, even though the after affects are so apparent, they NATO army then used cluster bombs in the war in Yugoslavia/Bosnia, for the people to retuen after the war, to find their land strewn with unexploded bombs!!!). The after effects have been shocking and people are still dying from
bomns that are found still today. Mainly children and farmers, as they plough their fields-striking the bombies with their ploughs. This exhibition centre was set up
with lots of info on the horrible Cluster Bombs. We saw prosthetic legs made from bamboo and metal, and to how they are made today. Sooz
loved it, right up her street. There were some very sad true stories of how people were lost and how Laos is so poor as they could
not farm on their bomb ridden land. We also watched a documentary about the 'bombies' (cluster bombs). It was sad and shocking...Sooz- I
found it so interesting coming from working with amputees in the UK to the approach in Laos. This centre is a national centre, funded via charity , volunteer and government.
the people hear about it from afar and spend days travelling under their own stream just to see if they can be helped.
the range of home made prothetic limbs was amazing- made from the casing of US bombs!! they seem to just get on and deal with it..truely humbling.
the rehab centre will provide a new limbafter a team discussion and rehab starts. the stairs really amused me...attached was a mock up suspension bridge.. to teach patients how to walk on these again...as many come from rural villages.
I feel our patients wouls be muchmore grateful of the services they get back in the UK...these people in Laos don't complain or question...they are so so grateful.
The OTs must find it hard...doing a home visit....most are up ladders into a bamboo hut on stilts!
we learnt when some children/people are injured by a bombie..they then have the stuggle to find transport to take then hours to a hospital...
to find when they arrive...'no blood. no oxygen'
so then have to get to another hospital...or to just go home, and watch your child/relative die. truely heartbreaking.claire cont-.
We bought two Ban The Cluster Bombs T-shirts to support their work.
After this we walked back to hotel past Presidential Palace and Wak Saket.
We are debating flight or bus to Hanoi, Vietnam. We interneted but it seems so expensive to fly. The bus takes 24 hours, but
has been known to take upto 48 hours, so we are not sure. The recent typhoon hitting Central Vietnam/laos seems to have slowed things
down alot. We chilled and then ate out at Sticky Fingers Cafe for a guilty pleasure of Southern Fried Chicken, BBQ ribs and wedges!.
I am sure you are meant to lose weight when you travel, but I can see it at the moment! lol. Back to street food in Vietnam
we thinks, as it will be cheap!
30/09/09
Decision day, walked to Lao Airlines. Flights to Vietnam are $115 each, but we went for it. It will be our only domestic flight
in South East Aisa anyway. Makes a change from the bus anyway. Today really was just spent getting money and visting Joma Cafe again!
Went for a rooftop drink at night down this street where there are all stalls out. We found out it was a festival of celebrating
the end of the wet season. The mad and random stuff that was being sold on them was funny. Piles of shoes like a jumble sale,
clothes, drinks, loads of random dry goods. Busy and entertaining. We had tradiational Laos food at the Asian Cafe. Vietnam tomorrow!!!
Wooooo hooooo. Laos has been lovely, so lovely people. It's a shame we haven't headed South, but time and typhoons are not on our side!
