....how can a country survive without diluting juice? In Canada there is no Ribena, no Robinson's and worst of all no Vimto!!! Instead the supermarkets stock aisle after aisle of fresh and frozen juice!! It's just not as refreshing as good old Robinsons!!
Despite this recent refreshment trauma, life in Vancouver has improved ten fold! A lot has changed since my last rather dreary blog - we've moved into a lush apartment in the heart of the west end with a seaview and swimming pool; the sun has been shining most days and even more noteworthy I've finally got a job!! Hurray!! With a bit more money to add to the pot we have finally started to relax and enjoy ourselves!
I've managed to secure a maternity cover contract as a Marketing Specialist at a leading graphic printing firm. I began the role this week and it's already proving to be fab experience as it's a really meaty position with a lot of graphic design input. plus profit sharing bonuses which ain't half bad ;)
Now spring is well and truly underway and the ice hockey playoff's have started the city has gone through a complete transformation. It has so much more character! The flowers are in bloom, the beaches are packed and the city is finally bussling! It's great to see everyone come out of hiding and I now understand why everyone continued to say we'll love the city in summer! Despite our reservations last month I can now say that I do love the city (with just a few 'buts'). ...( But it's still fairly quiet by normal city standards ...but it's still not quite as exciting as some cities I've been to). I do love it on a sunny day though when everyone hangs out on the sea wall or Granville island. It's hard not to smile when you're sounded by beaches. We've even found some cool bars and have become regulars in a few nearby haunts.
My aim for this week was to make at least one friend in the city! Hmmm I'm not quite there: everyone at work is lovely (not sure I can say friends not just acquaintances yet), everyone at volleyball is lovely (once again not sure they class as friends yet)... I even went along to gay
volleyball to try and make some more friends but I was the only girl in the entire room so I was worried it wasn't open to women. The boys
welcomed me with open arms and I had a great time but again it's too soon to class those guys as friends either!! So I'll try and wear
someone down this week till they give me their number ;). We do both have social interactions every day though as canadians are sooo
friendly! If you're in the lift with someone - they talk to you, at the bus stop - they talk to you, doing laundry - they talk to you. Anywhere and
everywhere - they talk to you! The guy next door even told us to knock on his door if we're ever bored so it really must be the easiest place
in the world to socialise. If you spoke to someone on the bus at home they'd probably think you were deranged and move away from you!! Here they're even polite when the crack heads talk to them!
So we'll certainly make the most of all the city has to offer this year. Even as I write this blog there is a live concert taking place right outside
our apartment and the Vancouver annual 'sun run' is passing by! So here's to not having any more dull moments!! Now I just need someone to bring me a suitcase full of double concentrated Robinsons orange squash!!
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Saturday, 17 March 2012
Sunshine
I take back most of the things I said yesterday. I've just been to my first volleyball session and everyone was absolutely lovely, so friendly. I've not had so much fun for ages!! It's a beautiful sunny day for the first time too so my view from the court was the harbour and amazing mountains!! it's incredible :)
Friday, 16 March 2012
Vancouver
It's hard to believe that just four weeks ago we were sat on the beach in the tropical island of Koh Phangan when we are now deep in the throes of winter in downtown Vancouver. I'm trying to cast my mind back to remember just what it felt like to wake up to glorious sunshine everyday when all I have seen out the window for days on end is rain, rain and yet more rain!!
Yes you guessed it the weather in Vancouver really is worse than Manchester: so far it's been grayer, wetter, colder, windier and more changeable than you would ever see during 'supposed' spring at home ....and it's somewhat of a shock to the system after Asia.
We have been here for just two weeks now so I'm guessing it will take a little while longer to climatise, even the Canadians seem to find it hard going, but so far we have been able to see the mountains on just a handful of occasions. It's a real shame as the mountains are incredible but on the positive side I do find that I finish the day with a very healthy glow after being pelted with water from all directions!!
Everyone keeps telling me that summer makes it all worthwhile........hmm we'll see!
Unfortunately we have both been a little underwhelmed by the City, the weather probably hasn't helped, but after the adventure of Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia the whole place just feels a little sedate....(i might even say 'dull'). Yes the mountains and coastline are beautiful, the people are incredibly friendly and the city itself is impressive but I expected to arrive here and completely fall in love with the place....unfortunately so far I haven't.
Don't get me wrong I like it and it's exciting to be somewhere else new but if I were to compare it to the great cities of Europe: Barcelona, Paris, Berlin, London.....it just feels a little quiet and soulless. I have every confidence that this will change in summer, especially when we can make use of the beach and mountains. Plus we have been a little spoilt as I found Manchester pretty dull after experiencing Bangkok, Hanoi and Saigon. I miss the streetlife and buzz of those places and I could absolutely move to Bangkok tomorrow! I loved it! I guess this just feels a little too similar to home.
We are staying in the most alternative area outside downtown called Commercial Drive, it's full of quirky cafes, bars and shops and it really reminds me of Chorlton, particularly as almost everyone is either a hippy or gay. There are a lot of Italians and homeless people here too so it's an interesting mix! But this is as alternative as it gets as downtown is mostly full of non-descript sport's bars and Starbucks' branches.
I may not have sold the city to you yet and it's about to get slightly worse before it gets better as I have to mention Downtown Eastside - a district which is absolutely teeming with crack addicts!!
I always imagined Vancouver would be full of clean living, sports crazy Canadians...I was wrong as this side of town has an astounding number of down and outs and drug addicts. I have never in my life seen anything like it. We rather foolishly walked into town along East Hastings street on our second day in town and soon found out that this is a no go area....it is full of people on crystal meth, heroin and god knows what else walking around like zombies, often with mental health issues. It's not that they would do anything to you, we walked by without any problems, but it is just really disturbing as there are literally hundreds of them and often they have kids in toe! It's like a scene from 'The Wire' ...we never saw anything like this in Asia and of course we made a hasty exit!
This made it clear why we had already seen so many homeless people hanging about downtown too! Apparently they tried to tidy up this area of the city during the winter games by opening hostels outside of town and closing the mental health units....!! I guess it's not great for tourism but these people seem to have been abandoned by the Government! Surely there is some kind of solution?! Unfortunately it was our first impression of Vancouver!
Of course the rest of downtown is very clean, leafy and modern. Packed with skyscrapers, beautiful harbours, amazing mountain scenery and endless beaches. The West End, which is surrounded by coastline and one of the largest Urban Parks in N America (Stanley Park) is really lovely. This is where we are moving to in April. We have signed a 6 month lease on a flat on 'Beach Avenue' so we will wake up to a fabulous view of the water each morning. Once there I'm sure we will begin to get to know the city a lot better, especially with summer on the way, and make some friends.
Our first two weeks here have been far too hectic to do any real sight-seeing or go out and meet people so that will become our focus over the coming months. Since arriving we have been on a manic mission to get work. This is an extremely expensive city so anytime out of work is not really wise. We spent the first week running around the agencies registering for temp positions and completing lots of online testing and the second week beginning our first batch of work.
This week we have been working at a Pathologist event at the Vancouver Convention Centre. It might sound kind of glamourous but I feel like I am working in a sweat shop as we were given just one day to pack 4,000 goody bags!! I could barely walk when we finished the 8 hour shift last night and they had to call us in today to do another batch. It's well paid though at 14 dollars an hour and pretty sociable as we met a group of fellow travellers and some local guys. Two days of bag stuffing is enough for me though as it is brain numbing and I was feeling pretty home sick yesterday just thinking why did I leave a job I loved for this crap!
But you can't keep me down for long as next week I am on to something new - I'm working as a multimedia assistant at the same event and then a market researcher for some extra cash...that job in particular pays really well (given the lack of work involved) at 18 dollars an hour so at least I'll come home with lots of cash!! I have been put forward for a marketing coordinator job too which would be fab as it's loads more money and at least something I want to do. It's easier to hammer the applications for proper marketing jobs now that I have temp work to keep me going.
The busy schedule is probably another reason we haven't really warmed to the city yet! That and the fact we need to make some friends. Canadian's are really 'nice', they stop you in the street and talk to you and in shops and cafes, but whether or not they are always 'genuine' i'm not so sure....more often than not I detect a hint of insincerity. I'll find out properly next week when I sign up for the local volleyball club and get involved with more socialising. I do miss how blunt Brits are and the fact we are completely miserable and grumpy sometimes too....everyone is always smiling here...I guess it's not such a bad thing!
I must finish on a positive as now the sun has come out briefly and a band has set up on the street over the road so already I'm itching to go and explore the city more. In the meantime I best get back to the job search so that we can afford all the socialising we're about to do!!
Miss you guys at home x
Yes you guessed it the weather in Vancouver really is worse than Manchester: so far it's been grayer, wetter, colder, windier and more changeable than you would ever see during 'supposed' spring at home ....and it's somewhat of a shock to the system after Asia.
We have been here for just two weeks now so I'm guessing it will take a little while longer to climatise, even the Canadians seem to find it hard going, but so far we have been able to see the mountains on just a handful of occasions. It's a real shame as the mountains are incredible but on the positive side I do find that I finish the day with a very healthy glow after being pelted with water from all directions!!
Everyone keeps telling me that summer makes it all worthwhile........hmm we'll see!
Unfortunately we have both been a little underwhelmed by the City, the weather probably hasn't helped, but after the adventure of Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia the whole place just feels a little sedate....(i might even say 'dull'). Yes the mountains and coastline are beautiful, the people are incredibly friendly and the city itself is impressive but I expected to arrive here and completely fall in love with the place....unfortunately so far I haven't.
Don't get me wrong I like it and it's exciting to be somewhere else new but if I were to compare it to the great cities of Europe: Barcelona, Paris, Berlin, London.....it just feels a little quiet and soulless. I have every confidence that this will change in summer, especially when we can make use of the beach and mountains. Plus we have been a little spoilt as I found Manchester pretty dull after experiencing Bangkok, Hanoi and Saigon. I miss the streetlife and buzz of those places and I could absolutely move to Bangkok tomorrow! I loved it! I guess this just feels a little too similar to home.
We are staying in the most alternative area outside downtown called Commercial Drive, it's full of quirky cafes, bars and shops and it really reminds me of Chorlton, particularly as almost everyone is either a hippy or gay. There are a lot of Italians and homeless people here too so it's an interesting mix! But this is as alternative as it gets as downtown is mostly full of non-descript sport's bars and Starbucks' branches.
I may not have sold the city to you yet and it's about to get slightly worse before it gets better as I have to mention Downtown Eastside - a district which is absolutely teeming with crack addicts!!
I always imagined Vancouver would be full of clean living, sports crazy Canadians...I was wrong as this side of town has an astounding number of down and outs and drug addicts. I have never in my life seen anything like it. We rather foolishly walked into town along East Hastings street on our second day in town and soon found out that this is a no go area....it is full of people on crystal meth, heroin and god knows what else walking around like zombies, often with mental health issues. It's not that they would do anything to you, we walked by without any problems, but it is just really disturbing as there are literally hundreds of them and often they have kids in toe! It's like a scene from 'The Wire' ...we never saw anything like this in Asia and of course we made a hasty exit!
This made it clear why we had already seen so many homeless people hanging about downtown too! Apparently they tried to tidy up this area of the city during the winter games by opening hostels outside of town and closing the mental health units....!! I guess it's not great for tourism but these people seem to have been abandoned by the Government! Surely there is some kind of solution?! Unfortunately it was our first impression of Vancouver!
