So we got up early to get to the Luang Prabang bus terminal to catch our VIP bus to Vang Vieng. We should have known it wouldn't go well when all the buses were made by Hyundai, but we're still a bit green. Supposedly the only difference between VIP buses and minivans is that VIPs always have air-con. As we found out at the hottest part of the day, air-con doesn't always work on VIP buses either.
The road to VV is considered one of the windiest roads on the major tourist trails in Lao PDR, so much so that the Lonely Planet Guide says if you don't take motion sickness tablets, you're mad. We took ours but there was one Aussie girl on the bus who didn't read the guide. We had to deal her some motion sickness tablets halfway.
You would think when you've turned green at the 400th bend in the road and someone gives you free motion sickness tablets that you would take the max dose and just say thank you. But no in Lao everyone is trying to give you fake motion sickness tablets so you can't trust anyone including fellow Aussies! Silly girl only took half the dose and correspondingly only felt a little bit better.
The trip itself was one of the most picturesque drives we'd been on. We were so high up in the mountains at one stage that the sponge cake wrapper that they gave to us at the start of the trip nearly burst open from the altitude pressure. For some reason the road commitee decided a road would be better at the top of the mountain instead of alongside it.
A lot of small villages were dotted along the edge of the road and the edge of the mountain at the same time. One of the villages was being supported by World Vision such is the socioeconomic background in such a remote part of the world. Kids seemed to go to school in Luang but there didn't even seem a notion of having a school or education as it would be of little benefit. It won't take you anywhere. There were a lot of satellite dishes though.
So about the hottest part of the day the air-con stopped working and one of the fan belts started smoking on the bus. When you're only 50kms from your destination that is torture especially when the driver decides he needs to slow down or stop. Oh yeah the music for 6 hours straight we got to listen to the best of Lao folk pop. It was only slightly better than the arthouse film that they screened. It was this experimental film where they filmed these people on a bus from Luang to VV in black and white. Not much happened though, I think the air-con must have broken on their bus too cause they looked a bit hot and bothered towards the end.
Monday, 13 April 2009
Saturday, 11 April 2009
Luang Prabang Day 2
Today we met up with the crew from the boat and headed to the Kuang Si waterfalls. Its a 32km trip with 13 of us piled into the back of a songthaew and we got the first taste of the water throwing part of the new year festival.
The rules are simple.
1. It is fine to throw water into moving vehicles. In fact its better as they can't retaliate.
2. Water pistols are fine but buckets are more effective
3. Tourists are the favourite targets
We were drenched 10 times before we arrived at the falls by giggling locals. One bucket landed so effectively in my lap I was left with a small pond with a beetle floating in it.
We arrived at the falls and had some minor haggling arguments between the group on price but that was 10 minutes that couldn't spoil the day.
The falls were gorgeous. The water cascaded down into a pool that was turqoiuse and slightly opaque (I assume from the mineral content). The water ran over rocks but they were coated in what looked like stalitites but muddy and moss covered. The first two ponds you couldn't swim in so we took some photos and then went in search of the swimming area. We climbed up the side to the top of the falls and the water was much clearer and normal coloured and ran over rocks which you could walk over. It felt lovely to have cool water rushing over your feet and hear the roar of the falls. There was also this hole in the rock that ran all the way through to join the water coming out the end- like a reverse blow hole. We have this great video of it.
We then began to think the swimming thing was a farce but saw a sign to a cave and spring water 3km away. So we headed off. The distances quoted are always only loosely accurate and it was a fair trek to the cave but it was worth it. The cave extended for about 50m into the mountain. About half way in we caught up with 4 other guys who were navigating there way around with the flash off their cameras. There were glad we arrived with a headlamp. The cave had lots of little buddha statues and two larger ones as well as crystallised areas of the walls. A bit like jenolan but the mini version (one without lights or pathways). We explored in for a bit before seeing some bats. A which point the two females in the group decided rabies would not be fun and suggested we head back. The boys were a little dissapointed they didn't get to the end but I think were glad for the excuse we gave.
We powered back in the hope to find somewhere to cool off before meeting the songthaew to go back. The swimming area was huge and had three tiers (reminding me of the 46m buddha that was hiding from us in bangkok). There was a small waterfall you could jump off into the water and a rope swing that the locals made good use of as well. The water was beautiful and cool and it was rivalled Ko Rok for the best swimming so far. There were lots of locals being the weekend which made the atmosphere that bit more jubuliant. Jono jumped off the top of the waterfall, somewhat hesitantly but survived nonetheless. On our way back to the front gate we saw some rescued sunbears hanging about in their kindergarten playground enclosure. It was a mile in front of the elephant enclosure in Thailand. These sunbears had been poached and the poachers caught and hopefully dealt with, while the sunbears were put in a safe enclosure because they simply would have been caught again if they had been released back into the forest. They are the smallest bear in the world, but still have some big teeth.
We watched the sun set from the hill over the Mekong the had a few drinks with the Irish couple we met in a garden bar that serves Beerlao as well as buckets of tiger beer, lao lao (whisky) cocktails and gives a free shot of pink whisky on arrival.
Pink whisky is not good for you.
We had to run the last few hundreds metres home to escape the torrential downpour that started at 12am. As if the weather was enforcing the nightly curfew here.
The rules are simple.
1. It is fine to throw water into moving vehicles. In fact its better as they can't retaliate.
2. Water pistols are fine but buckets are more effective
3. Tourists are the favourite targets
We were drenched 10 times before we arrived at the falls by giggling locals. One bucket landed so effectively in my lap I was left with a small pond with a beetle floating in it.
We arrived at the falls and had some minor haggling arguments between the group on price but that was 10 minutes that couldn't spoil the day.
The falls were gorgeous. The water cascaded down into a pool that was turqoiuse and slightly opaque (I assume from the mineral content). The water ran over rocks but they were coated in what looked like stalitites but muddy and moss covered. The first two ponds you couldn't swim in so we took some photos and then went in search of the swimming area. We climbed up the side to the top of the falls and the water was much clearer and normal coloured and ran over rocks which you could walk over. It felt lovely to have cool water rushing over your feet and hear the roar of the falls. There was also this hole in the rock that ran all the way through to join the water coming out the end- like a reverse blow hole. We have this great video of it.
