After the border crossing Rooney and I were on a very comfortable bus heading into Cambodia. It had many empty seats along with a TV playing Micheal Jackson music videos. About 20 minutes or so into the country it was time for us to part ways and I had to get out. Everyone who was traveling to Siem Reap or Phenom Penh had to leave get off the bus. Unfortunately instead of another big bus like we were promised a small van pulled up. To make matters a little worse their was 17 people (the van is supposed to hold 11 or 12). Since we were in the middle of nowhere we did not really have a choice. So they loaded everyone in and I sat on the edge of one seat and some of the outside seat belt buckles.
We were told that it was only going to be an hour or so in the van but I had my doubts. As we started driving away in this van with no ac all i could think about is how Rooney was sitting in the AC big bus comfortably watching TV. It took at little over two hours before the van stopped to let 5 people out. This new space helped out the cause but we still had to travel in the van.
Around 9 pm we stopped again to get some dinner at a local restaurant. We had to wait around an hour and a half for a new bus to take us up to Seim Reap. Fortunately this one was once again an big bus. The bus finally pulled into the station at around 1:30. I tried to get to a cheap guest house but this tuk tuk driver had other plans. He drove me around for an hour taking me to his friends full or expensive guest houses. Finally I told him I had enough and just take me to a cafe or something. This was because it was 2:30 and I was planning on getting up at five to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. I think he felt bad and ended up taking me to his brothers guest house were i could just stay up and use the Internet for free. There was a couple people up hanging out but they soon went to bed.
Finally it was 5 am and it was time to go. The night before I had arranged a tuk tuk driver to take me around for the day. He came and picked me up and it was off to Angkor Wat. The sunrise was really sweet and I ended up walking around the temple instead of just watching it like a couple hundred people were doing. This turned out to be a huge move because everyone was sitting watching the sunrise and the temple was pretty much empty. By the time the masses were done with breakfast and entering the temple I had seen everything I wanted to see.
Next it was off to a Wat Thom. This had a bunch of temples inside it that were really cool to see. One had giant stone faces on all over that were still intact. Luckily once again there was not many people around and it felt like I was the only one. After a couple of hours of walking around Wat Thom it was time to keep moving. The rest of the morning I stopped at a couple of other temples including the one featured in a Indiana Jones movie. It was really neat and had a ton of trees growing in and on the temples. The trees had destroyed portions of the temple but it made it really unique and cool to look at.
Right around noon the crowds really started to pick up and the heat was in full force. Since I had been looking at temples nonstop for about 7 hours I called it a day. I booked a room in a guest house and after a water it was time for so much needed sleep (I had been up sense 7 am the previous day). I woke up only to grab a bite to eat and then it was back to bed for good.
The next morning was pretty uneventful and I got on a bus around noon to head to the capital and meet up with Rooney. After a 7 or 8 hour bus ride that was supposed to take 5 I arrived in Phenom Penh.
-WBM
Monday, November 30, 2009
Cambodia....ugh
We woke early and caught our boat taxi to the mainland where we met our motorbike taxis that took us to the bank. For some reason my card wouldn't work but thankfully Will was a nice enough cousin to let me borrow a large sum of money from him so that I didn't have to stay behind and go all the way back to Pakse. Border crossing days are always a total pain and you feel like you are spending lots of money on a whole lot of nothing. The Laos-Cambodia border crossing was no exception especially since we were crossing at an unofficial crossing which means the officers there can charge you random fees and there is nothing you can do about it. For example we got slapped with some random "stamping fee" before even leaving Laos. Then as we crossed into Cambodia we were stopped at a small tent that had a big sign reading "quarantine" where we had our temperatures taken and then had to pay yet another fee. The last random fee came as we purchased our visas which are supposed to be 20 USD. However, we got hit with the "Monday Fee" meaning we had to pay an extra 3 USD because it was a Monday (are you shitting me?) Sounded a bit ridiculous to us and all the others but there isn't much you can do about it.
At this point Will and I headed in separate directions because Will was off to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat (I had seen this last year on my trip with Ned so I opted to do something different) while I headed to Ban Lung in Northeastern Cambodia. So this blog will be about my adventures getting to and from Ban Lung and Will will give you some info about his trip as well.
Things got off to a bad start right away for me in Cambodia. While waiting for my bus out to Ban Lung I got scammed into buying an overpriced return ticket (as I found out later) from BL to Phnom Penh (where Will and I would be meeting back up in a few days). I was told that there were no direct buses from BL to PP in one day and that I would have to spend a night in another city between the two. This was semi believable considering BL is out in the middle of nowhere. The guy (who I had been playing cards with for the past hour) told me that he could help me out and could arrange for me to make the journey all in one day. I went against my better judgement and bought the ticket from him right then and there and also booked a night at his friends guesthouse in BL because I would be arriving late and didn't want to wander looking for a place to stay.