Of course the rest of downtown is very clean, leafy and modern. Packed with skyscrapers, beautiful harbours, amazing mountain scenery and endless beaches. The West End, which is surrounded by coastline and one of the largest Urban Parks in N America (Stanley Park) is really lovely. This is where we are moving to in April. We have signed a 6 month lease on a flat on 'Beach Avenue' so we will wake up to a fabulous view of the water each morning. Once there I'm sure we will begin to get to know the city a lot better, especially with summer on the way, and make some friends.
Our first two weeks here have been far too hectic to do any real sight-seeing or go out and meet people so that will become our focus over the coming months. Since arriving we have been on a manic mission to get work. This is an extremely expensive city so anytime out of work is not really wise. We spent the first week running around the agencies registering for temp positions and completing lots of online testing and the second week beginning our first batch of work.
This week we have been working at a Pathologist event at the Vancouver Convention Centre. It might sound kind of glamourous but I feel like I am working in a sweat shop as we were given just one day to pack 4,000 goody bags!! I could barely walk when we finished the 8 hour shift last night and they had to call us in today to do another batch. It's well paid though at 14 dollars an hour and pretty sociable as we met a group of fellow travellers and some local guys. Two days of bag stuffing is enough for me though as it is brain numbing and I was feeling pretty home sick yesterday just thinking why did I leave a job I loved for this crap!
But you can't keep me down for long as next week I am on to something new - I'm working as a multimedia assistant at the same event and then a market researcher for some extra cash...that job in particular pays really well (given the lack of work involved) at 18 dollars an hour so at least I'll come home with lots of cash!! I have been put forward for a marketing coordinator job too which would be fab as it's loads more money and at least something I want to do. It's easier to hammer the applications for proper marketing jobs now that I have temp work to keep me going.
The busy schedule is probably another reason we haven't really warmed to the city yet! That and the fact we need to make some friends. Canadian's are really 'nice', they stop you in the street and talk to you and in shops and cafes, but whether or not they are always 'genuine' i'm not so sure....more often than not I detect a hint of insincerity. I'll find out properly next week when I sign up for the local volleyball club and get involved with more socialising. I do miss how blunt Brits are and the fact we are completely miserable and grumpy sometimes too....everyone is always smiling here...I guess it's not such a bad thing!
I must finish on a positive as now the sun has come out briefly and a band has set up on the street over the road so already I'm itching to go and explore the city more. In the meantime I best get back to the job search so that we can afford all the socialising we're about to do!!
Miss you guys at home x
Friday, 10 February 2012
The final circuit before home!
Neither Nat nor I had any great desire to go to Langkawi, Malaysia, admittedly it was never in our travel plan however, our Thai visas were about to run out so it seemed the best place to spend a few days before being allowed to return to Thailand again.
Thankfully it far exceeded our expectations from the moment we arrived.
As soon as we stepped off the ferry it was apparent that this is the choice holiday resort for wealthy Malaysian's - you only need to catch sight of the spectacular villas to realise this! The streets are notably more up Market than in many of the places we have visited previously and the usual health and safety hazards that we have been confronted with - like holes in the ground / wild dogs roaming round - are few and far between. The other notable difference is the culture. We had come from a predominately Buddhist country with a very carefree attitude towards life/ relationships to a country where most people are Muslim. There are certainly no 'hostess' bars here for the western men to shamefully induldge in (far too many in Thailand)!! I was certainly quick to ensure i mentioned twin rooms too as being gay is illegal. It seemed such a big shift in attitude when compared to Thailand.
The vast majority of women wear either a Burkha or a head scarf here although unlike in many other Islamic countries it is entirely their choice if they wish to do so. Due to the intense heat in all those extra layers most people stay indoors until 6pm when suddenly the beach is absolutely jam packed until sun set. It was fascinating to watch the crowds of people, especially the women and children who jump into the sea fully clothed and go jet skiing in a burkha - I can't imagine it is particularly enjoyable given that the sea is like a bath tub and the men and young boys have all got their tops off having a good old time! Maybe i'm just ignorant!
During our stay we were occasionally on the receiving end of glares from men so I wouldn't personally like to
be one of the women who chose not to cover up. This is also the only place we have been to where men come up to you in bars and hassle you a lot - they seem to see western women as easy prey but clearly we sent them packing. I'm sure such repression cant be a good thing as we did hear the occasional horror story of men following single women to their beach hut at night and trying to break in. That said everyone was very friendly.
Langkawi is markedly more expensive than Thailand. On the same budget we could just about afford to stay in a basic beach front hut although, compared to many of the Thai islands, the scenery was incredible. We were right in the heart of a tropical garden with a white sandy beach a stones throw from our door. Being in such beautiful surroundings does have it's draw backs however as a rather large spider took up residency in our bathroom and several geckos crept into the room at night (something you get used to here). We were so scared of the spider that I didn't shower for a few days and we even considered peeing in a bucket to avoid going near it! Thankfully I spotted it on the front step one morning and got the brush to coerce it away - this worked a treat and we never saw it again - meaning I could finally take the bandana off and have a shower!
Another creep then began to visit us every day - this time it wasn't of the insect variety but of the human kind. The same old man came to speak to us day after day and each time he asked the same questions. He was trying to get to Thailand and clearly didn't listen to a word we said when we gave him detailed information! We were hounded by him and he still went away non the wiser and pronouncing everything wrong. He was probably best off not following us anyway as ,as usual, the journey to and from Langkawi was a nightmare. You should now have the gist of how any journey goes here and this one was no different - if you ever want to experience what it's like to drive in the Grand Prix - come to Thailand; if you ever want to experience blatant racial discrimination and be shoved to the back of a bus behind all the locals even though you have been charged considerably more for the privilege - come to s e asia. It's always a joy! ...
...But now our last bus journey is complete and we are in our final stop before returning to Bangkok - Koh Phangan. Of all the islands in Thailand I thought this one would be the worst. It has a reputation for the full moon parties so we thought it was best avoided however as we'd spent so much elsewhere we decided to give this cheaper island a go and boy oh boy did we make the right decision :) Away from the party hard core scene in Haad Rin, the north west corner is the tropical paradise we have spent all month searching for. We're staying in Haad Salad which is anything but a package holiday resort. It has the perfect balance between development and local life. It is such a relaxing place to be and I absolutely love it here, i only wish we hadn't bothered with the other islands now as it is far superior!
From the hammock on our balcony we have the most beautiful view across the bay with the lush mountains surrounding us. Tonight I can watch the stars and the small camp fire on the beach below where just a few people gather.
So at the very end of our trip we have found that picture postcard image that we imagined when we decided to come to Thailand and it is certainly worth giving everything up and going away for!
Thankfully it far exceeded our expectations from the moment we arrived.
As soon as we stepped off the ferry it was apparent that this is the choice holiday resort for wealthy Malaysian's - you only need to catch sight of the spectacular villas to realise this! The streets are notably more up Market than in many of the places we have visited previously and the usual health and safety hazards that we have been confronted with - like holes in the ground / wild dogs roaming round - are few and far between. The other notable difference is the culture. We had come from a predominately Buddhist country with a very carefree attitude towards life/ relationships to a country where most people are Muslim. There are certainly no 'hostess' bars here for the western men to shamefully induldge in (far too many in Thailand)!! I was certainly quick to ensure i mentioned twin rooms too as being gay is illegal. It seemed such a big shift in attitude when compared to Thailand.
The vast majority of women wear either a Burkha or a head scarf here although unlike in many other Islamic countries it is entirely their choice if they wish to do so. Due to the intense heat in all those extra layers most people stay indoors until 6pm when suddenly the beach is absolutely jam packed until sun set. It was fascinating to watch the crowds of people, especially the women and children who jump into the sea fully clothed and go jet skiing in a burkha - I can't imagine it is particularly enjoyable given that the sea is like a bath tub and the men and young boys have all got their tops off having a good old time! Maybe i'm just ignorant!
During our stay we were occasionally on the receiving end of glares from men so I wouldn't personally like to
be one of the women who chose not to cover up. This is also the only place we have been to where men come up to you in bars and hassle you a lot - they seem to see western women as easy prey but clearly we sent them packing. I'm sure such repression cant be a good thing as we did hear the occasional horror story of men following single women to their beach hut at night and trying to break in. That said everyone was very friendly.
Langkawi is markedly more expensive than Thailand. On the same budget we could just about afford to stay in a basic beach front hut although, compared to many of the Thai islands, the scenery was incredible. We were right in the heart of a tropical garden with a white sandy beach a stones throw from our door. Being in such beautiful surroundings does have it's draw backs however as a rather large spider took up residency in our bathroom and several geckos crept into the room at night (something you get used to here). We were so scared of the spider that I didn't shower for a few days and we even considered peeing in a bucket to avoid going near it! Thankfully I spotted it on the front step one morning and got the brush to coerce it away - this worked a treat and we never saw it again - meaning I could finally take the bandana off and have a shower!
Another creep then began to visit us every day - this time it wasn't of the insect variety but of the human kind. The same old man came to speak to us day after day and each time he asked the same questions. He was trying to get to Thailand and clearly didn't listen to a word we said when we gave him detailed information! We were hounded by him and he still went away non the wiser and pronouncing everything wrong. He was probably best off not following us anyway as ,as usual, the journey to and from Langkawi was a nightmare. You should now have the gist of how any journey goes here and this one was no different - if you ever want to experience what it's like to drive in the Grand Prix - come to Thailand; if you ever want to experience blatant racial discrimination and be shoved to the back of a bus behind all the locals even though you have been charged considerably more for the privilege - come to s e asia. It's always a joy! ...
...But now our last bus journey is complete and we are in our final stop before returning to Bangkok - Koh Phangan. Of all the islands in Thailand I thought this one would be the worst. It has a reputation for the full moon parties so we thought it was best avoided however as we'd spent so much elsewhere we decided to give this cheaper island a go and boy oh boy did we make the right decision :) Away from the party hard core scene in Haad Rin, the north west corner is the tropical paradise we have spent all month searching for. We're staying in Haad Salad which is anything but a package holiday resort. It has the perfect balance between development and local life. It is such a relaxing place to be and I absolutely love it here, i only wish we hadn't bothered with the other islands now as it is far superior!
From the hammock on our balcony we have the most beautiful view across the bay with the lush mountains surrounding us. Tonight I can watch the stars and the small camp fire on the beach below where just a few people gather.
So at the very end of our trip we have found that picture postcard image that we imagined when we decided to come to Thailand and it is certainly worth giving everything up and going away for!
Monday, 30 January 2012
Thai Island hopping
Since setting off on this adventure two months ago we havent really had that much time to relax.... (i'm sure you feel extremely sorry for us) so, rather than venturing further into Cambodia, we decided to spend the last month enjoying the sun, sea and sand of the Thai islands. Oh and the food of course!
We had our priorities straight upon returning to the land of smiles as we headed straight to the nearest cafe for some Pad Thai! It was really delicious after the rather bland food we had eaten elsewhere.
After a bite to eat we set off on the journey back to Bangkok to drop in for a night on Beth and Pete before heading down South.
This time we took the 3rd class passenger train which although very slow and unbearably hot was a welcome change from the local buses and actually quite enjoyable. There are so few tourists on this route so we were sat with all the locals. In their company you are reminded of just why Thailand has the nickname the 'land of smiles' .... one lady smiled at me the whole way and then shook my hand and then Nat's hand vigorously when we finally reached Bangkok, another boy smiled and sang Rihanna the entire way (tone death but entertaining) and others laughed at the Cambodian TShirt I was wearing (probably not a good move) although they did it in the nicest possible way, even the random people who jump on and off the train to sell food and drinks on route have a smile for you.....so as I looked out on the beautiful countryside and the lightening sparks in the sky from a distant thunder storm I thought there is nowhere else I would rather be right now!! ....until I was reminded of some of the not so pleasant local habits such as picking your nose and putting it on the floor, coughing and spitting everywhere... hmmmm travelling does have its drawbacks!