We then began to think the swimming thing was a farce but saw a sign to a cave and spring water 3km away. So we headed off. The distances quoted are always only loosely accurate and it was a fair trek to the cave but it was worth it. The cave extended for about 50m into the mountain. About half way in we caught up with 4 other guys who were navigating there way around with the flash off their cameras. There were glad we arrived with a headlamp. The cave had lots of little buddha statues and two larger ones as well as crystallised areas of the walls. A bit like jenolan but the mini version (one without lights or pathways). We explored in for a bit before seeing some bats. A which point the two females in the group decided rabies would not be fun and suggested we head back. The boys were a little dissapointed they didn't get to the end but I think were glad for the excuse we gave.
We powered back in the hope to find somewhere to cool off before meeting the songthaew to go back. The swimming area was huge and had three tiers (reminding me of the 46m buddha that was hiding from us in bangkok). There was a small waterfall you could jump off into the water and a rope swing that the locals made good use of as well. The water was beautiful and cool and it was rivalled Ko Rok for the best swimming so far. There were lots of locals being the weekend which made the atmosphere that bit more jubuliant. Jono jumped off the top of the waterfall, somewhat hesitantly but survived nonetheless. On our way back to the front gate we saw some rescued sunbears hanging about in their kindergarten playground enclosure. It was a mile in front of the elephant enclosure in Thailand. These sunbears had been poached and the poachers caught and hopefully dealt with, while the sunbears were put in a safe enclosure because they simply would have been caught again if they had been released back into the forest. They are the smallest bear in the world, but still have some big teeth.
We watched the sun set from the hill over the Mekong the had a few drinks with the Irish couple we met in a garden bar that serves Beerlao as well as buckets of tiger beer, lao lao (whisky) cocktails and gives a free shot of pink whisky on arrival.
Pink whisky is not good for you.
We had to run the last few hundreds metres home to escape the torrential downpour that started at 12am. As if the weather was enforcing the nightly curfew here.
Luang Prabang
The first night in Luang Prabang we stayed in a guesthouse that seems fine when we first arrived. Unfortunately it sounded like their was not only a karaoke party in the room til 3am (despite the 12am curfew) but also a shed of rooster from 4am. The mattress was a spring mattress but there was two layers of cotton between you and the springs. Anyway suffice to say not much sleep was had that night.
So we got up and checked out about 10 other places and moved somewhere in a street with a school that had quiet rooms (still one rooster and a few calling cats) with a decent bed.
We slept most of the day but had a nice meal at one of the street vendors and pottered about the night market. The night market here is really relaxing with very little haggling and some lovely hand made crafts. No puma rip offs, still some souvenirs shirts but you expect that. The colours are beautiful and its really very peaceful. There are some very fancy shops (french heritage buildings) and wine bars where those with euros and pounds can spend their dosh.
So we got up and checked out about 10 other places and moved somewhere in a street with a school that had quiet rooms (still one rooster and a few calling cats) with a decent bed.
We slept most of the day but had a nice meal at one of the street vendors and pottered about the night market. The night market here is really relaxing with very little haggling and some lovely hand made crafts. No puma rip offs, still some souvenirs shirts but you expect that. The colours are beautiful and its really very peaceful. There are some very fancy shops (french heritage buildings) and wine bars where those with euros and pounds can spend their dosh.
Friday, 10 April 2009
7th to 9th of April- Mighty Mekong
We first endured an 8 hour mini van ride to Chiang Khong. The border of Thailand and Lao.
Endured is putting it mildly. Our minivan ride left Chiang Mai at 12pm with a motley crew of three Norwegians, 1 Belgian, us and an American. There were a couple of others but they were unremarkable and I had taken my motion meds and was passed out for the first four hours. Sometimes they work too well. The halfway house was an interesting place only for the fact that the shop lady knew how to say what was on the menu and no stop for another 4 hours and then look at you blankly if you asked any questions. On the second stretch one of the Norwegian girls had the genius idea of opening a warm can of tuna in a barely airconditioned van. Never have I disconnected intelligence with blonde hair for 40 minutes straight without ever uttering a word out loud. I couldn't really say anything, they were all bigger than me.
Stayed the night in Chiang Khong at a new guesthouse before crossing the border at Huay Xai into Lao.
Part of the travel package is staying at the guesthouse and eating at the guest house. At dinner we shared a table with two Persians (not the fluffy kind) and the Belgian and the American. You can probably pick-up the theme at this stage. I think after that meal I had lost all desire to visit the USA ever again. Ever. Especially South Carolina. Enough said. Although sitting next to a woman (the Belgian) who can speak 6 languages was a little daunting.
First day we were tossed back and forth between places for hours (having our passports checked so many times I can't count) before finally boarding our boat to Pak Beng. We stayed the night in Pak Beng. I choose not to relive this experience.
Tossed back and forth we were. We also got caught up in the best scam for a group of tourists ever. So imagine you know you're heading to a river town and there is a max capacity and when you're about to get on the boat some of the tour operators tell you you're the last to leave and because it is Thai/Laos New Year (songkran festival - celebrates movement from pisces to aries, but everyone really just throws water at each other) there won't be any accommodation when you arrive and there especially won't be any because you are the last boat to leave that day. You know you're being rorted but you can't do anything about it. Facts - there was way too many places to stay when we got there we could barely get up the hill for kids trying to take us to guesthouses and we were the only boat ALL DAY.
When we got to Pak Beng that was the most crazy situation I've ever seen. As the boat was parking inbetween two other ferries, all the local kids started boarding our boat to help carry our bags. Now Lonely Planet warns you about this scam but they don't describe it very well. Imagine if you will a boat docking with about 70 people on board and as you hit the shore, everyone is starting to grab their bags to get off. Well imagine that 70 people turning into 100 people in two minutes for all the local kids trying to lift your bags, you telling them to rack off and then taking twice as long to get off the boat because they decide even though they climbed into the boat they would like to go out the front door!!!!