The bus ride was only about 5 hours long but it was by far the worst I have had on this trip so far. The bus pulled up and I instantly knew it was going to be anything but a comfortable ride. The best way to describe the bus is simply by saying it was a "very,very local bus." Not only were all the seats full but the isle was also full of people sitting on the floor. To make the trip even worse after 10 minutes of driving the pavement ended and the rest of the way was extremely bumpy and dusty roads. The dust was so thick in the air of the bus that I had to tie a t-shirt around my face just to breath. After about 20 minutes my entire body was also covered in a thick layer of the red dust. Needless to say after the 5 hours I was more than ready to get out of the bus and was extremely happy with my decision to book a place to stay ahead of time. I was met by a guy with a "Mr. Rooney" sign and he took me right to the guest house which was very nice (one of the old Governors houses). That night I didn't do a much - just got some dinner and chatted with some other travelers staying there then called it a night.
I woke up the next morning and had a plan. I went to BL because it is known for its beautiful waterfalls and an impressive crater lake. I decided not to take a guided tour but to rent a motorbike instead and do it myself (which the Lonely Planet specifically warns not to do because they said it was very easy to get lost and see nothing). But I went for it anyways because it was about half the price and it is always more fun to do things like this on your own. I rented a motorbike from some guy rather than from a company because he was at my guesthouse and it was cheaper (but the bike was a piece). I got a basic map that had the sights I wanted to see on it and headed off towards the first waterfall. Naturally I ended up getting extremely lost because the map was awful. So for about an hour or so I road around trying to find this waterfall and kept stopping to ask people where it was but this was a joke because no one speaks English and I speak zero Khmer. To make things even more difficult all the roads were thick gravel which made driving very slow. At one point I was coming down a big hill and tried to stop to ask some guy where I was and as I did so the bike totally went out from under me and I went flying down the gravel hill for a good distance before coming to a stop (Mom I was totally okay and was wearing my helmet like a good boy). The bike received some damage but nothing too bad considering it was already fairly beat up.
After this tough start the rest of the afternoon went fairly well. I ended up getting my directions figured out and made it to all 3 major waterfalls and the crater lake. I spent the late afternoon swimming at the lake and just relaxing there. I headed back to my guesthouse around 5 because that is when I needed to have the motorbike back by. Of course as soon as I pulled up the guy noticed that I had crashed his bike. He was very nice about it and didn't make me pay hardly anything for the damage. What he did request however was that I take him out for a drink that night at a bar as payment because he wanted a chance to practice his English. I thought this sounded like a great idea and was happy to do this as a "sorry for messing up your bike" rather than having to pay an arm and a leg to have it fixed (as most places make you do). So later that night he returned and picked me up and we headed into town (which is not much of a town at all) for a drink. What I didn't realize when I agreed to this deal was that the idea of a bar in this town is nothing like the my idea of what a bar is. The first place we pulled up to was dark and had florescent lights blaring and also had about 15 skimpily dressed girls standing outside. I immediately asked him if we could find another place where we could just hang out and have a drink and he agreed and we were off to the next place. Our second stop was almost identical to the first except there were about twice as many girls awaiting our arrival. Again I tried explaining my idea of a bar to him and he seemed to get it this time. When we arrived at our third stop I realized that all the bars in this town were the same and that they all came with a large flock of "working women" as I will call them. Feeling obligated to come through on our agreement (after all I did crash his motorbike and this was the payment) I said the place looked fine and agreed to go in with him. As it turned out there was no bar at this place at all but instead it was made up of individual rooms with big couches and karaoke systems. We were escorted into such a room and about 15 girls followed us in. I was so embarrassed and awkward I could hardly look up at them as he selected which ones he wanted to stay and join us for the evening. Once he had made his selection the others left and the karaoke began. After about 10 minutes the girl who was seated next to me got the point that I wasn't interested in the whole situation so she left (not too happy). So for the next hour and fifty minutes I sat there with this guy and his girl listening to really loud and bad Cambodian karaoke songs. Let's just say that when our time was up I practically ran out of the place (but of course I had to pay and the total was a bit more than the drink I was expected to buy this guy). A bit scarred I returned to my guesthouse and went to sleep very ready to leave BL the next morning on my early bus to PP.