Arriving in Bangkok we were keen to book the train down to Surat hani for the next day, unfortunately our timing was lousy as it was not only the weekend but also Chinese new year so all the seats were completely booked up! An hour of discussion with various train station staff and we were eventually offered two tickets (which were double the price as they had been sold to the travel agent who then sold them back to us - argghhh very frustrating but it got us where we needed to go).
So it was a quick overnight stop in Bangkok where we managed to do all our laundry and hand over a bag of souvenirs for safe storage (thanks again Beth and Pete)and we were off on the road again.
The traffic is absolutely mental in Bangkok so what should be a short journey to the station ended up taking 1 and a half hours - thankfully we arrived 5 minutes before our train and we legged it to the platform and took our seats. This was foolish as we should have learnt our lesson by now that absolutely no transport leaves on time... an hour later we were off!
This time, with a lot more experience under our belt and the help of Chang beer we slept better - Nat passed out and I didn't see her again until the morning and I at least felt like I did sleep a fraction. We did have an argument with the staff about the beer though as they seemed far too keen to encourage westerners to buy another one. I was on to them and suspected the prices would be sky high and indeed they were, cheeky tactics!!
After yet another delay we finally arrived in Surat hani and took the ferry over to our first island stop: Koh Samui.
Koh Samui is renowned for being a party island with some chavtastic resorts so we opted for the trendy fishing village of Bo Phut. It attracts a more affluent crowd with more expensive accommodation but we managed to bag a special offer on the Samui Heritage Resort so had a fabulous luxury stay.
We really enjoyed Bo Phut. It has some nice reggae bars with deck chairs and beds right on the sea front so you can sit back in the evening and watch the waves with a beer in hand! Bliss!
It does seem difficult to escape the typical holiday style resorts on the islands and really see local life but at least in Bo Phut you still have some street food stalls and feel you are able to chat with the locals a little bit.
After 4 nights here we headed back to the mainland and over to Krabi Province (on a public bus - why we do this every time I dont know as it is the same price to take a tourist bus but as usual it was so entertaining and so behind schedule!!). We arrived in Krabi after dark so we had to take a taxi to Ao Nang (a coastal resort where all the people who cant afford Railay beach seem to go - that's us!!).
We hated Ao Nang, it was extremely touristy and despite its natural beauty I couldnt help but think of the similarities with Blackpool!! Plus we stayed in budget accommodation here so for the first time on our trip we were really going back to basics....well I say that but we still had a pool and I suppose the room was okish..we've been a bit spoilt on this trip and i've become a snob now it seems!
The guy running the hotel must have thought i was a looney as I screamed when a moth flew at me when we opened the door to our room and then I ran away from the flying cricket outside our room - i'm really not a fan of insects and I didnt sleep a wink!
On the positive side Ao Nang is a good base from which to visit Railay. We took the longtail boat round the coast and spent a day on Railay and Phra Nang Cave beach. I loved it there and it was well worth the time in Ao Nang to see it.
From here it was back on the bus/ferry to Koh Lanta. We opted for this island as it is supposedly less developed than the islands to the East of the mainland, however it still feels much like you are on a package holiday when you arrive here. I have to admit that I have been disappointed by just how much on the tourist trail Koh Lanta is, mostly it seems to be full of European families and I feel a bit like I may as well have gone to the costa del sol. Plus the people do not seem as friendly and laid back here as in the rest of Thailand and it has been raining for most of our stay.
I may just be on a downer as we have just been chased by 10 dogs (yes yet again) - we were walking in the pouring rain and tried to take a short cut when they all came chasing after us, i made the mistake of shouting run so they pounded after us even further. Thankfully when i shouted stop they stopped too and left us to walk off but I have seriously never been so scared in my life. I must react better if i come across any wild animals in Canada!
Although we were keen to get to the island we are now beginning to realise that we are more city folk at heart and we should have gone to Kuala Lumpa and back up through the islands. Not that I am complaining about having 3 weeks to relax and take it easy!!
From here we head to yet another new country for 4 nights: the island of Langkawi in Malaysia so we shall see what that part of the trip has in store for us!
We had our priorities straight upon returning to the land of smiles as we headed straight to the nearest cafe for some Pad Thai! It was really delicious after the rather bland food we had eaten elsewhere.
After a bite to eat we set off on the journey back to Bangkok to drop in for a night on Beth and Pete before heading down South.
This time we took the 3rd class passenger train which although very slow and unbearably hot was a welcome change from the local buses and actually quite enjoyable. There are so few tourists on this route so we were sat with all the locals. In their company you are reminded of just why Thailand has the nickname the 'land of smiles' .... one lady smiled at me the whole way and then shook my hand and then Nat's hand vigorously when we finally reached Bangkok, another boy smiled and sang Rihanna the entire way (tone death but entertaining) and others laughed at the Cambodian TShirt I was wearing (probably not a good move) although they did it in the nicest possible way, even the random people who jump on and off the train to sell food and drinks on route have a smile for you.....so as I looked out on the beautiful countryside and the lightening sparks in the sky from a distant thunder storm I thought there is nowhere else I would rather be right now!! ....until I was reminded of some of the not so pleasant local habits such as picking your nose and putting it on the floor, coughing and spitting everywhere... hmmmm travelling does have its drawbacks!
Arriving in Bangkok we were keen to book the train down to Surat hani for the next day, unfortunately our timing was lousy as it was not only the weekend but also Chinese new year so all the seats were completely booked up! An hour of discussion with various train station staff and we were eventually offered two tickets (which were double the price as they had been sold to the travel agent who then sold them back to us - argghhh very frustrating but it got us where we needed to go).
So it was a quick overnight stop in Bangkok where we managed to do all our laundry and hand over a bag of souvenirs for safe storage (thanks again Beth and Pete)and we were off on the road again.
The traffic is absolutely mental in Bangkok so what should be a short journey to the station ended up taking 1 and a half hours - thankfully we arrived 5 minutes before our train and we legged it to the platform and took our seats. This was foolish as we should have learnt our lesson by now that absolutely no transport leaves on time... an hour later we were off!
This time, with a lot more experience under our belt and the help of Chang beer we slept better - Nat passed out and I didn't see her again until the morning and I at least felt like I did sleep a fraction. We did have an argument with the staff about the beer though as they seemed far too keen to encourage westerners to buy another one. I was on to them and suspected the prices would be sky high and indeed they were, cheeky tactics!!
After yet another delay we finally arrived in Surat hani and took the ferry over to our first island stop: Koh Samui.
Koh Samui is renowned for being a party island with some chavtastic resorts so we opted for the trendy fishing village of Bo Phut. It attracts a more affluent crowd with more expensive accommodation but we managed to bag a special offer on the Samui Heritage Resort so had a fabulous luxury stay.
We really enjoyed Bo Phut. It has some nice reggae bars with deck chairs and beds right on the sea front so you can sit back in the evening and watch the waves with a beer in hand! Bliss!
It does seem difficult to escape the typical holiday style resorts on the islands and really see local life but at least in Bo Phut you still have some street food stalls and feel you are able to chat with the locals a little bit.
After 4 nights here we headed back to the mainland and over to Krabi Province (on a public bus - why we do this every time I dont know as it is the same price to take a tourist bus but as usual it was so entertaining and so behind schedule!!). We arrived in Krabi after dark so we had to take a taxi to Ao Nang (a coastal resort where all the people who cant afford Railay beach seem to go - that's us!!).
We hated Ao Nang, it was extremely touristy and despite its natural beauty I couldnt help but think of the similarities with Blackpool!! Plus we stayed in budget accommodation here so for the first time on our trip we were really going back to basics....well I say that but we still had a pool and I suppose the room was okish..we've been a bit spoilt on this trip and i've become a snob now it seems!
The guy running the hotel must have thought i was a looney as I screamed when a moth flew at me when we opened the door to our room and then I ran away from the flying cricket outside our room - i'm really not a fan of insects and I didnt sleep a wink!
On the positive side Ao Nang is a good base from which to visit Railay. We took the longtail boat round the coast and spent a day on Railay and Phra Nang Cave beach. I loved it there and it was well worth the time in Ao Nang to see it.
From here it was back on the bus/ferry to Koh Lanta. We opted for this island as it is supposedly less developed than the islands to the East of the mainland, however it still feels much like you are on a package holiday when you arrive here. I have to admit that I have been disappointed by just how much on the tourist trail Koh Lanta is, mostly it seems to be full of European families and I feel a bit like I may as well have gone to the costa del sol. Plus the people do not seem as friendly and laid back here as in the rest of Thailand and it has been raining for most of our stay.
I may just be on a downer as we have just been chased by 10 dogs (yes yet again) - we were walking in the pouring rain and tried to take a short cut when they all came chasing after us, i made the mistake of shouting run so they pounded after us even further. Thankfully when i shouted stop they stopped too and left us to walk off but I have seriously never been so scared in my life. I must react better if i come across any wild animals in Canada!
Although we were keen to get to the island we are now beginning to realise that we are more city folk at heart and we should have gone to Kuala Lumpa and back up through the islands. Not that I am complaining about having 3 weeks to relax and take it easy!!
From here we head to yet another new country for 4 nights: the island of Langkawi in Malaysia so we shall see what that part of the trip has in store for us!
Siem Reap and Angkor Wat
As we stepped off the bus in Siem Reap we were greeted by the usual hustlers - this time dozens of tuk tuk drivers offering us a 'free' ride to our hotel courtesy of our bus company! How nice!! So, we totally ignored them and found our own driver. (We later found out that the 'free' ride involves being taken to a guesthouse owned by the bus company, regardless of where you might actually be staying...)
According to the general theme of our trip, for Siem Reap we decided to stay a little way out of town. Obviously, no one knew where the place was so we drove round for an hour looking for it....When we arrived though, we knew we'd made the right choice. Villa Shanti is a lovely little place, away from the centre with only seven rooms and its own pool.
Siem Reap reminded me of Luang Prabang in many ways - almost an illusion created for tourists. That's not to say it's not a nice place - to the contrary. On the drive from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap the roads are barely paved, there is no street lighting and no electricity. People live in very basic huts and cook around an improvised fire.... Siem Reap is like another world.
The central part of the town has dozens of five star hotels, the roads are all very well paved and lit. There are beautiful, well tended gardens and more police than I've ever seen in one place anywhere else in SE Asia. The central street - imaginitively named 'pub street' seemed to us like any street you'd find in a tourist town on a package holiday in Europe. Almost all of the businesses are non-cambodian owned and at night police literally sit at either end to keep out the beggars. It was very nice though....
As we were staying out of town, we noticed that by the time we got to Villa Shanti the street lighting had stopped and so had the paved roads. There are signs all the way up the river that talk about how its been cleaned up.... closer to our end of town, adjacent to the metallic huts on the river banks, we noticed a huge net across the river with tons of rubbish in it. The net alone was preventing it from spreading too far downstream....
The staff at the villa were lovely, young Cambodian guys who talked to us about their lives and the Pol Pot regime. All of them work full time, study full time and cycle for hours between their homes and work / school, just to make enough money to be able to keep studying. Their ultimate goal was to become tour guides at Angkor. In a country where the average wage is less than $1USD a day, tour guiding is a 'well-paid' 'career'. One of the guys talked about trying to get sponsored to go to Australia, he was staggered at how many countries Jane and I have visited and he pointed out that he would never be able to afford to even visit England - even if he saved for the rest of his life. I think that was the main reason I was so cynical about Siem Reap (yes, I'm cynical about everything anyway...), it didn't seem like any of the tourist cash actually went to the people who live there. We were even more shocked when we found out where the money from Angkor Wat goes....