And then when you get off there are another 30 or so people trying to send you fifteen different directions to places you weren't meant to go or shouldn't. My favourite wowser of that night was this guy who walked up to me and asked us where we were staying. I told him and he asked me for the receipt. So I said do you work there and he said yes! Now that's an invitation I didn't need but I still got. At that point I took him up on the offer and said, "Great you can show us where it is then we can talk to the manager (he was just another scoundrel anyway so it wouldn't have helped in hindsight) and ask him if you work there." I kinda lost sight of him after 2 metres further up the hill. He must have dropped something I guess, poor bloke.
We decided to go try an Indian restaurant when we got unpacked and guess what we bumped into the Belgian and the American. Oh the joy! It turned out really well because the Amercian in her 20's was a republican. Now you can't get better odds than that. I was quite respectful but the Belgian, you know the one with 6 languages, put it so well. She simply said, " The problem with America is I can't vote for the President, but whoever gets elected affects ME!" Now that was the only time knowing the American where she didn't say anything for 30 seconds. Ahhh, the sound of one hand clapping. Em and I are thinking of moving to Belgium.
The next day of boating was quite pleasant in parts and we saw blue sky in patches for the first time in weeks (the haze in Chiang Mai was always in the way). The were some very picturesque little villages on the banks of the Mekong we arrived in Luang Prabang in daylight.
The part two was much better. The motley crew of pirates on the boat consisted of Dutch, Aussies, Danish and others. We met an Irish couple on their way to Australia who were quite normal and had the chance to impart some local knowledge that was hopefully useful. You know which footy team they should support and stuff like that. The dutch crew certainly were some of the lieveliest people on the boat, that may have had something to do with the abundance of Beerlao on board. My favourite boat member was a guy from New Zealand.
His name was Virion, or something like that. Generally I wouldn' talk to a Kiwi but while the Irish couple were down the back getting some food he decided he'd just sit in there seat. When the Irish guy got back to sit down, the Kiwi with his feet lazed out on the seats said hello and proceeded to apologise for sitting in his seat but then stayed there. Not only did he do that but he insulted the cookie monster t-shirt he was wearing! And then when he asked him where he was heading after Lao, which he'd said NZ eventually, the Irish guy added in he was going to be in Australia before that, the Kiwi, sorry Virion said I'm sorry you have to go to Australia and speak to Australians before you come to NZ. He didn't know where we were from at this stage. But he sure as heck did after he said that. I'm not sure if the guy was stupid or just tired from the boat trip but what is one Kiwi thinking when there are 6 Aussies on a boat and no Maori bouncers to kick you off. Needless to say he didn't ask me my name or anything else after that.
He did have it coming though. Within the first hour of being on the boat the second morning he decided he'd do his yoga routine at the front of the boat. And I don't mean any boring yoga stretches. I mean stand on your head while crossing your legs and shoving your crotch in the face of fellow travellers. A general note of recommendation for those thinking of doing some random personal exercise on a crowded boat over the Summer. It does not go down well, at all, at all. Especially if you're from New Zealand and you have to join the NRL because nobody else will play with you. I really enjoyed telling the Irish couple some Kiwi jokes for their trip to NZ in Jan.
Endured is putting it mildly. Our minivan ride left Chiang Mai at 12pm with a motley crew of three Norwegians, 1 Belgian, us and an American. There were a couple of others but they were unremarkable and I had taken my motion meds and was passed out for the first four hours. Sometimes they work too well. The halfway house was an interesting place only for the fact that the shop lady knew how to say what was on the menu and no stop for another 4 hours and then look at you blankly if you asked any questions. On the second stretch one of the Norwegian girls had the genius idea of opening a warm can of tuna in a barely airconditioned van. Never have I disconnected intelligence with blonde hair for 40 minutes straight without ever uttering a word out loud. I couldn't really say anything, they were all bigger than me.
Stayed the night in Chiang Khong at a new guesthouse before crossing the border at Huay Xai into Lao.
Part of the travel package is staying at the guesthouse and eating at the guest house. At dinner we shared a table with two Persians (not the fluffy kind) and the Belgian and the American. You can probably pick-up the theme at this stage. I think after that meal I had lost all desire to visit the USA ever again. Ever. Especially South Carolina. Enough said. Although sitting next to a woman (the Belgian) who can speak 6 languages was a little daunting.
First day we were tossed back and forth between places for hours (having our passports checked so many times I can't count) before finally boarding our boat to Pak Beng. We stayed the night in Pak Beng. I choose not to relive this experience.
Tossed back and forth we were. We also got caught up in the best scam for a group of tourists ever. So imagine you know you're heading to a river town and there is a max capacity and when you're about to get on the boat some of the tour operators tell you you're the last to leave and because it is Thai/Laos New Year (songkran festival - celebrates movement from pisces to aries, but everyone really just throws water at each other) there won't be any accommodation when you arrive and there especially won't be any because you are the last boat to leave that day. You know you're being rorted but you can't do anything about it. Facts - there was way too many places to stay when we got there we could barely get up the hill for kids trying to take us to guesthouses and we were the only boat ALL DAY.
When we got to Pak Beng that was the most crazy situation I've ever seen. As the boat was parking inbetween two other ferries, all the local kids started boarding our boat to help carry our bags. Now Lonely Planet warns you about this scam but they don't describe it very well. Imagine if you will a boat docking with about 70 people on board and as you hit the shore, everyone is starting to grab their bags to get off. Well imagine that 70 people turning into 100 people in two minutes for all the local kids trying to lift your bags, you telling them to rack off and then taking twice as long to get off the boat because they decide even though they climbed into the boat they would like to go out the front door!!!!
And then when you get off there are another 30 or so people trying to send you fifteen different directions to places you weren't meant to go or shouldn't. My favourite wowser of that night was this guy who walked up to me and asked us where we were staying. I told him and he asked me for the receipt. So I said do you work there and he said yes! Now that's an invitation I didn't need but I still got. At that point I took him up on the offer and said, "Great you can show us where it is then we can talk to the manager (he was just another scoundrel anyway so it wouldn't have helped in hindsight) and ask him if you work there." I kinda lost sight of him after 2 metres further up the hill. He must have dropped something I guess, poor bloke.