But the adventures continued the next morning. As I was leaving the guesthouse I discovered that ONE of my sandals had been taken (you have to leave your shoes and sandals at the entrance) so I was left with only my left sandal. Pissed, I found a right sandal that fit me and took that and then headed for my bus. This is where the real fun began. When I handed them my ticket (which remember I had payed almost twice the actual price for) they told me that it was not a real ticket rendering it useless. This was the straw that broke the camels back and I started to get a bit heated with the bus guy which is something I never do. After many phone calls and me refusing to believe that the bus was full as they were saying it was I finally was able to convince them to let me on and to give me an actual ticket free of charge. Stressed but relieved I took my seat on the bus and spent the next 12 hours calming down in the hot, dusty, cramped, and uncomfortable local bus that brought me all the way to Phnom Penh. As I said..not the best start to Cambodia.
-RBC
At this point Will and I headed in separate directions because Will was off to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat (I had seen this last year on my trip with Ned so I opted to do something different) while I headed to Ban Lung in Northeastern Cambodia. So this blog will be about my adventures getting to and from Ban Lung and Will will give you some info about his trip as well.
Things got off to a bad start right away for me in Cambodia. While waiting for my bus out to Ban Lung I got scammed into buying an overpriced return ticket (as I found out later) from BL to Phnom Penh (where Will and I would be meeting back up in a few days). I was told that there were no direct buses from BL to PP in one day and that I would have to spend a night in another city between the two. This was semi believable considering BL is out in the middle of nowhere. The guy (who I had been playing cards with for the past hour) told me that he could help me out and could arrange for me to make the journey all in one day. I went against my better judgement and bought the ticket from him right then and there and also booked a night at his friends guesthouse in BL because I would be arriving late and didn't want to wander looking for a place to stay.
The bus ride was only about 5 hours long but it was by far the worst I have had on this trip so far. The bus pulled up and I instantly knew it was going to be anything but a comfortable ride. The best way to describe the bus is simply by saying it was a "very,very local bus." Not only were all the seats full but the isle was also full of people sitting on the floor. To make the trip even worse after 10 minutes of driving the pavement ended and the rest of the way was extremely bumpy and dusty roads. The dust was so thick in the air of the bus that I had to tie a t-shirt around my face just to breath. After about 20 minutes my entire body was also covered in a thick layer of the red dust. Needless to say after the 5 hours I was more than ready to get out of the bus and was extremely happy with my decision to book a place to stay ahead of time. I was met by a guy with a "Mr. Rooney" sign and he took me right to the guest house which was very nice (one of the old Governors houses). That night I didn't do a much - just got some dinner and chatted with some other travelers staying there then called it a night.
I woke up the next morning and had a plan. I went to BL because it is known for its beautiful waterfalls and an impressive crater lake. I decided not to take a guided tour but to rent a motorbike instead and do it myself (which the Lonely Planet specifically warns not to do because they said it was very easy to get lost and see nothing). But I went for it anyways because it was about half the price and it is always more fun to do things like this on your own. I rented a motorbike from some guy rather than from a company because he was at my guesthouse and it was cheaper (but the bike was a piece). I got a basic map that had the sights I wanted to see on it and headed off towards the first waterfall. Naturally I ended up getting extremely lost because the map was awful. So for about an hour or so I road around trying to find this waterfall and kept stopping to ask people where it was but this was a joke because no one speaks English and I speak zero Khmer. To make things even more difficult all the roads were thick gravel which made driving very slow. At one point I was coming down a big hill and tried to stop to ask some guy where I was and as I did so the bike totally went out from under me and I went flying down the gravel hill for a good distance before coming to a stop (Mom I was totally okay and was wearing my helmet like a good boy). The bike received some damage but nothing too bad considering it was already fairly beat up.