We chose to just see the temples on one day and they were incredible. You could easily spend a week visiting the site as its so huge but at $20 dollars a day entry we decided to cram in as much as possible in one visit. Unsurprisingly, the site was packed (it gets up to seven thousand visits per day in peak season) and absolutely huge. One of the guys from our hotel drove us around in his tuk- tuk and did some improvised guiding!It was hard going in 35 degree heat and what felt like 100% humidity but the whole sight was incredible. As Jane seems jinxed with these things, Angkor Wat was covered in scaffolding for repairs.... it was still amazing though. Our favourite temple was Ta Prohm (aka the one from Tomb Raider), it was a jumble of fallen down temples and rocks with incredible trees everywhere.
After our visit, we wondered where all the cash raised from the entrance fee goes? $20 USD a day times seven thousand = a LOT of money. Cambodia is a very corrupt country - everyone there will tell you that but we were still shocked when a local pointed out that Angkor Wat was "owned by the prime minister". Apparently the prime minister (also a former member of the Khmer Rouge) owns a company called Sokha Hotel group (there are several of these five star hotels across Cambodia and in Siem Reap - officially the group is owned by a 'close friend' of the PM) and sure enough - on the back of our ticket it actually states that the site is operated by APSARA (the government group supposed to preserve Angkor) and SOKHA HOTELS.
After that we noticed that the Sokha hotel was really popular - it won "best Hotel" "best spa" and "best service" awards for the past year - as voted for by the Cambodian Government.... Apparently it's an open secret that the Prime Minister is making a fortune out of the temples.
That'll be why the actual province of Siem Reap is still the third poorest in the whole of Cambodia.
We did enjoy Siem Reap, it's a beautiful place and probably one of the safest towns in Asia. The people we met, as with all Cambodians, were lovely, open and incredibly friendly - which is surprising given their recent and apparently, current history. I'm by no means an expert on Cambodian politics but it's clear that the many millions made at Angkor aren't actually going where they should be and I doubt that many tourists are even interested....
According to the general theme of our trip, for Siem Reap we decided to stay a little way out of town. Obviously, no one knew where the place was so we drove round for an hour looking for it....When we arrived though, we knew we'd made the right choice. Villa Shanti is a lovely little place, away from the centre with only seven rooms and its own pool.
Siem Reap reminded me of Luang Prabang in many ways - almost an illusion created for tourists. That's not to say it's not a nice place - to the contrary. On the drive from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap the roads are barely paved, there is no street lighting and no electricity. People live in very basic huts and cook around an improvised fire.... Siem Reap is like another world.
The central part of the town has dozens of five star hotels, the roads are all very well paved and lit. There are beautiful, well tended gardens and more police than I've ever seen in one place anywhere else in SE Asia. The central street - imaginitively named 'pub street' seemed to us like any street you'd find in a tourist town on a package holiday in Europe. Almost all of the businesses are non-cambodian owned and at night police literally sit at either end to keep out the beggars. It was very nice though....
As we were staying out of town, we noticed that by the time we got to Villa Shanti the street lighting had stopped and so had the paved roads. There are signs all the way up the river that talk about how its been cleaned up.... closer to our end of town, adjacent to the metallic huts on the river banks, we noticed a huge net across the river with tons of rubbish in it. The net alone was preventing it from spreading too far downstream....
The staff at the villa were lovely, young Cambodian guys who talked to us about their lives and the Pol Pot regime. All of them work full time, study full time and cycle for hours between their homes and work / school, just to make enough money to be able to keep studying. Their ultimate goal was to become tour guides at Angkor. In a country where the average wage is less than $1USD a day, tour guiding is a 'well-paid' 'career'. One of the guys talked about trying to get sponsored to go to Australia, he was staggered at how many countries Jane and I have visited and he pointed out that he would never be able to afford to even visit England - even if he saved for the rest of his life. I think that was the main reason I was so cynical about Siem Reap (yes, I'm cynical about everything anyway...), it didn't seem like any of the tourist cash actually went to the people who live there. We were even more shocked when we found out where the money from Angkor Wat goes....
We chose to just see the temples on one day and they were incredible. You could easily spend a week visiting the site as its so huge but at $20 dollars a day entry we decided to cram in as much as possible in one visit. Unsurprisingly, the site was packed (it gets up to seven thousand visits per day in peak season) and absolutely huge. One of the guys from our hotel drove us around in his tuk- tuk and did some improvised guiding!It was hard going in 35 degree heat and what felt like 100% humidity but the whole sight was incredible. As Jane seems jinxed with these things, Angkor Wat was covered in scaffolding for repairs.... it was still amazing though. Our favourite temple was Ta Prohm (aka the one from Tomb Raider), it was a jumble of fallen down temples and rocks with incredible trees everywhere.
After our visit, we wondered where all the cash raised from the entrance fee goes? $20 USD a day times seven thousand = a LOT of money. Cambodia is a very corrupt country - everyone there will tell you that but we were still shocked when a local pointed out that Angkor Wat was "owned by the prime minister". Apparently the prime minister (also a former member of the Khmer Rouge) owns a company called Sokha Hotel group (there are several of these five star hotels across Cambodia and in Siem Reap - officially the group is owned by a 'close friend' of the PM) and sure enough - on the back of our ticket it actually states that the site is operated by APSARA (the government group supposed to preserve Angkor) and SOKHA HOTELS.
After that we noticed that the Sokha hotel was really popular - it won "best Hotel" "best spa" and "best service" awards for the past year - as voted for by the Cambodian Government.... Apparently it's an open secret that the Prime Minister is making a fortune out of the temples.
That'll be why the actual province of Siem Reap is still the third poorest in the whole of Cambodia.
We did enjoy Siem Reap, it's a beautiful place and probably one of the safest towns in Asia. The people we met, as with all Cambodians, were lovely, open and incredibly friendly - which is surprising given their recent and apparently, current history. I'm by no means an expert on Cambodian politics but it's clear that the many millions made at Angkor aren't actually going where they should be and I doubt that many tourists are even interested....
Monday, 23 January 2012
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Boarding the 6am bus from Saigon to Phnom Penh we were both apprehensive, not only because we had yet another long haul journey and border crossing to tackle but also because we both felt we were leaving Vietnam prematurely. We had enjoyed our time there so much - to the extent that we both even talked about moving to Saigon!
Our nerves were made worse by the fact that we had recently met an Australian traveller who had described Phnom Penh as a "rat hole" so our expectations for the next stage of our trip were extremely low.
I have to say that driving into Cambodia was like going back in time: the chaotic traffic immediately subsided and instead we saw the occasional cart carrying 20 or so passengers on the bumpy road. The concrete buildings were also replaced with basic aluminium huts balanced on stilts along the riverside. The major development we had seen throughout Vietnam was not evident here but we were not disappointed as the scenery was incredible. I got a bit snap happy with my camera throughout the journey.
On route to Phnom Penh the bus had to board a ferry across the river and it was at this point that I realised just how poor Cambodia is. Poverty is endemic - Our bus was followed by a stream of beggars: most were unwashed and shoeless children and eldery people with amputated limbs. It was completely heartbreaking to witness. We had seen children selling things on the streets in Vietnam but it didn't seem to compare to the poverty seen here.
Driving through the outskirts of Phnom Penh it didn't feel like we had arrived in a capital city at all as the streets were still very basic, dirty with litter and we saw entire families camped out along the road side. That said we immediately warmed to Phnom Penh. We were greeted by the friendliest Tuk Tuk drivers I have come across on this trip and even the street sellers laugh and joke with you instead of hounding you for cash. Cambodians seem so friendly and carefree, particularly given their recent history!
Our time in Cambodia continued to go well as we were offered an upgrade at the Billabong Hotel! (they had a function on that evening so i can only assume they double booked but I wasnt complaining)
Phnom Penh has some of the best preserved French relics and walking the streets you get a real feel for the history of the country. The National Museum and Royal Palace are so extravagant and a world away from the shacks along the riverside.
The country is still rebuilding itself following the civil war of the 60's and the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge in the 70's when urban Cambodian's were forced to relocate and work in the countryside under the Pol Pot socialist Regime. Many "disobedient" Cambodians were brutally murdered in the killing fields which can be found throughout the countryside. We visited S-21, a former school which was converted into a prison camp during the regime. It was harrowing to see the images of those held and brutally tortured and ultimately murdered in these camps. A mass of bones are kept on display to remind people of the victims so that such crimes against humanity do not happen again and yet those leaders of the regime who are still alive have still not been sentenced. In fact the current prime minister of Cambodia is a former Khmer Rouge member! Needless to say corruption is endemic.
Tourists seem to be flocking back to this city as at night the riverside is swarming with people, restaurants and bars. It was entertaining to watch the street dance class and exercise classes taking place along the waterfront. We enjoyed a fantastic meal and Mojito at the Foreign Correspondence Club overlooking them.
Despite its charm there does appear to be a dark side to the city at night as sex tourism appears to be a real problem here as in many other parts of S E Asia, as does paedophilia given the number of posters and news reports we saw.
All in all yes the city is a bit grimy and edgey but there is so much to see here and the people are amongst the nicest I have ever met! I hope the future is better for them.
Our nerves were made worse by the fact that we had recently met an Australian traveller who had described Phnom Penh as a "rat hole" so our expectations for the next stage of our trip were extremely low.
I have to say that driving into Cambodia was like going back in time: the chaotic traffic immediately subsided and instead we saw the occasional cart carrying 20 or so passengers on the bumpy road. The concrete buildings were also replaced with basic aluminium huts balanced on stilts along the riverside. The major development we had seen throughout Vietnam was not evident here but we were not disappointed as the scenery was incredible. I got a bit snap happy with my camera throughout the journey.
On route to Phnom Penh the bus had to board a ferry across the river and it was at this point that I realised just how poor Cambodia is. Poverty is endemic - Our bus was followed by a stream of beggars: most were unwashed and shoeless children and eldery people with amputated limbs. It was completely heartbreaking to witness. We had seen children selling things on the streets in Vietnam but it didn't seem to compare to the poverty seen here.
Driving through the outskirts of Phnom Penh it didn't feel like we had arrived in a capital city at all as the streets were still very basic, dirty with litter and we saw entire families camped out along the road side. That said we immediately warmed to Phnom Penh. We were greeted by the friendliest Tuk Tuk drivers I have come across on this trip and even the street sellers laugh and joke with you instead of hounding you for cash. Cambodians seem so friendly and carefree, particularly given their recent history!
Our time in Cambodia continued to go well as we were offered an upgrade at the Billabong Hotel! (they had a function on that evening so i can only assume they double booked but I wasnt complaining)
Phnom Penh has some of the best preserved French relics and walking the streets you get a real feel for the history of the country. The National Museum and Royal Palace are so extravagant and a world away from the shacks along the riverside.
The country is still rebuilding itself following the civil war of the 60's and the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge in the 70's when urban Cambodian's were forced to relocate and work in the countryside under the Pol Pot socialist Regime. Many "disobedient" Cambodians were brutally murdered in the killing fields which can be found throughout the countryside. We visited S-21, a former school which was converted into a prison camp during the regime. It was harrowing to see the images of those held and brutally tortured and ultimately murdered in these camps. A mass of bones are kept on display to remind people of the victims so that such crimes against humanity do not happen again and yet those leaders of the regime who are still alive have still not been sentenced. In fact the current prime minister of Cambodia is a former Khmer Rouge member! Needless to say corruption is endemic.