We decided to go try an Indian restaurant when we got unpacked and guess what we bumped into the Belgian and the American. Oh the joy! It turned out really well because the Amercian in her 20's was a republican. Now you can't get better odds than that. I was quite respectful but the Belgian, you know the one with 6 languages, put it so well. She simply said, " The problem with America is I can't vote for the President, but whoever gets elected affects ME!" Now that was the only time knowing the American where she didn't say anything for 30 seconds. Ahhh, the sound of one hand clapping. Em and I are thinking of moving to Belgium.
The next day of boating was quite pleasant in parts and we saw blue sky in patches for the first time in weeks (the haze in Chiang Mai was always in the way). The were some very picturesque little villages on the banks of the Mekong we arrived in Luang Prabang in daylight.
The part two was much better. The motley crew of pirates on the boat consisted of Dutch, Aussies, Danish and others. We met an Irish couple on their way to Australia who were quite normal and had the chance to impart some local knowledge that was hopefully useful. You know which footy team they should support and stuff like that. The dutch crew certainly were some of the lieveliest people on the boat, that may have had something to do with the abundance of Beerlao on board. My favourite boat member was a guy from New Zealand.
His name was Virion, or something like that. Generally I wouldn' talk to a Kiwi but while the Irish couple were down the back getting some food he decided he'd just sit in there seat. When the Irish guy got back to sit down, the Kiwi with his feet lazed out on the seats said hello and proceeded to apologise for sitting in his seat but then stayed there. Not only did he do that but he insulted the cookie monster t-shirt he was wearing! And then when he asked him where he was heading after Lao, which he'd said NZ eventually, the Irish guy added in he was going to be in Australia before that, the Kiwi, sorry Virion said I'm sorry you have to go to Australia and speak to Australians before you come to NZ. He didn't know where we were from at this stage. But he sure as heck did after he said that. I'm not sure if the guy was stupid or just tired from the boat trip but what is one Kiwi thinking when there are 6 Aussies on a boat and no Maori bouncers to kick you off. Needless to say he didn't ask me my name or anything else after that.
He did have it coming though. Within the first hour of being on the boat the second morning he decided he'd do his yoga routine at the front of the boat. And I don't mean any boring yoga stretches. I mean stand on your head while crossing your legs and shoving your crotch in the face of fellow travellers. A general note of recommendation for those thinking of doing some random personal exercise on a crowded boat over the Summer. It does not go down well, at all, at all. Especially if you're from New Zealand and you have to join the NRL because nobody else will play with you. I really enjoyed telling the Irish couple some Kiwi jokes for their trip to NZ in Jan.
Monday, 6 April 2009
Monday 6th of April
Em's Birthday in Chiang Mai.
Interestingly spas in thailand are run out of people's homes. It was very relaxing but I did have to convince myself that the salt body scrubbing that was really verging on torture was therapeutic. I don't know if doxycycline is making my skin sensitive or not but I felt like my skin was burning. The wrap was fantastic and the massage lovely (no yoga style stretches or pummeling).
Relaxed and called home in the afternoon and then out to dinner. Went to the Chiang Mai night bazaar to get some seafood for dinner, they have the biggest lobsters in the world here not to mention the King prawns. It has quite a relaxed atmosphere especially seeing there aren't many tourists here.
Tomorrow we head to the border between Laos and Thailand. It takes about three days to get to our destination (Luang Prabang) between minivan and boats, staying overnight in small villages.
For the first time in Em's birthday history we were somewhere hot on her birthday, enough to have a real pool party and alas nowhere near water.
What was arguably the best part of the day was when we were out at breakfast and I asked our waiter for the bill/cheque (You use both terms here so they understand because the USA/UK terminology is confusing.) So the guy says yes, goes away and this guy we've never seen walks over and tells us how much the breakfast cost. Now I can only assume his name was Bill and we'd unwittingly asked to speak to him not knowing that he had a french surname.
To be really pampered we had a 2.5hour spa package. Herbal steam, body scrub, body wrap, facial and aromatherapy oil massage.Interestingly spas in thailand are run out of people's homes. It was very relaxing but I did have to convince myself that the salt body scrubbing that was really verging on torture was therapeutic. I don't know if doxycycline is making my skin sensitive or not but I felt like my skin was burning. The wrap was fantastic and the massage lovely (no yoga style stretches or pummeling).
Relaxed and called home in the afternoon and then out to dinner. Went to the Chiang Mai night bazaar to get some seafood for dinner, they have the biggest lobsters in the world here not to mention the King prawns. It has quite a relaxed atmosphere especially seeing there aren't many tourists here.
Tomorrow we head to the border between Laos and Thailand. It takes about three days to get to our destination (Luang Prabang) between minivan and boats, staying overnight in small villages.
Sunday 5th April
We went gathering food for breakfast at our guesthouse last night. Managed to find bread, butter (at Tescos- there was extra walking involved for this) a young coconut and picked up two bags of fruit (rockmelon and watermelon- already cut into beautifully shaped portions- its held together with a bamboo skewer for eating on the run). I managed to open the coconut with a meat cleaver without ending up in hospital and we also were adventurous and picked up some sticky sweet stuffed covered in coconut jelly and wrapped in a banana leaf.
We then went to the Insect Museum. Tim and Steph also went here when they were here. The guy is really eccentric and despite his best efforts I still intend to kill every mosquito that comes near me (even if they just want to give me a kiss as he suggested) some species of mosquito may be good but I'm not taking the chance. He told a lovely story about the lucky vulture egg (stone) that his grandmoher gave him and a rather unpleasant sorry about how he survived malaria without treatment.