After this tough start the rest of the afternoon went fairly well. I ended up getting my directions figured out and made it to all 3 major waterfalls and the crater lake. I spent the late afternoon swimming at the lake and just relaxing there. I headed back to my guesthouse around 5 because that is when I needed to have the motorbike back by. Of course as soon as I pulled up the guy noticed that I had crashed his bike. He was very nice about it and didn't make me pay hardly anything for the damage. What he did request however was that I take him out for a drink that night at a bar as payment because he wanted a chance to practice his English. I thought this sounded like a great idea and was happy to do this as a "sorry for messing up your bike" rather than having to pay an arm and a leg to have it fixed (as most places make you do). So later that night he returned and picked me up and we headed into town (which is not much of a town at all) for a drink. What I didn't realize when I agreed to this deal was that the idea of a bar in this town is nothing like the my idea of what a bar is. The first place we pulled up to was dark and had florescent lights blaring and also had about 15 skimpily dressed girls standing outside. I immediately asked him if we could find another place where we could just hang out and have a drink and he agreed and we were off to the next place. Our second stop was almost identical to the first except there were about twice as many girls awaiting our arrival. Again I tried explaining my idea of a bar to him and he seemed to get it this time. When we arrived at our third stop I realized that all the bars in this town were the same and that they all came with a large flock of "working women" as I will call them. Feeling obligated to come through on our agreement (after all I did crash his motorbike and this was the payment) I said the place looked fine and agreed to go in with him. As it turned out there was no bar at this place at all but instead it was made up of individual rooms with big couches and karaoke systems. We were escorted into such a room and about 15 girls followed us in. I was so embarrassed and awkward I could hardly look up at them as he selected which ones he wanted to stay and join us for the evening. Once he had made his selection the others left and the karaoke began. After about 10 minutes the girl who was seated next to me got the point that I wasn't interested in the whole situation so she left (not too happy). So for the next hour and fifty minutes I sat there with this guy and his girl listening to really loud and bad Cambodian karaoke songs. Let's just say that when our time was up I practically ran out of the place (but of course I had to pay and the total was a bit more than the drink I was expected to buy this guy). A bit scarred I returned to my guesthouse and went to sleep very ready to leave BL the next morning on my early bus to PP.
But the adventures continued the next morning. As I was leaving the guesthouse I discovered that ONE of my sandals had been taken (you have to leave your shoes and sandals at the entrance) so I was left with only my left sandal. Pissed, I found a right sandal that fit me and took that and then headed for my bus. This is where the real fun began. When I handed them my ticket (which remember I had payed almost twice the actual price for) they told me that it was not a real ticket rendering it useless. This was the straw that broke the camels back and I started to get a bit heated with the bus guy which is something I never do. After many phone calls and me refusing to believe that the bus was full as they were saying it was I finally was able to convince them to let me on and to give me an actual ticket free of charge. Stressed but relieved I took my seat on the bus and spent the next 12 hours calming down in the hot, dusty, cramped, and uncomfortable local bus that brought me all the way to Phnom Penh. As I said..not the best start to Cambodia.
-RBC
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Last day in Laos
Our boat left at 7 AM and it took just over an hour to get to Don Det. We had an agenda when we arrived and first thing was to figure out our transportation to Cambodia for the following day. While investigating this we both realized that we had close to no money left in our wallets and it was then that we remembered reading that there are no ATMs in the area. The closest one is back in Pakse which is a 4 hour bus ride away in the opposite direction from where we want to go. Clearly we did not think this one through before making the rushed decision to not stay (or at least use the ATM) in Pakse. So now we were in a bit of a jam. We had enough money to pay for our housing that night and to eat 2 more meals but that was it. We went to one of the travel places and began trying to figure out what our best option was and after 30 mins it seemed like there was no good option. The last thing we wanted to do was pay a bunch of money (that we didn't have) to backtrack to Pakse simply for an ATM. After more conversation with some other locals we discovered that there was a bank on the mainland only 15 minutes north of where we were. However it was Sunday meaning the bank was closed. The bus to Cambodia was to leave at 9 AM the next morning and we were able to convince the travel man to take us early to go to the bank so we could try and get money to pay for the ticket. He agreed and bumped the price of our ticket up a bit but nothing compared to the cost of having to go all the way back to Pakse.
With that speed bump temporarily taken care of we decided to seize the day. Again we rented bikes and set out to explore the island. Don Det is much smaller that Don Khong and it also is connected to another island (Don Kong) by an old railway bridge so there was a lot for us to check out. The roads however are not roads at all but rather dirt paths that are extremely rocky and bumpy which made the going slow and our butts even more sore than they already were from the previous day of biking. On our way to our first destination (Southeast Asia's largest waterfall..by volume) I hit a rock and my front tire went flat. Major bummer but I was able to walk to a place that could fix it using some crazy fire patch technique I had never seen before. After that we were back on our way and the rest of the afternoon went fairly smoothly. After seeing the waterfall we tried circumnavigate Don Kong but ended up getting lost and very confused because we were without a map. It worked out though and we got to see some old French port which overlooked Cambodia and also met up with another lost and confused biker, Joe from England. Together we were able to find our way back but in total we had been on our bikes for over 5 hours so when we finally got back we were spent and very sore (there has been limited physical activity up to this point during our trip). The rest of the night was standard - food and drinks over the river then off to bed.