Tourists seem to be flocking back to this city as at night the riverside is swarming with people, restaurants and bars. It was entertaining to watch the street dance class and exercise classes taking place along the waterfront. We enjoyed a fantastic meal and Mojito at the Foreign Correspondence Club overlooking them.
Despite its charm there does appear to be a dark side to the city at night as sex tourism appears to be a real problem here as in many other parts of S E Asia, as does paedophilia given the number of posters and news reports we saw.
All in all yes the city is a bit grimy and edgey but there is so much to see here and the people are amongst the nicest I have ever met! I hope the future is better for them.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Saigon
In Saigon, we stayed at a family run hotel down a side street away from the main bustle of the backpacker district, which was great as we got to see some real people everyday. It was quite entertaining to watch the neighbours sitting in their living rooms singing kareoke!!
We both really liked Saigon, it felt different to Hanoi, a bit more 'spacious' and a bit edgier, with more motos though, which we thought would be impossible until we arrived.
On our first day we visited the war remnants museum,which houses the most horrific pictures I've ever seen. As with most of the museums we visited in Vietnam, there was no real context or background to the Vietnam war, just images and snippets of text about the ''ïmperialists''. Yes, the whole place felt very one sided but it's hard to argue with the images of people who are still horribly disfigured from the effects of agent orange.
Despite it's fairly recent history though, Vietnam and its people seem to welcome all visitors, whatever their nationality, with eagerness. Nowhere has progress been so evident as here. Everywhere you go, people are building houses, shops, businesses and making money.
The next day we visited the Chu Chi tunnels just outside of the city and saw the tiny networks of tunnels and traps used in the resistance.
Our guide was really interesting and gave us a brief summary of Vietnamese history from which we learned more than all our museum visits combined!! Throughout our time in Vietnam, all of the people we've met have been really candid about the future of the country and the government, which actually surprised me (think I had my own preconceptions about what people may or may not want to say). The guide made it clear that everyone in Vietnam is grateful to ''Uncle Ho'' but despite that they don't feel truly ''free'' because they still aren't allowed to vote in free elections - a sentiment that was echoed by many of the people we met....
While on the tour, tourists were given the chance to have a go on the shooting range... After weighing up the options we decided (rightly or wrongly) to have a go. As we know nothing about guns we just picked one at random and walked over to the gallery...
Turns out that the one we picked was the machine gun that they used in Rambo....
Needless to say that we both missed the target, much to the amusement of the guy loading the gun. I think the scariest thing was that it just felt like pulling a trigger on a toy gun....
I think the best thing about Saigon was just people watching. The bustle in the park during the evenings and at 6am as people did exercise classes, skateboarded, did martial arts, tango dancing...
In the evenings we sat in a bar at the corner of a major junction and saw so many random things including a family of four and a FULLY GROWN golden retriever on a moped; A family of four on a moped with the eldest kid slumped over the front asleep; Two minor bike crashes and a robbery....
All the guide books forewarn about robberies in Saigon - and I suppose they're actually right. It wasn't a tourist that we saw robbed though - it was a local.
The girl had stepped out on to the pavement to take a picture and two seconds later the camera was swiped out of her hand by a passing moto driver. I think the girl must have been a track athlete as she actually gave chase into about 10 lanes off on-coming traffic. She didn't catch him though....
We both really liked Saigon, it felt different to Hanoi, a bit more 'spacious' and a bit edgier, with more motos though, which we thought would be impossible until we arrived.
On our first day we visited the war remnants museum,which houses the most horrific pictures I've ever seen. As with most of the museums we visited in Vietnam, there was no real context or background to the Vietnam war, just images and snippets of text about the ''ïmperialists''. Yes, the whole place felt very one sided but it's hard to argue with the images of people who are still horribly disfigured from the effects of agent orange.
Despite it's fairly recent history though, Vietnam and its people seem to welcome all visitors, whatever their nationality, with eagerness. Nowhere has progress been so evident as here. Everywhere you go, people are building houses, shops, businesses and making money.
The next day we visited the Chu Chi tunnels just outside of the city and saw the tiny networks of tunnels and traps used in the resistance.
Our guide was really interesting and gave us a brief summary of Vietnamese history from which we learned more than all our museum visits combined!! Throughout our time in Vietnam, all of the people we've met have been really candid about the future of the country and the government, which actually surprised me (think I had my own preconceptions about what people may or may not want to say). The guide made it clear that everyone in Vietnam is grateful to ''Uncle Ho'' but despite that they don't feel truly ''free'' because they still aren't allowed to vote in free elections - a sentiment that was echoed by many of the people we met....
While on the tour, tourists were given the chance to have a go on the shooting range... After weighing up the options we decided (rightly or wrongly) to have a go. As we know nothing about guns we just picked one at random and walked over to the gallery...
Turns out that the one we picked was the machine gun that they used in Rambo....
Needless to say that we both missed the target, much to the amusement of the guy loading the gun. I think the scariest thing was that it just felt like pulling a trigger on a toy gun....
I think the best thing about Saigon was just people watching. The bustle in the park during the evenings and at 6am as people did exercise classes, skateboarded, did martial arts, tango dancing...
In the evenings we sat in a bar at the corner of a major junction and saw so many random things including a family of four and a FULLY GROWN golden retriever on a moped; A family of four on a moped with the eldest kid slumped over the front asleep; Two minor bike crashes and a robbery....
All the guide books forewarn about robberies in Saigon - and I suppose they're actually right. It wasn't a tourist that we saw robbed though - it was a local.
The girl had stepped out on to the pavement to take a picture and two seconds later the camera was swiped out of her hand by a passing moto driver. I think the girl must have been a track athlete as she actually gave chase into about 10 lanes off on-coming traffic. She didn't catch him though....
Stupid things I've heard so far....
Backpacker A: "So, Russia is part of the E.U. now, right?
Backpacker B: "Errrr...."
Posh backpacker girl: "Mother simply wouldn't let me bring a larger suitcase!!"
(Cue group of posh travellers glancing at her MASSIVE suitcase)
(At the infamous Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam)
Girl A, at the entrance to a tunnel: "Oh my god, how many people do you think they can fit in there?!"
Boy A (looking puzzled) "Well, I guess it's a tunnel so they come out eventually?"
During a power cut in Siem Reap when the power went out across the whole town for 8 hours.
Me: "It's so hot in here without the air-con on..."
Jane: "Why don't you go and ask reception for a fan?"
Me: ".....An electric fan?.....There's been a power cut...."
Jane:"....Oh yeah...."
Sorry Jane, couldn't resist....
Backpacker B: "Errrr...."
Posh backpacker girl: "Mother simply wouldn't let me bring a larger suitcase!!"
(Cue group of posh travellers glancing at her MASSIVE suitcase)
(At the infamous Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam)
Girl A, at the entrance to a tunnel: "Oh my god, how many people do you think they can fit in there?!"
Boy A (looking puzzled) "Well, I guess it's a tunnel so they come out eventually?"
During a power cut in Siem Reap when the power went out across the whole town for 8 hours.
Me: "It's so hot in here without the air-con on..."
Jane: "Why don't you go and ask reception for a fan?"
Me: ".....An electric fan?.....There's been a power cut...."
Jane:"....Oh yeah...."
Sorry Jane, couldn't resist....
Friday, 6 January 2012
The Coastal road - Da nang to Mui Ne
(Not to make you all envious but ..) I'm writing this entry whilst sat by the swimming pool in the idyllic Coastal town of Mui Ne. This beautiful resort was once just a small fishing village but now the exclusive hotels, bars and restaurants take up the entire bay. Most of the tourists here are not backpackers but Russian families who have clearly been frequenting this resort for some time as all the tourist information / menus and often music is in Russian - very bizarre!
We're staying away from the main tourist strip in Mui Ne Hills (very pricey for what you get but ...) From the pool, which we have had almost entirely to ourselves most days, we have a beautiful sea view. We also overlook some of the local houses and you can see the women preparing meals and children playing below. It has been fantastic to recharge our batteries here and I could easily spend a lot more time relaxing but we move on to Saigon today - our last stop in Vietnam. Plus it's very expensive here so we can't enjoy this luxury any longer :(
Our first stop on the coastal road was Da nang. Most tourists seem to miss out this stop and go straight to the ancient city of Hoi An just 45 minutes down the road but we decided to give it a go and escape the other backpackers for a bit (most of the travellers we have met have not really been our kind of people). We were quite possibly the only tourists in town so we did feel a bit out of place but we really enjoyed wandering round the city and the beach front was lovely and very quiet until the evening when we were entertained by the children playing volleyball and climbing trees for coconuts.
From here we went to Hoi An which is a world heritage site. The weather took a turn for the worse as soon as we arrived and it chucked it down throughout our stay. Nat got so soaked that she had to buy a very fetching illuminous poncho - although it did help keep the sales people away for a change - they really hound you to buy things here, especially if you sit still for too long. We found it too touristy although the town was very sweet.
It was really special to celebrate New Year on the riverfront watching all the lanterns float away as the crowd cheered happy new year. The bars were packed with tourists so it was a nice vibe too.
To escape the rain we headed further down the coast to Nha Trang - a slice of Benidorm in Vietnam although with a much nicer sea front.
We got here on another overnight sleeper bus but unlike the one from Laos there was no one in the aisle. It's still impossible to sleep though and you're always thankful to make it in one piece.
Thankfully Mui Ne was only 5 hours away and its only 5 hours from here to Saigon.
We're really enjoying our time in Vietnam. Throughout our time here the local people have been absolutely lovely and the scenery on the
journey down the coast has been absolutely beautiful. Nowhere more so than on route to Mui Ne as we travelled through lush countryside
and rice paddies followed by sand dunes and the villages nearer Mui Ne. I'm sad that we don't have more time to explore Vietnam further but I hope to come back one day.
We're staying away from the main tourist strip in Mui Ne Hills (very pricey for what you get but ...) From the pool, which we have had almost entirely to ourselves most days, we have a beautiful sea view. We also overlook some of the local houses and you can see the women preparing meals and children playing below. It has been fantastic to recharge our batteries here and I could easily spend a lot more time relaxing but we move on to Saigon today - our last stop in Vietnam. Plus it's very expensive here so we can't enjoy this luxury any longer :(
Our first stop on the coastal road was Da nang. Most tourists seem to miss out this stop and go straight to the ancient city of Hoi An just 45 minutes down the road but we decided to give it a go and escape the other backpackers for a bit (most of the travellers we have met have not really been our kind of people). We were quite possibly the only tourists in town so we did feel a bit out of place but we really enjoyed wandering round the city and the beach front was lovely and very quiet until the evening when we were entertained by the children playing volleyball and climbing trees for coconuts.
From here we went to Hoi An which is a world heritage site. The weather took a turn for the worse as soon as we arrived and it chucked it down throughout our stay. Nat got so soaked that she had to buy a very fetching illuminous poncho - although it did help keep the sales people away for a change - they really hound you to buy things here, especially if you sit still for too long. We found it too touristy although the town was very sweet.
It was really special to celebrate New Year on the riverfront watching all the lanterns float away as the crowd cheered happy new year. The bars were packed with tourists so it was a nice vibe too.
To escape the rain we headed further down the coast to Nha Trang - a slice of Benidorm in Vietnam although with a much nicer sea front.
We got here on another overnight sleeper bus but unlike the one from Laos there was no one in the aisle. It's still impossible to sleep though and you're always thankful to make it in one piece.
Thankfully Mui Ne was only 5 hours away and its only 5 hours from here to Saigon.