He was treated just not by anything you'd consider medicine. Think cutting to make you bleed and that's the medicine he was subjected to. He did get better, but that which precedes a good outcome is not necessarily the cause of it. Of the 436 mosquitos there are 10 that transmit disease. This guy was a trained lawyer so I don't believe him especially seeing his wife who has a phd in entomology said in a newspaper interview, " Mozzies are my enemy." Yep that'll do it for me, the chick whose been studying them for 50 years said she doesn't like them and I'm not one to disagree with that.
After the museum we walked to the vegetarian centre cafeteria. When we arrived it looked rather closed beacuse its closed on the weekend but I hadn't realised that) one of the women who worked there saw us and came up. She said that they would be open at 6am tomorrow, because 6 sounded rather early I tried to ask when they closed. I'm not sure how it happened but she decided to usher us into the centre, sit us down and let us share their lunch. Like an italain grandmother or thai one probably she filled our bowls and got us water and even gave us sweet tamarind to eat. It was realy lovely and the food was really yummy. She told us she had been working there for 10 years and taught the new staff how to cook. We left feeling very lucky and very surpised.
When Em says she hadn't realised they weren't open on the weekend, what she really means is she didn't read the open Mon-Fri in the guidebook, and nearly had us abducted by old Thai woman who wanted us to eat raw vegies without any meat at all. Ahhh the pain.
We then walked to Airport Plaza and saw Fast and Furious 4. Jono will have to comment on the movie.
We then went to the Insect Museum. Tim and Steph also went here when they were here. The guy is really eccentric and despite his best efforts I still intend to kill every mosquito that comes near me (even if they just want to give me a kiss as he suggested) some species of mosquito may be good but I'm not taking the chance. He told a lovely story about the lucky vulture egg (stone) that his grandmoher gave him and a rather unpleasant sorry about how he survived malaria without treatment.
He was treated just not by anything you'd consider medicine. Think cutting to make you bleed and that's the medicine he was subjected to. He did get better, but that which precedes a good outcome is not necessarily the cause of it. Of the 436 mosquitos there are 10 that transmit disease. This guy was a trained lawyer so I don't believe him especially seeing his wife who has a phd in entomology said in a newspaper interview, " Mozzies are my enemy." Yep that'll do it for me, the chick whose been studying them for 50 years said she doesn't like them and I'm not one to disagree with that.
After the museum we walked to the vegetarian centre cafeteria. When we arrived it looked rather closed beacuse its closed on the weekend but I hadn't realised that) one of the women who worked there saw us and came up. She said that they would be open at 6am tomorrow, because 6 sounded rather early I tried to ask when they closed. I'm not sure how it happened but she decided to usher us into the centre, sit us down and let us share their lunch. Like an italain grandmother or thai one probably she filled our bowls and got us water and even gave us sweet tamarind to eat. It was realy lovely and the food was really yummy. She told us she had been working there for 10 years and taught the new staff how to cook. We left feeling very lucky and very surpised.
When Em says she hadn't realised they weren't open on the weekend, what she really means is she didn't read the open Mon-Fri in the guidebook, and nearly had us abducted by old Thai woman who wanted us to eat raw vegies without any meat at all. Ahhh the pain.
We then walked to Airport Plaza and saw Fast and Furious 4. Jono will have to comment on the movie.
Think of a really good film and then know this one is better. Unfortunately there seem to be less cars to play with than the previous movies but the Skyline gets centre stage again. Do yourselves a favour... What can I say Vin Diesel is back.
Saturday 4 th april
After breakfast we set off to meet Phra Tea to go to Doi Suthep. Jono berated me for my foolishness when I suggested the city gate was where we were meeting him but had to eat his words after walking back to the city gate to meet him exactly where I said (I waited where he was convinced we were meeting and enjoyed an ice coffee).
The guy who made my ice coffee also deserves a mention, he had one of the moving stalls that is attached to a scooter and carried his ice in an esky on the back. His name was Arm and he had a spray paint design of his smiling face with ultra cool sunnies in black on his orange esky. He mixed my ice coffee not in a blender but between two carnation sweetened condensed milk cans pouring from about 1m between the two. Very sytlish and all for 20B.
We braved the horrible winding road up to Doi Suthep in a songthaew and then the 306 stairs to the top. Prae Tea showed us round and explianed the place to us. The view would be amazing without the haze.
We watched a half of the Hawthorn vs Sydney game in a Irish Pub before heading out shopping for breakfast.
Football's fun to watch in a pub, except one with nothing but Irish and Aussie guys being loud with each other. We did get to try beer with ice. Not sure it would hold off a hangover or improve the taste of the beer for that matter. Interestingly the manager/owner of the bar came in to tell us he'd have to move us for the premier league match. He'd been out drinking all day and could barely stand up without swaying from side to side. Ahhh responsible service of alcohol. As long as your not as drunk as the owner you're sober.
The guy who made my ice coffee also deserves a mention, he had one of the moving stalls that is attached to a scooter and carried his ice in an esky on the back. His name was Arm and he had a spray paint design of his smiling face with ultra cool sunnies in black on his orange esky. He mixed my ice coffee not in a blender but between two carnation sweetened condensed milk cans pouring from about 1m between the two. Very sytlish and all for 20B.
We braved the horrible winding road up to Doi Suthep in a songthaew and then the 306 stairs to the top. Prae Tea showed us round and explianed the place to us. The view would be amazing without the haze.
We watched a half of the Hawthorn vs Sydney game in a Irish Pub before heading out shopping for breakfast.
Football's fun to watch in a pub, except one with nothing but Irish and Aussie guys being loud with each other. We did get to try beer with ice. Not sure it would hold off a hangover or improve the taste of the beer for that matter. Interestingly the manager/owner of the bar came in to tell us he'd have to move us for the premier league match. He'd been out drinking all day and could barely stand up without swaying from side to side. Ahhh responsible service of alcohol. As long as your not as drunk as the owner you're sober.
3rd April
Today was a quiet day. We went to the forest wat which was very atmospheric, with lots of signs posted on trees and a small artificial lake apparently (we couldn't find it). The most interesting were the tunnels under the hill that the main chedi was on. Just high enough for me to walk through and thankfully lit by lights (it was still a little claustrophobic).