-RBC
With that speed bump temporarily taken care of we decided to seize the day. Again we rented bikes and set out to explore the island. Don Det is much smaller that Don Khong and it also is connected to another island (Don Kong) by an old railway bridge so there was a lot for us to check out. The roads however are not roads at all but rather dirt paths that are extremely rocky and bumpy which made the going slow and our butts even more sore than they already were from the previous day of biking. On our way to our first destination (Southeast Asia's largest waterfall..by volume) I hit a rock and my front tire went flat. Major bummer but I was able to walk to a place that could fix it using some crazy fire patch technique I had never seen before. After that we were back on our way and the rest of the afternoon went fairly smoothly. After seeing the waterfall we tried circumnavigate Don Kong but ended up getting lost and very confused because we were without a map. It worked out though and we got to see some old French port which overlooked Cambodia and also met up with another lost and confused biker, Joe from England. Together we were able to find our way back but in total we had been on our bikes for over 5 hours so when we finally got back we were spent and very sore (there has been limited physical activity up to this point during our trip). The rest of the night was standard - food and drinks over the river then off to bed.
-RBC
4000 Islands
So our original plan was to go from Vientiane to Pakse and spend a day or two there as Will mentioned. We got the overnight bus which actually was a sleeper bus where we had our own beds! This sounds great at first but then picture Will and me sharing a bunk that is designed to fit the small body frames of Asian people for 12 hours. Not so comfortable. The beds were about a foot too short and we were practically laying on top of each other. Despite the fact that we got no sleep I think I would take that set up over the regular bus seat any day. When we arrived in Pakse we decided we didn't want to stay after all. I'm not sure how/why/when this decision was made but as soon as we stepped off the bus we walked to the counter and bought another ticket to continue our journey to the 4,000 Islands (another 4 hours south). When we finally arrived there we were tired and hungry so we quickly found a guest house on the island of Don Khong (the largest of all the islands) and rested briefly. Our next move was to rent bicycles and tour around the island for the afternoon. We were originally planning on going around the entire island but after about 7 minutes of peddling on uncomfortable bikes in the afternoon heat we decided the short loop would be more than enough. It still took us just over an hour and despite the heat and our sore butts it was a very scenic bike ride. When we returned to our guest house we had little motivation to do anything so we decided to do nothing. We went to a restaurant overlooking the river and ate/read/played backgammon for a few hours. We attempted to go for another hour bike ride after our relaxation session to see the sunset but only made it about 20 minutes before returning to the comfort of our guesthouse. The rest of the night was very uneventful...more food, more reading, more games then off to bed. Oh we did book a ferry boat (when I say ferry I mean little wooden canoe with a engine that looks like it could sink at any moment) to Don Det which is another island a bit farther south of our current location.
-RBC
-RBC
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
From Loung Probang to Vientiane
After returning to Loung Probang we decided it was time to make our way south and check out the tubing scene at Vang Vieng. We ran into the wolf pack and they were headed in the same direction so we booked seats on the van they already hired.
The next morning we grabbed some sandwiches for the road and for breakfast. The van was supposed to pick us up at our friends guest house around eight thirty. Due to a series of delays including a van switch we ended not getting on the road in till 11 or so. The van we thought we were going to be in mysteriously got switched to a much more uncomfortable one which was a bit of a let down. However the ride was saved by the scenery along the way. The road was a series of switchbacks that took us through a couple mountain passes. We asked the driver if we could stop in to take a picture of a series of mountains that looked more like stalagmites then mountains but he quickly said no.
On arrival we got dropped off at a cheep guest house that was a couple blocks from the river. The group decided to keep looking and ended up hitting the jackpot (well sort of). We found a two rooms that each fit four people that had a private balcony overlooking the river and the mountains (private because the other two rooms were not being used).
In the morning we went to get some breakfast and search for the famous (or so we thought) family guy bar. Turns out 90 percent of the bars/restaurants our either family guy or friends bars. So we found the closest one and ate some breakfast. Seeing that there was probably not a whole lot going on other then the tubing scene up the river Rooney and I booked our bus ticket for Vientiane for the next afternoon. It had been raining all morning and was still kind of gray out be we were able to rally the troops to go and check out what was going on up the river.
We got there around 3 and much to our surprise the party was in full swing. People were having small dance parties on the docks of these bars and were covered in paint. It almost looked like little full moon parties on all the docks. There was also zip lines at a couple of the bars. It was very entertaining watching people hold on to long and consequently get launched into the water. After some careful consideration we decided not to rent tubes to float down the river and instead just walk from bar to bar and if need be swim across. This was due to the price of the tube along with the deposit you had to lay down (I guess tubes get lost and stolen on all the time).