We're really enjoying our time in Vietnam. Throughout our time here the local people have been absolutely lovely and the scenery on the
journey down the coast has been absolutely beautiful. Nowhere more so than on route to Mui Ne as we travelled through lush countryside
and rice paddies followed by sand dunes and the villages nearer Mui Ne. I'm sad that we don't have more time to explore Vietnam further but I hope to come back one day.
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Hanoi and Halong Bay
After being on a bus for 24 hours it was quite daunting to arrive in a city with 8 million people. We successfully managed to avoid being run over by a motorbike on the quiet back streets of the old quarter and made it to our hotel, Hanoi Guesthouse.
The warm welcome we received from the staff was heavenly after our "frosty" reception in Laos. I already had the feeling we were going to like Vietnam and its people!
Hanoi is impressive from the outset, there is so much to see and do here! Although you have to have your wits about you if you want to arrive anywhere in one piece as crossing the road is "challenging". I generally followed the locals past the traffic or just closed my eyes and let the motorbikes avoid me. By the third day it was a breeze and I felt like a local!
On the first day we visited the Womens Museum - the fact that a whole museum has been dedicated to the female war effort / child bearing / fashion and their lives in general also made me realise that women are held in much higher regard here than in certain neighbouring countries ; )
It was interesting to read about the women who travel from the countryside to work in Hanoi and make whatever living they can selling fruit and cakes etc. They work from 2am when the markets open until they have sold every last item in the evening. From the moment you arrive in the city you are hounded by these ladies, however it does pull at your heart strings so I got talked into buying some donuts I didn't want which were more expensive than our evening meal (5 dollars), hardly daylight robbery! However they have become wise to an easier way to make a quick buck - Nat got caught offguard when one lady gave her the fruit basket to carry and demanded a photograph in return (in exchange for money) we successful avoided this scam -although it was mildly amusing to watch the others who didnt and ended up being chased down the street for money!
The next day we visited the infamous Ho Chi Minh house on stilts and mausoleum. Pictures of "Uncle Ho" can be seen everywhere in Hanoi but unfortunately his story is not told in any kind of logical order in the museum so we still have a bit of a hazy picture of this section of Vietnamese history. It is clear that his communist ideals have helped to achieve a lot in this country and his aim for Vietnam to become an industrialised country by 2020 is clearly going to be achieved as most of Hanoi and the outskirts of the city is one giant building site. Piles of bricks line every street and even in the space of time we were here we saw new buildings go up in days! Even our guesthouse was joining in on the act as they decided "out of the blue" to rip out the downstairs toilet and replace it - all in one days work! I admere the entrepreneurial spirit of the people here.
During our stay in Hanoi we took a two day cruise to the Halong Bay, which despite the unfortunate cold and cloudly weather was beautiful. The Vietnamese are trying to have the Bay named as the 7th Natural Wonder of the World and it is clear why, however it isn't quite the idyllic picture postcard you would hope for as your boat is followed out into the bay by about 50 other cruise ships. The first stop is at the most "amazing" cave - yep that's what it is called! Some of the charm of the amazing cave is taken away when about 600 other people are all squashed inside. The tour guide didn't help lift this feeling as he pointed out which rock shapes looked like monkey's, feet, two chickens kissing .....I mean really? Can't we just appreciate them for the rocks they are and not reduce it to kindergarten entertainment! (Sorry after the 100 time he pointed out a shape it wore a bit thin and as most of our group was made up of Brits we were all completely cynical and sarcastic which was far more entertaining!) The caves were lovely though.
Following this we were given our very own kayak to go exploring in the caves around the bay - inbetween some very large cruise ships. This is quite an adrenalin rush as you dodge the larger boats who are frantically beeping at you to move out of the way - don't you just love the health and safety precautions here - oh wait we were give a life jacket ; ) In all seriousness Kayaking was great fun. Then it was back on the cruise ship to watch the sun go down - oops missed it, its too cloudy....well to watch the scenery as night falls.
We had a delicious evening meal on board and chatted to some nice Australian girls, who very kindly gave me a cocktail, and a lovely family from London who were away with their 3 sons. Following dinner we were all geared up for the fishing and karaoke but unfortunately the tour guide conveniently disappeared (I think he was sick of us for not joining in the rock shape game). We played cards instead.
Next day we cruised back to the mainland and on to Hanoi again.
We also spent Christmas in the city, unfortunately, as inevidently happens on these trips, I become very poorly with a stomach bug on Christmas Eve and so we missed all the celebrations as I had to stay in bed. About 10% of the population are Catholic so some people do celebrate Christmas and there was a nice atmosphere outside the Cathedral on Christmas Day. We listened to some Vietnamese carols but otherwise it felt like a normal day as the city was just as busy as normal and all the shops were open so we went to the cinema and watched Mission Impossible 4 (surprisingly quite good) and then went for a turkey dinner at a Belgium restaurant ....as its just not the same without turkey!
After having such a great time in Hanoi we decided to head further south to the coast and took a flight (a treat as its 15 hours by train) to Da Nang.
Friday, 30 December 2011
The road to hell....
So, after a generally not great time in Laos (see Jane's previous posts) we decided a sharp exit was in order, on the slowest most tortuous bus ever. As a final thank you, Vientiane granted us our worst and final bus journey out of the country - on a VIP luxury express sleeper...
These VIP sleeper buses have three aisles with a bottom and top bunk. As the buses are made in Vietnam, they are clearly made for people with the same frame as Kate Moss. We turned up at the bus station nice and early to take our seats / beds and the bus was half empty... great!!
Five minutes before we were due to leave the bus was three quarters full... and then a minibus carying 20+ backpackers pulled up.
For the next two hours the mix of Canadian/English/European backpackers debated whether or not they could face 24 hours sleeping in the aisles. In the end, they decided they could...
As seems to be customary, all of the 6 foot Western blokes were lumped together at the back, some in beds and the rest in the aisles - which is were they stayed for the next 24 hours. Oddly, spare beds were kept for the half dozen locals that we picked up on the way.
As soon as we set off, the mandatory Lao kareoke went on full blast - this time with video accompaniment. They seem to be about 4 hours long ànd have the same beat throughout, the emphasis doesn't sêem to be on the quality òf the singing either. This ísn't really very effective in helping you to drift off.
We drove until we reached the border town at around 2am and once there the driver parked up and went into his mates house, leaving everyone else on the bus. He reappeared at 6.30am and we drove to the border.
The Lonely Planet describes Cao Treo as "one of the most challenging crossings into Vietnam" and I cán see why. We were up a mountain in the middle òf nowhere with hundreds òf other people - most òf whom looked at ús like we'd just stepped off a space ship. Fair enough really, given the state of us.....
It took two hours to be stamped out of Laos and stamped into Vietnam and I think the whole thing would be impossible if you were travelling alone. One benefit of the bus then.
For the remainder of the journey we were treated to what seemed like a Chinese version of the Oscars but with the same amount òf "singing". Needless to say we didn't sleep very well, the journey felt more like an endurance exercise. Most of the people on the bus were really nice though, especially the poor girl who slept on the floor next to the toilet all night, so it was quite entertaining in an irritating sort of way....
Once we arived in Hanoi, a random guy got on to our bus to offer us all a mini bús to the city centre for a dollar each. Despite reading about numerous Vietnam scams and to be wary of all things vietnamese, all the backpackers (including us) followed him like sheep.
We were pleasantly sủrprised when (after turning down his hotel) he gave us a map and drew on dỉrections for the place we'd already booked. When we turned up at our gúesthouse, they offered us a 'free upgrade' to their sister hotel. Despite our fears for the worst, we were moved to a much nicer hotel which turned out to be the best we've stayed in so far....
Hanoi is an incredible city, with really friendly people and 7 million môtorbikes. I think somewhere along the way Lonely Planet has got confused and mistaken Vietnam for Laos in all it's descriptions....
These VIP sleeper buses have three aisles with a bottom and top bunk. As the buses are made in Vietnam, they are clearly made for people with the same frame as Kate Moss. We turned up at the bus station nice and early to take our seats / beds and the bus was half empty... great!!
Five minutes before we were due to leave the bus was three quarters full... and then a minibus carying 20+ backpackers pulled up.
For the next two hours the mix of Canadian/English/European backpackers debated whether or not they could face 24 hours sleeping in the aisles. In the end, they decided they could...
As seems to be customary, all of the 6 foot Western blokes were lumped together at the back, some in beds and the rest in the aisles - which is were they stayed for the next 24 hours. Oddly, spare beds were kept for the half dozen locals that we picked up on the way.
As soon as we set off, the mandatory Lao kareoke went on full blast - this time with video accompaniment. They seem to be about 4 hours long ànd have the same beat throughout, the emphasis doesn't sêem to be on the quality òf the singing either. This ísn't really very effective in helping you to drift off.
We drove until we reached the border town at around 2am and once there the driver parked up and went into his mates house, leaving everyone else on the bus. He reappeared at 6.30am and we drove to the border.
The Lonely Planet describes Cao Treo as "one of the most challenging crossings into Vietnam" and I cán see why. We were up a mountain in the middle òf nowhere with hundreds òf other people - most òf whom looked at ús like we'd just stepped off a space ship. Fair enough really, given the state of us.....
It took two hours to be stamped out of Laos and stamped into Vietnam and I think the whole thing would be impossible if you were travelling alone. One benefit of the bus then.
For the remainder of the journey we were treated to what seemed like a Chinese version of the Oscars but with the same amount òf "singing". Needless to say we didn't sleep very well, the journey felt more like an endurance exercise. Most of the people on the bus were really nice though, especially the poor girl who slept on the floor next to the toilet all night, so it was quite entertaining in an irritating sort of way....
Once we arived in Hanoi, a random guy got on to our bus to offer us all a mini bús to the city centre for a dollar each. Despite reading about numerous Vietnam scams and to be wary of all things vietnamese, all the backpackers (including us) followed him like sheep.
We were pleasantly sủrprised when (after turning down his hotel) he gave us a map and drew on dỉrections for the place we'd already booked. When we turned up at our gúesthouse, they offered us a 'free upgrade' to their sister hotel. Despite our fears for the worst, we were moved to a much nicer hotel which turned out to be the best we've stayed in so far....
Hanoi is an incredible city, with really friendly people and 7 million môtorbikes. I think somewhere along the way Lonely Planet has got confused and mistaken Vietnam for Laos in all it's descriptions....
Goodbye laos...Hello Vietnam!!
(Notice that I resisted the urge to say 'good morning Vietnam'). Final thoughts on Laos...
Beer Lao
Ubiquitous in Laos, from tiny villages to the main towns, everywhere you go Beer Lao is present. It seems that they even sponsor companies, restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, you name it....Every restaurant and guesthouse has the same sign with the name of the establishment and the Beer Lao emblem.
To be fair, it's one of the best beers I've tasted and it's the same price as a coke......hence, hard to resist.
Bus journeys
In Laos there are three types of bus:
Local bus
Express bus
VIP bus
General rules of thumb:
If you are a westerner, you will sit at the back.
If there are no seats left, people can sit in the aisles.
If there is no space in the hold, chickens etc can sit in the aisles.
Most of the seats are reserved for goods to be transported between towns.
Local bus = stops every five minutes to pick someone up at the side of the road. Stops for a smoke break for the driver. Stops for food. Stops for no reason. Generally takes roughly two hours more than advertised.
Express bus = as above but costs more.
VIP bus = as above, most expensive but has an on board toilet!! (the toilet is out of order).