We had a vegetarian buffet lunch at which I tried to sample every dish on offer and the desserts as well. Quite tasty but not as spectacular as our dinner there a week before. Afternoon nap to digest lunch before heading out to dinner (there is some walking involved to conteract the amount of food consumed) at a market. Jono sampled KFG (fried chicken) and we have a great photo of him out the front of the stall. We soaked up the atmosphere of the market (as well as the car fumes) and then wandered back to the guesthouse. The best part of the city doesn't really start until about 8pm when it cools down and everyone is out eating.
We had a vegetarian buffet lunch at which I tried to sample every dish on offer and the desserts as well. Quite tasty but not as spectacular as our dinner there a week before. Afternoon nap to digest lunch before heading out to dinner (there is some walking involved to conteract the amount of food consumed) at a market. Jono sampled KFG (fried chicken) and we have a great photo of him out the front of the stall. We soaked up the atmosphere of the market (as well as the car fumes) and then wandered back to the guesthouse. The best part of the city doesn't really start until about 8pm when it cools down and everyone is out eating.
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
Thursday 2nd April
We got up early (8:30am) after being woken at 5am by chanting outside our window, or so it felt, apparently it was across the river.
5am was if you weren't really listening all night to the hill tribe partying. Apparently it was some Buddhist festival for young boys like bamitzvah/first communion etc and they pay for an all night party. Except if you're not invited, it kinda takes the fun out of it. There was also a kind of hush hush conspiracy going on in Pai, because all the tourists who were kept up at night started asking what was going on last night and most of the locals were going "What music/noise/sounds, I don't know what you're talking about." There was a lot of banging drums and singing very badly.
We headed off to the largest of the falls- Mok Paeng it was quite pretty and we had a great time along the way. Watching chickens and even this family of pigs. One pig was doing its thing rooting in the ground and his side kick chicken was waiting for him to stir up some worms. Very cute.
Unfortunately the hill tribe people that look after this area don't have much help from the local council to keep it clean. It had more rubbish in one spot than I've ever seen and that includes the MCG after a Carlton v Collingwood game. There was also a herd of Jersey looking cows wandering around whichwas cool, but the pigs I nearly ran over in the scooter were the coolest. Everyone should have pigs and chickens their cool.
We headed back into town, acquired some meds for nausea and were on our way back to Chiang Mai.
Arrived back in Chiang Mai. The meds worked, no motion sickness nausea stuff. Admittedly Jono was passed out for the entire trip (one side effect of taking the maximum dose) and Em was acting like Lt. Dan from Forrest Gump on the shrimp fishing boat during a monsoon, "Is that all you've got?" to the windy roads.
5am was if you weren't really listening all night to the hill tribe partying. Apparently it was some Buddhist festival for young boys like bamitzvah/first communion etc and they pay for an all night party. Except if you're not invited, it kinda takes the fun out of it. There was also a kind of hush hush conspiracy going on in Pai, because all the tourists who were kept up at night started asking what was going on last night and most of the locals were going "What music/noise/sounds, I don't know what you're talking about." There was a lot of banging drums and singing very badly.
We headed off to the largest of the falls- Mok Paeng it was quite pretty and we had a great time along the way. Watching chickens and even this family of pigs. One pig was doing its thing rooting in the ground and his side kick chicken was waiting for him to stir up some worms. Very cute.
Unfortunately the hill tribe people that look after this area don't have much help from the local council to keep it clean. It had more rubbish in one spot than I've ever seen and that includes the MCG after a Carlton v Collingwood game. There was also a herd of Jersey looking cows wandering around whichwas cool, but the pigs I nearly ran over in the scooter were the coolest. Everyone should have pigs and chickens their cool.
We headed back into town, acquired some meds for nausea and were on our way back to Chiang Mai.
Arrived back in Chiang Mai. The meds worked, no motion sickness nausea stuff. Admittedly Jono was passed out for the entire trip (one side effect of taking the maximum dose) and Em was acting like Lt. Dan from Forrest Gump on the shrimp fishing boat during a monsoon, "Is that all you've got?" to the windy roads.
Day 20 Really another day
Today we hired a bike and rode to the hot springs. One bonus about low season is that there was no one there and we got to bathe in the hot mineral bath part by ourselves. Best bath ever, so hot even Steph you would have found it warm. Really helped you cool down when you got out.
We rode back and started on our way to Mae Yen waterfall. We left the bikes and one point and started walking, it is supposed to be 7km so we headed out. We stopped after an hour when we met up with a couple who had stopped after 2 hours. We found out later it takes 3 hours to get there each way.
There's a little thing in this country that is forgotten well and truly and that's safety. If on the tourist map you have a picture, the biggest picture of a waterfall on the map and 7km by foot next to it, you probably need to provide a little more information!!!!! Like it's a six hour return journey on an unmarked trail criss-crossing a river/stream with a bit of slippery log crossings required. And it wasn't even picturesque. No flowers, no beautiful plants. The only colourful thing on the walk was a blue poly pipe that piped water down from the mountain.
And that brings me onto another of my new pet loves, plumbing. It would be good if the pipes attached to buildings actually plumbed something. Sometimes there just there for decoration, others they just flood out onto a piece of land for no particular reason other than the owner's block finished there and the council/government hadn't put in a pipe to connect to it. Most of the pipes are external inside the building...aesthetics people.
So we had lunch instead. Tomorrow we we try to get to biggest of the falls (apparently only an hour away and very little walking).
We rode back and started on our way to Mae Yen waterfall. We left the bikes and one point and started walking, it is supposed to be 7km so we headed out. We stopped after an hour when we met up with a couple who had stopped after 2 hours. We found out later it takes 3 hours to get there each way.
There's a little thing in this country that is forgotten well and truly and that's safety. If on the tourist map you have a picture, the biggest picture of a waterfall on the map and 7km by foot next to it, you probably need to provide a little more information!!!!! Like it's a six hour return journey on an unmarked trail criss-crossing a river/stream with a bit of slippery log crossings required. And it wasn't even picturesque. No flowers, no beautiful plants. The only colourful thing on the walk was a blue poly pipe that piped water down from the mountain.