At the second bar we stopped at featured one of the zip lines. Watching people struggle with the idea of letting go seemed to be even funnier up close. However after we were there for a little while it seemed appropriate to show people how to properly use a zip line (for there own safety of course). So once again Rooney and I sacrificed our time in order to help out our fellow party goers and climbed up the tower. We of course let go at the proper time and had to of looked much more graceful and in control then the hooligans we had watched earlier. When the zip lining lesson was over and everyone new how it should be done safely and responsibly we moved on down the river.
Our next stop had a mud volleyball court that was heavily aided by the rain from the morning. So naturally we decided to get a little game of three on three going. However it turned out that walking was going to be the biggest issue. The court was flooded and had hidden holes all over that seemed to be about 2 feet deep. After a couple of minuets of failed rally attempts the frustration was taken out by everyone getting tackled into the mud. Afterwords we went for a swim in the river to wash off. We dried off and hung around for a little bit it in till it was dark and time to head back to town. The rest of the night was a more low key compared to the zip lining and after hanging out with the wolf pack we went to sleep.
The next morning everyone woke up a little soar not to surprisingly. Members of the group woke up with shoulders that ached. We decided that it had to be from getting tackled in the mud and had nothing to due with our zip lining technique. Later that day it was off to Vientiane.
Still a little tired from the day before we had an early night. The next couple days were taken up by doing a bunch of site seeing around the city. The highlight was the Buddha park about 25 kilometers outside the city. It was a collection of Buddhist, Hindu, and other religious sculptures from around the area. Walking around the different statues and sculpture was really fun and it felt oddly familiar for some reason. Later we realized the reason it seemed so familiar was the reason all the sculptures were in the park in the first place. It had to have been an ancient winterlude stone carving contest. This was obviously the reason all these carvings were in the same place and with that mystery solved we ate some lunch by the river.
Our nights were filled with just eating and hanging out at local food stands by the river. After a couple days we booked our ticket south to Pakse.
-WBM
The next morning we grabbed some sandwiches for the road and for breakfast. The van was supposed to pick us up at our friends guest house around eight thirty. Due to a series of delays including a van switch we ended not getting on the road in till 11 or so. The van we thought we were going to be in mysteriously got switched to a much more uncomfortable one which was a bit of a let down. However the ride was saved by the scenery along the way. The road was a series of switchbacks that took us through a couple mountain passes. We asked the driver if we could stop in to take a picture of a series of mountains that looked more like stalagmites then mountains but he quickly said no.
On arrival we got dropped off at a cheep guest house that was a couple blocks from the river. The group decided to keep looking and ended up hitting the jackpot (well sort of). We found a two rooms that each fit four people that had a private balcony overlooking the river and the mountains (private because the other two rooms were not being used).
In the morning we went to get some breakfast and search for the famous (or so we thought) family guy bar. Turns out 90 percent of the bars/restaurants our either family guy or friends bars. So we found the closest one and ate some breakfast. Seeing that there was probably not a whole lot going on other then the tubing scene up the river Rooney and I booked our bus ticket for Vientiane for the next afternoon. It had been raining all morning and was still kind of gray out be we were able to rally the troops to go and check out what was going on up the river.
We got there around 3 and much to our surprise the party was in full swing. People were having small dance parties on the docks of these bars and were covered in paint. It almost looked like little full moon parties on all the docks. There was also zip lines at a couple of the bars. It was very entertaining watching people hold on to long and consequently get launched into the water. After some careful consideration we decided not to rent tubes to float down the river and instead just walk from bar to bar and if need be swim across. This was due to the price of the tube along with the deposit you had to lay down (I guess tubes get lost and stolen on all the time).
At the second bar we stopped at featured one of the zip lines. Watching people struggle with the idea of letting go seemed to be even funnier up close. However after we were there for a little while it seemed appropriate to show people how to properly use a zip line (for there own safety of course). So once again Rooney and I sacrificed our time in order to help out our fellow party goers and climbed up the tower. We of course let go at the proper time and had to of looked much more graceful and in control then the hooligans we had watched earlier. When the zip lining lesson was over and everyone new how it should be done safely and responsibly we moved on down the river.