Even though most of our bus journeys were hard work, it was a great way to travel and for the most part the locals were really friendly. I was intrigued at one rest stop by the road kill that was for sale; dead birds were draped over the top of a cage that had either live giant rats or voles in (it was hard to distinguish...). I was quite intrigued but needless to say my minimal knowledge of Lao didn't stretch to asking for an explanation. I presumed they were for sale to eat but wondered what happened if you bought one? Do you take it away live on a lead or would they kill it for you... I think one of the Laos guys on the bus read my mind - he pointed at the cage and shrugged, think he was none the wiser too....
Anyway, probably the most memorable bus journey had to be our final one - a 24 hour drive from Vientiane (Laos) to Hanoi, Vietnam..... It seemed like a good idea when we booked it....
Beer Lao
Ubiquitous in Laos, from tiny villages to the main towns, everywhere you go Beer Lao is present. It seems that they even sponsor companies, restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, you name it....Every restaurant and guesthouse has the same sign with the name of the establishment and the Beer Lao emblem.
To be fair, it's one of the best beers I've tasted and it's the same price as a coke......hence, hard to resist.
Bus journeys
In Laos there are three types of bus:
Local bus
Express bus
VIP bus
General rules of thumb:
If you are a westerner, you will sit at the back.
If there are no seats left, people can sit in the aisles.
If there is no space in the hold, chickens etc can sit in the aisles.
Most of the seats are reserved for goods to be transported between towns.
Local bus = stops every five minutes to pick someone up at the side of the road. Stops for a smoke break for the driver. Stops for food. Stops for no reason. Generally takes roughly two hours more than advertised.
Express bus = as above but costs more.
VIP bus = as above, most expensive but has an on board toilet!! (the toilet is out of order).
Even though most of our bus journeys were hard work, it was a great way to travel and for the most part the locals were really friendly. I was intrigued at one rest stop by the road kill that was for sale; dead birds were draped over the top of a cage that had either live giant rats or voles in (it was hard to distinguish...). I was quite intrigued but needless to say my minimal knowledge of Lao didn't stretch to asking for an explanation. I presumed they were for sale to eat but wondered what happened if you bought one? Do you take it away live on a lead or would they kill it for you... I think one of the Laos guys on the bus read my mind - he pointed at the cage and shrugged, think he was none the wiser too....
Anyway, probably the most memorable bus journey had to be our final one - a 24 hour drive from Vientiane (Laos) to Hanoi, Vietnam..... It seemed like a good idea when we booked it....
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Killing time in Vientiane
The plan to get our Vietnamese visas pronto and get the hell out of here has not really materialised as we forgot that it is the weekend so our visas can not be processed until Monday!!
We are leaving for the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi on Tuesday night (as we can get the Vietnamese sleeper bus with proper beds and a toilet rather than the Laos bus which is falling to bits and takes ten times longer - not that anyone told us this we had to do extensive research ourselves).
So we have 3 more days to kill in the most boring capital in the world (sorry). There really isn't a lot for the tourist to do here as, unlike the rest of Laos, it lacks any real beauty. There are a lot of good restaurants however and for the first time on the trip we treated ourselves to some western food by having a delicious steak in a French restaurant - Laos food is really quite bland compared to Thai food so I had exhausted all the other options!
We have a nice balcony in the IHouse Hotel though:
On the bright side the people here are much friendlier and it is great to be in a proper city mixing with the locals: some old guys asked us to play cards with them yesterday and some others danced with us in the street. I feel a bit mean for my rant the other day now as all the women, children and some men have been friendly (most men are still stoney faced though).
We visited the COPE exhibition yesterday.COPE provide prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation for civilians who have been injured by cluster bombs. It is really quite frightening how heavily bombed Laos was by the USA during the Vietnamese war - they dropped at least 280 million bombs on Laos and they believe at least 80 million cluster bombs did not detonate on impact and so remain in the ground today! Children are often the ones who are fatality injured as they find them and play with them or they collect them as scrap in exchange for money. We talked to one 19 year old boy at the centre who had lost both his arms and was blinded on impact. I am pleased to say that the UK has signed the petition to stop the use of such bombs but sadly the US has not and it is the Australian and Japanese governments who provide most of the aid for this centre. We gave a donation and also donated some extra by buying a few books for the children but it seems very little given just how many people are affected.
So it is with mixed feelings that I leave Laos - on the one hand I have been dazzled by just how beautiful it is, on the other I have been a little disappointed. I will always remember the nice moments such as the monks chatting us up at the border (very entertaining as they were only 15),the lovely sandwich lady in Vang Vieng and the public bus journeys where we saw all the road kill being eaten at the side of the road and the locals laughed at use for eating crisps and we at them for eating raw potatoes. Despite sounding quite negative about Laos at times it has been a great experience .
We are leaving for the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi on Tuesday night (as we can get the Vietnamese sleeper bus with proper beds and a toilet rather than the Laos bus which is falling to bits and takes ten times longer - not that anyone told us this we had to do extensive research ourselves).
So we have 3 more days to kill in the most boring capital in the world (sorry). There really isn't a lot for the tourist to do here as, unlike the rest of Laos, it lacks any real beauty. There are a lot of good restaurants however and for the first time on the trip we treated ourselves to some western food by having a delicious steak in a French restaurant - Laos food is really quite bland compared to Thai food so I had exhausted all the other options!
We have a nice balcony in the IHouse Hotel though:
On the bright side the people here are much friendlier and it is great to be in a proper city mixing with the locals: some old guys asked us to play cards with them yesterday and some others danced with us in the street. I feel a bit mean for my rant the other day now as all the women, children and some men have been friendly (most men are still stoney faced though).
We visited the COPE exhibition yesterday.COPE provide prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation for civilians who have been injured by cluster bombs. It is really quite frightening how heavily bombed Laos was by the USA during the Vietnamese war - they dropped at least 280 million bombs on Laos and they believe at least 80 million cluster bombs did not detonate on impact and so remain in the ground today! Children are often the ones who are fatality injured as they find them and play with them or they collect them as scrap in exchange for money. We talked to one 19 year old boy at the centre who had lost both his arms and was blinded on impact. I am pleased to say that the UK has signed the petition to stop the use of such bombs but sadly the US has not and it is the Australian and Japanese governments who provide most of the aid for this centre. We gave a donation and also donated some extra by buying a few books for the children but it seems very little given just how many people are affected.
So it is with mixed feelings that I leave Laos - on the one hand I have been dazzled by just how beautiful it is, on the other I have been a little disappointed. I will always remember the nice moments such as the monks chatting us up at the border (very entertaining as they were only 15),the lovely sandwich lady in Vang Vieng and the public bus journeys where we saw all the road kill being eaten at the side of the road and the locals laughed at use for eating crisps and we at them for eating raw potatoes. Despite sounding quite negative about Laos at times it has been a great experience .
Friday, 16 December 2011
Luang Prabang to Vientiane
After 7 hours on another bumpy bus journey we began to make our descent from the steep mountain roads into Luang Prabang Province. Suddenly the bamboo huts, which we had seen precariously balanced along the roadside for miles, were replaced with lush french villas. The contrast is remarkable and it is evident how much money has been invested here.
Luang Prabang immediately charms you, the pristine streets are lined with French colonial architecture, such a difference from the dusty,poverty stricken villages we had travelled through. It is hard to believe that you are not in a holiday resort somewhere in the South of France.
As we had spent 3 days travelling on local buses and staying in pretty basic guesthouses we decided to treat ourselves to 3 night in the Ock Pop Tok villa, a beautiful hotel along the Mekong river. It was well worth the money (still extremely cheap by our standards) and it was especially nice to be welcomed by the friendly staff with a drink and guided tour of our room - it was designed in tribal village style so everything in the room was made by local people. I was just happy to have a comfy bed at last and I slept like a baby!
View from our room:
Luang Prabang immediately charms you, the pristine streets are lined with French colonial architecture, such a difference from the dusty,poverty stricken villages we had travelled through. It is hard to believe that you are not in a holiday resort somewhere in the South of France.
As we had spent 3 days travelling on local buses and staying in pretty basic guesthouses we decided to treat ourselves to 3 night in the Ock Pop Tok villa, a beautiful hotel along the Mekong river. It was well worth the money (still extremely cheap by our standards) and it was especially nice to be welcomed by the friendly staff with a drink and guided tour of our room - it was designed in tribal village style so everything in the room was made by local people. I was just happy to have a comfy bed at last and I slept like a baby!
View from our room:
We had such a lovely 3 days here, however i'm glad we stayed outside of town as if you didn't you would not see any of local life! Although I really liked the town I have never been somewhere which seems to solely be geared around tourism and in this way it seemed a bit soul-less. For instance if you sit in a restaurant or drink in a bar you never see anyone from Laos as the prices are all over inflated for tourism. I found this really bizarre and walking back each night to our neighbourhood, police lined the streets - not because there was any trouble (it seems the safest place i have ever been to) but I got the impression they are keeping the place in order very tightly and hiding some of the real Laos in some way.
Towards the end of our stay here I began to get a little irriated by the local men, unlike in Thailand where they seem to really respect women, here you get the impression they are laughing at you and talking about you as you walk past. Although they do not really say it to you directly I don't think they think a lot of western women and even a police man made some remark to me! They are quite reserved about it but it makes you very paranoid and I am really sad to say that I have not witnessed much of the infamous Laos hospitality - most people look at us stoney faced (except for the women and the hotel manager -although he was trying to sell me something everyday which really irriated me too) Also you seem to pay over the odds here compared to Thailand, which I can understand they are trying to make money from tourism but it really leaves a bad taste in your mouth eventually - for instance when a tuk tuk driver laughs in your face as he charges you a ridiculous amount. Anyway rant over...
From here we headed on to the infamous party mecca of Vang Vieng. We were tempted to miss this stop out all together but the scenery is supposed to be amazing. As we approached the town I was was glad we had chosen to give it a go as the mountains are incredible! We headed straight down to the river and saw the most incredible sunset I have ever seen (unfortunately I didn't have my camera on me and it was ruined by the Canadian men behind us who were talking about sleeping with prostitutes - perhaps a sign of things to come that evening..!!).
As it goes dark and the bars open the horror of an 18-30's holiday destination unfolds! I have never been so ashamed to be from the west. British, Australian, Canadian, American groups of 20 somethings come here to get absolutely intoxicated tubing all day and then party all night. I don't want to sound like a pensioner but I was horrified by their behaviour. They come back from tubing (which results in at least one fatality a year) absolutely wasted, high, dancing in the streets practically naked and this is all at about 6pm in a very conservative country. We were just tucking into dinner as they arrived back in town and couldn't believe it - one girl,who already had a broken foot from tubing couldn't open her eyes she was so drunk and was thrown in the back of a tuk tuk, another was covered in bandages down his leg - i'm all for a bit of fun but you had to see them to believe how awful they were!!
We went back to the hotel for some sanctuary and found that half of the idiots were staying there. As we sat outside talking to the only other sane people in the place, we witnessed the most disgusting racial abuse on a female member of staff at the hotel - some drunk Australian guy called her every name under the sun and tried to hit her all because she wouldn't let him check in to the room he had checked out of earlier that day (because we'd checked in). The manager stood back and did nothing as she had to listen to the most horrific insults. We felt terrible for her as none of the staff even flinched so we went over and asked if she was ok and if it happened every night. She said that they were staying there for 8 nights so she could not answer back to them as they bring money in and that it did happen often - it was at this point that we decided to make a stand and complain to the manager. We told him we didn't feel safe and there were no rules in this town and that if he couldn't even look after his staff member why would he protect us from that group of lads. Anyway we moved out of the hotel to a quieter one down the road - we had to pay for the priviledge though!