And that brings me onto another of my new pet loves, plumbing. It would be good if the pipes attached to buildings actually plumbed something. Sometimes there just there for decoration, others they just flood out onto a piece of land for no particular reason other than the owner's block finished there and the council/government hadn't put in a pipe to connect to it. Most of the pipes are external inside the building...aesthetics people.
So we had lunch instead. Tomorrow we we try to get to biggest of the falls (apparently only an hour away and very little walking).
Day 19
Flying to Pai...we wish. That only takes 20 mins. We had the pleasure of enduring another 3 hours on a bus on some of the windiest roads in the world. Tim and Steph had warned us. That doesn't help you retain your breakfast, not that we lost it, it just wasn't where it should been after the trip.
We arrived in Pai and ended up after a detour at the place we booked (who couldn't have us one of the other guests got ill and had to go to hospital) at the Breeze of Pai. The second place we have ended up at through no planned effort that Tim and Steph stayed at.
We headed out for dinner and about half way there the power goes out. Lucky we had brought our head lamp. We arrived at the pizza place the guide recommends. Which was eerily dark (like everywhere else but they seemed to be a little more stingy with the candles) and had only one other diner. We were cautious an just ordered a cheese, basil and tomato pizza. It was really good, nice thin base and holy basil tastes quite good even if it isn't authentic.
We walked back and had a drink at a bar along the way. Now unfortunately Steph Pai is probably fantastic in high season but in low season most places are closed (the vegetarian resturant included) and the only travellers left seem to be posers. The hot season is low season because the slash and burn argiculture leaves a haze that covers the entire valley obscuring the hills and the rice paddies and jungle are dry. I can see the beauty that would be here though.
We arrived in Pai and ended up after a detour at the place we booked (who couldn't have us one of the other guests got ill and had to go to hospital) at the Breeze of Pai. The second place we have ended up at through no planned effort that Tim and Steph stayed at.
We headed out for dinner and about half way there the power goes out. Lucky we had brought our head lamp. We arrived at the pizza place the guide recommends. Which was eerily dark (like everywhere else but they seemed to be a little more stingy with the candles) and had only one other diner. We were cautious an just ordered a cheese, basil and tomato pizza. It was really good, nice thin base and holy basil tastes quite good even if it isn't authentic.
We walked back and had a drink at a bar along the way. Now unfortunately Steph Pai is probably fantastic in high season but in low season most places are closed (the vegetarian resturant included) and the only travellers left seem to be posers. The hot season is low season because the slash and burn argiculture leaves a haze that covers the entire valley obscuring the hills and the rice paddies and jungle are dry. I can see the beauty that would be here though.
Day 18
ZORB BALL!!!!!!!
We got strapped into a 4m plastic ball by our hands feet and torso and were rolled down a 100m hill into a lake. Once your in the water you get to untie yourself. It is really hard to navigate the ball once its in water, its like a hamster in a wheel, round and round but you go nowhere. Added to this is it gets slippery inside when its wet and there is a fairly large hole you have to dodge as you spin around.
We also watched the bungee jumping, an decided (full of adrenaline post zorbing) that we would have to jump when we get back to Chiang Mai. Don't know how long that conviction will last.
When we got back to our guesthouse, we decided to give the monk chanting another go, so we got in a saengtaw (like a taxi but with a ute and you sit on bench seats running parallel with the tray) after much confusion explained we were heading to Wat Chedi Luang. We ended up on the other side of town at the flower market. Hopefully Luang in Thai means flower or the taxi driver spoke less Thai than we do.
Once we eventually found a new saengtaw driver who could read our actual destination in Thai script (not all can) we found ourselves outside the temple. We headed over to the chanting area but nobody was there so we decided to walk around to the monk chanting and see if we could ask a Monk if there was any chanting this evening. Fortunately we found Phra Tea, the monk we had spent time with the previous week watering the garden. He took us over to the primary school area of the temple grounds, explaining that because they had 70 novice monks for the next 15 days at this temple they were having the evening chanting inside so the novice monks weren't too distracted.
This was one of those situations where having someone who knew what was going on helped. Phra Tea not only got permission for both of us to observe the chanting but he somehow convinced the master monk to allow us to join in!!! As long as Emily didn't go near any of the novice monks. Just can't trust her these days ;-). We also weren't allowed to take any photos or move around. They put one of the temple monks in charge of us called Supat, who was a senior monk of 24 years from a minority Hilltribe in Northern Thailand. Thai was his second language and English was his third language but he understood sarcasm very well. I think he was trying to recruit me. Fortunately in Buddhism if you become a monk it's only for as long as you want to be one. Much more community friendly. There are about 460,000 Monks in Thailand. They don't have much trouble recruiting it seems.
So we sit down at the back of the hall and the 70 odd novice students and a few senior monks begin their eveing prayers followed by chanting in Pali. Pali is the language that existed at the time of Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) and hence is held sacred. This went on for about 30 minutes and you could see that the novices were like any bunch of 8-19 year olds getting restless. Many before the evening started had quite cleverly drunk more water than the average bladder could hold so they had an excuse to go outside during the evening. To great effect as half the group seemed to be outside at one stage. There were also the fine tenors among the group who sang so loudly and so out of tune that it was amazing there monkhood didn't end that night. On day two!
The other bizarre part of the evening was the amount of photos senior monks took of Em and I. You'd think we were rock stars or something. Actually after a while I did have to put my sunnies on the flashes were getting so bright. Obviously tourists don't turn up to chanting and meditation very often. And we weren't allowed to take photos so as not to distract the novive monks. Yeah right.
Part two of the initial evening course was meditation. This was probably the only time all 70 students were able to maintain some composure. As explained earlier Vipassana meditation is the main meditative practice and this went for about ten minutes, as the students were not up to concentrating for any longer on day two. They start their day at 4.30am and finish at 10pm at night so it's a bit of a shock to the system to start with. Vipassana meditation is hard at the best of times because of the mind's ability to wander but these kids had to meditate on a concrete floor with no cushion in sight. Em and I had issues for the 40 minutes we were there let alon the 3 1/2 hours they had to do at night. Afterwards Supat took us outside with the rest of the novice monks to have a drink and chat. I think he was really interested to practice his English that he got our email address.