Our next stop had a mud volleyball court that was heavily aided by the rain from the morning. So naturally we decided to get a little game of three on three going. However it turned out that walking was going to be the biggest issue. The court was flooded and had hidden holes all over that seemed to be about 2 feet deep. After a couple of minuets of failed rally attempts the frustration was taken out by everyone getting tackled into the mud. Afterwords we went for a swim in the river to wash off. We dried off and hung around for a little bit it in till it was dark and time to head back to town. The rest of the night was a more low key compared to the zip lining and after hanging out with the wolf pack we went to sleep.
The next morning everyone woke up a little soar not to surprisingly. Members of the group woke up with shoulders that ached. We decided that it had to be from getting tackled in the mud and had nothing to due with our zip lining technique. Later that day it was off to Vientiane.
Still a little tired from the day before we had an early night. The next couple days were taken up by doing a bunch of site seeing around the city. The highlight was the Buddha park about 25 kilometers outside the city. It was a collection of Buddhist, Hindu, and other religious sculptures from around the area. Walking around the different statues and sculpture was really fun and it felt oddly familiar for some reason. Later we realized the reason it seemed so familiar was the reason all the sculptures were in the park in the first place. It had to have been an ancient winterlude stone carving contest. This was obviously the reason all these carvings were in the same place and with that mystery solved we ate some lunch by the river.
Our nights were filled with just eating and hanging out at local food stands by the river. After a couple days we booked our ticket south to Pakse.
-WBM
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Playing catch up...again
Clearly it has been more than a while since our last blog so this is going to be just a very quick update about the past month or so. After leaving Indonesia we flew into BKK. I was extremely happy to be back in Thailand even though I'm not the biggest fan of BKK. We were planning on staying there just for a day or two but ended up being there for just under a week. We meet up with some of my friends (both Thai and American) and did a bit of site seeing but nothing worth mentioning. One night we were at a bar listening to some live music (a Thai guy playing guitar and a foreigner on the harmonica) and when they finished we approached the foreign guy and asked him if he would be willing to meet us the following day for a harmonica lesson (Will brought a harmonica with the intention of learning to play but left the "learn to play" book at home so we have made little progress). He was more than happy to accept so the next day we took a taxi outside of the city to his house which was an adventure in itself but I'm not going to go into that. The guys name was Charlie (or Charlie McScallywag as he called himself) and he was originally from AUS but has been living in Thailand for the past 20 years teaching art. This man was one of the most intense hippies I have ever met and after 22 years in VT that is saying something. Our lesson was not a lesson at all but rather a free love harmonica jam session. Charlie McScallywag did not believe that music could be taught...it simply had to be felt. After playing around with the harmonicas for a bit we entered into deep talks about love and life (Will and I did very little talking and a whole lot of listening and nodding). We did get a free dinner out of this visit though and his Thai wife was quite a good cook so it made the experience almost worth while.
After BKK we headed to the floating markets which are just a few hours north of BKK. We spent the night there and saw the markets early in the morning. We hired a little boat to take us through the hundreds of boats and canoes stuffed with items for sale. We purchased our breakfast from some old lady selling noodles and ate them as we floated through the rest of the market.
Next we were off to Kachanaburi which was a few hours to the west if I can remember properly. We were there for 2 nights and while there we visited many different sites including a Burmese War museum as well as the Bridge over the River Kwai. A brief but very informative stay.
Ayutthaya was our next stop and again it was a site seeing city. Ayutthaya has a large historical park with many stunning temples so we rented bikes and checked as many of those out as we could in the one afternoon we had. Biking during midday in this part of the world is a bit exhausting so after 4 hours we were beat. Will and I separated that afternoon because he wanted to check out Sukhotthai, which is the ancient capital, while I headed straight to Chiang Mai (I had been to Sukhotthai 2 times previously and didn't feel like doing it a third time). Will got off at the wrong bus stop about 2 hours short of his intended destination. He was so lost without me but it ended working out fine because he got off at a cool city so he got to check that out.
We spent the remainder of our visa (about another 2 weeks) in Chiang Mai. We didn't really do a ton but we had a blast. This is the city I stayed in during my semester abroad last year so I had many friends who I was happy to see again. We did a bit of site seeing but not too much because the days are so hot that we can't motivate ourselves to go out and do things. Sitting in a shaded bar is much more appealing than going around in the head sweating our butts off. One of our big activities was camping at Doi Inthanon National Park. Doi Inthanon is the highest mountain in Thailand and it is a major holiday destination for Thais who like camping. We went with some of my friends and we were a group of 10 total. The camping isn't really roughing it but it was a great time regardless. Despite being in CM for just over 2 weeks there isn't a lot to report because we were just relaxing and hanging out with friends.