Waking up the next day it was hard to believe the carnage of the night before as the view from our hotel was breathtaking, however the night before and some of the comments from the hotel manager had left a bad taste in our mouth so we decided to see the sights and get the next bus out of there to the capital of Laos, Vientiane.
So that is where we are now as I write this blog. After another horrible bus journey with men looking us up and down and being once again dropped off miles from the town so you have to pay a ridiculous amount for a tuk tuk.
Yesterday we were really disheartened by the behaviour of the other tourists and also sadly by the local people as generally we have not been made to feel welcome here at all. Maybe we have just been unlucky or maybe the behaviour of those tourists in VangVieng are to blame but despite the beauty of Laos I find myself wanting to leave. I appreciate that this is a poor country but I do feel like a walking cash machine at times here too.
We are going to change our route and head to Hanoi in Vietnam on an overnight sleeper train ready for Christmas!
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Laos border crossing - journey to Luang Prabang
We made the 6 hour minibus journey to Chiang Khong in North Eastern Thailand to cross the border into Laos. This was the most pleasant journey to date with a smaller number of bends and the comfort of a luxury minibus, with a stop for lunch at a cashew nut factory and a temple visit thrown in along the way!! - this added at least an hour on to the journey but here everything is done at such a slow pace.
Upon arrival we decided to cross the border straight into Laos as we had a lot of travelling ahead over the next few days and knew we had to be on the bus early the next morning for our next stop.
It was already about 4pm and I envisaged queues of tourists waiting anxiously to cross the border before the gate closed at 6pm (we had seen so many buses on route). When we arrived at the crossing there was just a small hut and two people in the queue - you could barely tell it was a border at all and I doubt anyone would have noticed if i'd just wandered through! There was no signage or explanation of where to go next so we wandered down the track and spotted a tiny boat ready and waiting to get us across to the other side of the river - after hours of being on a hot bus you can enjoy a nice cold shower on the boat as it soaks all the passengers and gives the impression that it could sink any minute as it is weighed down by so much luggage!! (not mine!)
After disembarking at the border- ie: jumping off the end of the boat onto the sand and going to another hut with an equally short queue, paying for the visa - you are into Laos!! We immediately became millionaires as we exchanged our Thai Baht into Kip - it's about 10,000 kip to 1 dollar!!
Having read some terrible reviews we were very pleasantly surprised by the border town of Huay Xia, Laos. Although only made up of a couple of streets, it has beautiful steps up to a temple and some pretty descent guesthouses along the river front. We climbed the steps to the temple at 5ish and got to see the most beautiful sunset, this, coupled with the lovely border staff, made us feel really positive already about our time in Laos. We were also delighted to find that the food was just as yummy here!!
We got up bright and early the next day to begin the two day journey to Luang Prabang. We had two options here: a) take the slow boat with all the other backpackers along the Mekong river which has an overnight stop in a not so pleasant sounding town or b) take the public bus to Omdomxai,stay overnight there and then take a second bus the next day to Luang Prabang. We opted for the supposedly shorter bus route rather than following all the other back packers like sheep, although Omdomxai is a complete dump!!
Whether this was the right decision we will never know but I would warn anyone going to Laos that overland road travel in Laos is hard going so be prepared for some painstakingly slow journeys - especially on public buses! I am not exaggerating when i say that the first bus reached a top speed of 30 miles an hours and a 33okm journey took 7 hours!! Up hill this dropped to 10 miles a hour (which is most of the way). Also be warned that every bus is packed full and I don't just mean with other passengers - they use the rickety old buses for transporting deliveries so we were surrounded by bags of grain, boxes of toiletries, you name it. We had our bags on top of us and a guy picking his feet and peeling oranges all the way!! Infront a girl was being sick into a bag for 5 hours and then tossing them out the window!! This is not a one-off as I have read that chickens are usually brought on the bus too. If a time is quoted then add at least two hours for toilet stops, lunch breaks where they tucked into some delicious looking grub, random breaks when everyone piles off the bus buys a bag of potatoes and then gets back on again then eats the lot raw. There is never a dull moment I can assure you but be patient. Fortunately the first journey was on a road with tarmac (for most of the way) however the second day was on very steep mountain dirt track roads with no barriers and some steep drops. That said the drivers do go very slowly and the scenery is stunning!!
Inside the bus is not so comfortable:
Roadkill for lunch anyone?
Upon arrival we decided to cross the border straight into Laos as we had a lot of travelling ahead over the next few days and knew we had to be on the bus early the next morning for our next stop.
It was already about 4pm and I envisaged queues of tourists waiting anxiously to cross the border before the gate closed at 6pm (we had seen so many buses on route). When we arrived at the crossing there was just a small hut and two people in the queue - you could barely tell it was a border at all and I doubt anyone would have noticed if i'd just wandered through! There was no signage or explanation of where to go next so we wandered down the track and spotted a tiny boat ready and waiting to get us across to the other side of the river - after hours of being on a hot bus you can enjoy a nice cold shower on the boat as it soaks all the passengers and gives the impression that it could sink any minute as it is weighed down by so much luggage!! (not mine!)
After disembarking at the border- ie: jumping off the end of the boat onto the sand and going to another hut with an equally short queue, paying for the visa - you are into Laos!! We immediately became millionaires as we exchanged our Thai Baht into Kip - it's about 10,000 kip to 1 dollar!!
Having read some terrible reviews we were very pleasantly surprised by the border town of Huay Xia, Laos. Although only made up of a couple of streets, it has beautiful steps up to a temple and some pretty descent guesthouses along the river front. We climbed the steps to the temple at 5ish and got to see the most beautiful sunset, this, coupled with the lovely border staff, made us feel really positive already about our time in Laos. We were also delighted to find that the food was just as yummy here!!
We got up bright and early the next day to begin the two day journey to Luang Prabang. We had two options here: a) take the slow boat with all the other backpackers along the Mekong river which has an overnight stop in a not so pleasant sounding town or b) take the public bus to Omdomxai,stay overnight there and then take a second bus the next day to Luang Prabang. We opted for the supposedly shorter bus route rather than following all the other back packers like sheep, although Omdomxai is a complete dump!!
Whether this was the right decision we will never know but I would warn anyone going to Laos that overland road travel in Laos is hard going so be prepared for some painstakingly slow journeys - especially on public buses! I am not exaggerating when i say that the first bus reached a top speed of 30 miles an hours and a 33okm journey took 7 hours!! Up hill this dropped to 10 miles a hour (which is most of the way). Also be warned that every bus is packed full and I don't just mean with other passengers - they use the rickety old buses for transporting deliveries so we were surrounded by bags of grain, boxes of toiletries, you name it. We had our bags on top of us and a guy picking his feet and peeling oranges all the way!! Infront a girl was being sick into a bag for 5 hours and then tossing them out the window!! This is not a one-off as I have read that chickens are usually brought on the bus too. If a time is quoted then add at least two hours for toilet stops, lunch breaks where they tucked into some delicious looking grub, random breaks when everyone piles off the bus buys a bag of potatoes and then gets back on again then eats the lot raw. There is never a dull moment I can assure you but be patient. Fortunately the first journey was on a road with tarmac (for most of the way) however the second day was on very steep mountain dirt track roads with no barriers and some steep drops. That said the drivers do go very slowly and the scenery is stunning!!
Inside the bus is not so comfortable:
Roadkill for lunch anyone?
Anyway, although a little frustrated at times by the speed, we were glad we took this route as travelling through the mountains you see the highlands with all the hillside tribes - something I expect you miss out on on the boat. It is by doing this route that you realise why Laos is one of the poorest countries in the world - which arriving in Luang Prabang you would never believe!!
Friday, 9 December 2011
Pai
We took the 3 hour minibus journey through the mountains of Northern Thailand from Chiang Mai to the hippy mecca of Pai. Most of the passengers were nauseous throughout as it has so many bends (don't quote me on this but i believe there are about 1,800) !!
As we hit the home straight and finally came off the mountains we saw Pai in the distance and the scenery immediately made the journey worthwhile - this is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. The village is surrounded by absolutely stunning mountains and countryside and the village itself is charming!
Reading about Pai beforehand we realised that it attracted a lot of hippies and you can immediately see why many arrive in Pai for a short holiday and end up staying indefinitely. We got the impression that it is the kind of place where anything goes and you could happily spend all day doing absolutely nothing except staring at the scenery - so we did just that for most of our stay.
The scenery is a welcome distraction and I was lucky enough to sit on the back seat next to a Switz couple who were really lovely to chat to and practise my German on...Nat got the short straw as she was sat on the front seat sandwiched between the driver and a girl from Hong Kong and I think she witnessed the worst of the drivers manouvers! Having said this considering the number of bends overall the journey was fine.
As we hit the home straight and finally came off the mountains we saw Pai in the distance and the scenery immediately made the journey worthwhile - this is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. The village is surrounded by absolutely stunning mountains and countryside and the village itself is charming!
Reading about Pai beforehand we realised that it attracted a lot of hippies and you can immediately see why many arrive in Pai for a short holiday and end up staying indefinitely. We got the impression that it is the kind of place where anything goes and you could happily spend all day doing absolutely nothing except staring at the scenery - so we did just that for most of our stay.
We were staying in Baan Pai Village along the riverside in a very authentic hut. The guesthouse was surrounded by beds and water features and it was so relaxing that we just went for walks along the riverside, read our books and relaxed. I think it is at this point that we really relaxed into travelling and started to really really enjoy ourselves.
Our hut by the river:
On one of the days we signed up for a Thai Cookery Course which started at 9:30am with a trip to the local market to source ingredients , followed by a lesson in how to cook at least 6 Thai courses.
This was probably the best day of our trip so far as we were learning alongside three Italian men who made the whole experience very entertaining. Our teacher was brilliant too. After finishing each course you sit down and tuck in so by the end of the day we were absolutely stuffed! It was delicious though.
This was probably the best day of our trip so far as we were learning alongside three Italian men who made the whole experience very entertaining. Our teacher was brilliant too. After finishing each course you sit down and tuck in so by the end of the day we were absolutely stuffed! It was delicious though.
Evidence of the skills we learnt:
The only thing we didn't enjoy about Pai was the mosquitos - which are everywhere because of the river. Despite drowning ourselves in deet, having a mosquito net in the room and avoiding sitting by the riverside at night we still got bitten to death - although not until the final evening when we sat in a restaurant with water features listening to live music. ..... we didn't think much of it at the time but Nat came away with around 24 bites and I was the lucky one with just 8 (this was increased the next day when i stood in a fire ant farm and got 6 bites off them - i have to say that being bitten by these ant feels a lot like being mildy electrocuted like on the day in Chiang Mai ;) - it was dark what can i say)
Sadly we left Pai after three days and got the lovely bus journey back to Chiang Mai. It was a lot smoother this time although one girl was sick all the way.
We stayed just one night in Chiang Mai and went over to the wealthy student area of Nimmenheim Rd for drinks in the evening which was full of trendies and really cool (sam your vintage stuff would do so well here, it's all the rage!)
From Chiang Mai we took the five hour bus journey to Chiang Khong which once again was such a beautiful route and thankfully not as bendy!! From here we bid farewell to the land of smiles and crossed the border into Laos!
Sadly we left Pai after three days and got the lovely bus journey back to Chiang Mai. It was a lot smoother this time although one girl was sick all the way.
We stayed just one night in Chiang Mai and went over to the wealthy student area of Nimmenheim Rd for drinks in the evening which was full of trendies and really cool (sam your vintage stuff would do so well here, it's all the rage!)
From Chiang Mai we took the five hour bus journey to Chiang Khong which once again was such a beautiful route and thankfully not as bendy!! From here we bid farewell to the land of smiles and crossed the border into Laos!
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