Once we had finished up we did what all good Buddhists monks do and went to Mike's Original Burger Stand in the centre of town. Reputedly the best burger joint outside of the US by expats. It's slogan above the sign is 'Converting Vegetarians (since 1979).' Jono had the double cheeseburger called the double double with fries and a chocalate shake. Em had the triple cheeseburger meal with extra large fries and coke...just kidding she had a chocalate shake though.And she said it was really good. But the best news for those heading to Chiang Mai is that the double double cheeseburger was probably the best burger I've ever eaten. Even beats the burger I had at Lake St Clair after eating packaged food for 5 days on the Overland Track.
It was incredible, and they even let you put your own mixture of sauces and mustard on. Genius. Onion rings were really good too.
What a fine day...Zorbing, chanting and burgers read gorging.
We got strapped into a 4m plastic ball by our hands feet and torso and were rolled down a 100m hill into a lake. Once your in the water you get to untie yourself. It is really hard to navigate the ball once its in water, its like a hamster in a wheel, round and round but you go nowhere. Added to this is it gets slippery inside when its wet and there is a fairly large hole you have to dodge as you spin around.
We also watched the bungee jumping, an decided (full of adrenaline post zorbing) that we would have to jump when we get back to Chiang Mai. Don't know how long that conviction will last.
When we got back to our guesthouse, we decided to give the monk chanting another go, so we got in a saengtaw (like a taxi but with a ute and you sit on bench seats running parallel with the tray) after much confusion explained we were heading to Wat Chedi Luang. We ended up on the other side of town at the flower market. Hopefully Luang in Thai means flower or the taxi driver spoke less Thai than we do.
Once we eventually found a new saengtaw driver who could read our actual destination in Thai script (not all can) we found ourselves outside the temple. We headed over to the chanting area but nobody was there so we decided to walk around to the monk chanting and see if we could ask a Monk if there was any chanting this evening. Fortunately we found Phra Tea, the monk we had spent time with the previous week watering the garden. He took us over to the primary school area of the temple grounds, explaining that because they had 70 novice monks for the next 15 days at this temple they were having the evening chanting inside so the novice monks weren't too distracted.
This was one of those situations where having someone who knew what was going on helped. Phra Tea not only got permission for both of us to observe the chanting but he somehow convinced the master monk to allow us to join in!!! As long as Emily didn't go near any of the novice monks. Just can't trust her these days ;-). We also weren't allowed to take any photos or move around. They put one of the temple monks in charge of us called Supat, who was a senior monk of 24 years from a minority Hilltribe in Northern Thailand. Thai was his second language and English was his third language but he understood sarcasm very well. I think he was trying to recruit me. Fortunately in Buddhism if you become a monk it's only for as long as you want to be one. Much more community friendly. There are about 460,000 Monks in Thailand. They don't have much trouble recruiting it seems.
So we sit down at the back of the hall and the 70 odd novice students and a few senior monks begin their eveing prayers followed by chanting in Pali. Pali is the language that existed at the time of Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) and hence is held sacred. This went on for about 30 minutes and you could see that the novices were like any bunch of 8-19 year olds getting restless. Many before the evening started had quite cleverly drunk more water than the average bladder could hold so they had an excuse to go outside during the evening. To great effect as half the group seemed to be outside at one stage. There were also the fine tenors among the group who sang so loudly and so out of tune that it was amazing there monkhood didn't end that night. On day two!
The other bizarre part of the evening was the amount of photos senior monks took of Em and I. You'd think we were rock stars or something. Actually after a while I did have to put my sunnies on the flashes were getting so bright. Obviously tourists don't turn up to chanting and meditation very often. And we weren't allowed to take photos so as not to distract the novive monks. Yeah right.
Part two of the initial evening course was meditation. This was probably the only time all 70 students were able to maintain some composure. As explained earlier Vipassana meditation is the main meditative practice and this went for about ten minutes, as the students were not up to concentrating for any longer on day two. They start their day at 4.30am and finish at 10pm at night so it's a bit of a shock to the system to start with. Vipassana meditation is hard at the best of times because of the mind's ability to wander but these kids had to meditate on a concrete floor with no cushion in sight. Em and I had issues for the 40 minutes we were there let alon the 3 1/2 hours they had to do at night. Afterwards Supat took us outside with the rest of the novice monks to have a drink and chat. I think he was really interested to practice his English that he got our email address.
Once we had finished up we did what all good Buddhists monks do and went to Mike's Original Burger Stand in the centre of town. Reputedly the best burger joint outside of the US by expats. It's slogan above the sign is 'Converting Vegetarians (since 1979).' Jono had the double cheeseburger called the double double with fries and a chocalate shake. Em had the triple cheeseburger meal with extra large fries and coke...just kidding she had a chocalate shake though.And she said it was really good. But the best news for those heading to Chiang Mai is that the double double cheeseburger was probably the best burger I've ever eaten. Even beats the burger I had at Lake St Clair after eating packaged food for 5 days on the Overland Track.
It was incredible, and they even let you put your own mixture of sauces and mustard on. Genius. Onion rings were really good too.
What a fine day...Zorbing, chanting and burgers read gorging.
Day 17 back in Chiang Mai
We explored the Sunday night market and Emily bought a cool pair of 50/50 shoes painted by local artist. We also sampled super super sweet and coloured snow cones served in a bowl... hm mm. The night market was much more interesting than the Chiang Mai night bazaar or the Phuket markets which had row after row of the same cheap badly made stuff. This market had some interesting hand made stuff and lots of more authentic thai crafts, there were also lots of Thai people there which is always a good sign. They even had sushi stalls with sushi at 10B per piece- interesting stuff like pickles, seaweed and unidentified fish products. It extends for one major street and has at least four side streets that have joined the band wagon, we walked for 3 hours and didn't cover it all.
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