Our next move was into Laos where we are currently. We took a bus to the north of Thailand and crossed into Laos and then took a two day slow boat ride down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang (I had done this trip last year as well with Ned). Day 1 on the boat is about 7 hours before stopping in some riverside village that exists only because this boat stops there daily with a bunch of foreigners. The generaters shut off at 10 PM so there isn't much to do there but sleep. Will and I payed a dollar for our "room" which was not a room by any means. We spend the night outside on the balcony of some peoples home on a mattress they had set up to make some extra cash. Needless to say we didn't sleep a ton that night but that was okay because we had to be up early to get back on the boat anyways. The 2nd day was about 8 hours and we arrived in Luang Prabang just before 5 PM. We spent the night but left early the next morning to head back up north to a place called Muang Noi Neu (or something like that) which was amazing. It is totally in the middle of nowhere and we had to take a bus then another boat to get there. It is this tiny village built into the jungle covered mountains and is an amazing place for trekking. We spent two nights there (our bungalow cost us 80 cents each and was located looking out over the river) and did a one day trek through rice fields to a waterfall. It was a totally last minute and random decision to go there but it ended up being a trip highlight to this point. Today we arrived back in Luang Prabang but we are off to Vieng Vien tomorrow.
So that was a very, very brief catch up but now we are at least up to speed. Hopefully we will be a bit better about staying on top of this blog in the future.
-RBC
After BKK we headed to the floating markets which are just a few hours north of BKK. We spent the night there and saw the markets early in the morning. We hired a little boat to take us through the hundreds of boats and canoes stuffed with items for sale. We purchased our breakfast from some old lady selling noodles and ate them as we floated through the rest of the market.
Next we were off to Kachanaburi which was a few hours to the west if I can remember properly. We were there for 2 nights and while there we visited many different sites including a Burmese War museum as well as the Bridge over the River Kwai. A brief but very informative stay.
Ayutthaya was our next stop and again it was a site seeing city. Ayutthaya has a large historical park with many stunning temples so we rented bikes and checked as many of those out as we could in the one afternoon we had. Biking during midday in this part of the world is a bit exhausting so after 4 hours we were beat. Will and I separated that afternoon because he wanted to check out Sukhotthai, which is the ancient capital, while I headed straight to Chiang Mai (I had been to Sukhotthai 2 times previously and didn't feel like doing it a third time). Will got off at the wrong bus stop about 2 hours short of his intended destination. He was so lost without me but it ended working out fine because he got off at a cool city so he got to check that out.
We spent the remainder of our visa (about another 2 weeks) in Chiang Mai. We didn't really do a ton but we had a blast. This is the city I stayed in during my semester abroad last year so I had many friends who I was happy to see again. We did a bit of site seeing but not too much because the days are so hot that we can't motivate ourselves to go out and do things. Sitting in a shaded bar is much more appealing than going around in the head sweating our butts off. One of our big activities was camping at Doi Inthanon National Park. Doi Inthanon is the highest mountain in Thailand and it is a major holiday destination for Thais who like camping. We went with some of my friends and we were a group of 10 total. The camping isn't really roughing it but it was a great time regardless. Despite being in CM for just over 2 weeks there isn't a lot to report because we were just relaxing and hanging out with friends.
Our next move was into Laos where we are currently. We took a bus to the north of Thailand and crossed into Laos and then took a two day slow boat ride down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang (I had done this trip last year as well with Ned). Day 1 on the boat is about 7 hours before stopping in some riverside village that exists only because this boat stops there daily with a bunch of foreigners. The generaters shut off at 10 PM so there isn't much to do there but sleep. Will and I payed a dollar for our "room" which was not a room by any means. We spend the night outside on the balcony of some peoples home on a mattress they had set up to make some extra cash. Needless to say we didn't sleep a ton that night but that was okay because we had to be up early to get back on the boat anyways. The 2nd day was about 8 hours and we arrived in Luang Prabang just before 5 PM. We spent the night but left early the next morning to head back up north to a place called Muang Noi Neu (or something like that) which was amazing. It is totally in the middle of nowhere and we had to take a bus then another boat to get there. It is this tiny village built into the jungle covered mountains and is an amazing place for trekking. We spent two nights there (our bungalow cost us 80 cents each and was located looking out over the river) and did a one day trek through rice fields to a waterfall. It was a totally last minute and random decision to go there but it ended up being a trip highlight to this point. Today we arrived back in Luang Prabang but we are off to Vieng Vien tomorrow.
So that was a very, very brief catch up but now we are at least up to speed. Hopefully we will be a bit better about staying on top of this blog in the future.
-RBC
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)