TravelStream™ news feed for member bui on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/bui en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:44:46 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bui/se_asia_2006/1163367840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bui/se_asia_2006/1163367840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bui/se_asia_2006/1163367840/tpod.html Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:44:46 -0500 Viet Nam, Laos, Thailand... lucky me!

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Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City
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Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok
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Ko Tao, Thailand

Ko Tao
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Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand

Ko Pha-Ngan is home to the famed "Full Moon Party" every month on one of its beaches. We arrive on the island a few nights before the full moon, and get a beautiful bungalow on a hill overlooking the ocean. Following a wooden walkway around the nearby cliff takes us to a gorgeous white sand beach with calm clear waters. One day we come around a corner on the walkway to find a man, sprawled out "in all his glory" so to speak. I generally like surprises, but I could have done without that one. The tourists here are different than the more mellow ones we've encountered elsewhere in Thailand. They're here for the party.

We see a flyer for a "Reggae Magic Boat Trip" and decide to go on it. The day we go, it's very windy, the waves are choppy and the snorkelling is disappointing. But there are two great guys in charge of the operation, Tuk-tuk and Peter Pan, who we hang out with at their mellow reggae bar. Pan is into beadwork, and he shows me a gorgeous necklace he's made out of antique beads he dug up. Tuk-tuk is a genius at Connect Four. He also manages to scare the crap out of a girl during the boat trip. During a hike to a waterfall, he climbs up a tree, unbeknownst to the group. When the girl passes underneath, he hurls a rubber snake at her. She bursts into tears and shakes. Personally, I think it's hilarious, but I don't tell her so.

The night of the party arrives. There's a lot of anticipation in the air, and plenty of painted bodies wandering around. There are fire dancers, talented and nimble. There is a lot of alcohol. It becomes like the biggest frat party I've ever seen. I'm not enjoying it, especially when I see how much garbage and glass bottles are being hurled into the sand and ocean. It's awful. It also happens to be Loi Krathong, a special day for Thais, during which they launch tiny boats with candles into the water and ask for forgiveness and blessings. Pan gives us two boats. At midnight, we take them to the ocean and let them go. Later Tuk-tuk brings out a large paper balloon, lights it and sends it sailing into the sky. It looks beautiful drifting overhead and we watch it until it disappears.
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Muang Ngoi, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Muang Ngoi has one single dirt road. You can walk from end to end in ten minutes, if you're slow. There are no cars, motorbikes, or even bikes for that matter. It is a community completely cut off from the outside, except for the boatloads of tourists that invade the riverbanks twice a day.



I come on one of these boatloads, along with a Dutch guy and 3 French guys that I meet at the boat landing in Nong Khiaw. We scarf down a meal, amazingly cheap at 50 cents for my part. We pick places to stay, opting out of the riverside bungalows, which although cheap at $1 a night, are very basic and have outside toilets that have seen better days. Then a beer at sunset on the river. After dinner, we're invited to a pre-wedding celebration. There's plenty of lao-lao (lao whisky) to go around which is bad news for anyone who sticks around too long so I go to bed. I hear the next day that the last people at the party are the two guys who invited us and the woman (who is really a man) who I met on the truck from Luang Prabang to Nong Khiaw. That's lao-lao for you!

In the morning, we go to the wedding ceremony. It's very informal, but with a lot of meaning. There are small offering tables, which include sticks with hundreds of loops of string on them. The people take the string and tie it around the bride's and groom's wrists, imparting blessings and good wishes upon them. They also tie them around the tiny baby's wrists - the reason for the wedding, which is a combination welcoming party for the baby. The bride and groom are young, 17. Unfortunately, we have to leave - we are trekking today to some villages and a waterfall.

Wedding ceremony


The trek starts off well, we are going through green rice paddies and wading through creeks. But it is incredibly hot. We stop for lunch in a small village, but it gives me impressions of the desert. The small bamboo huts are scattered among an expanse of dry dirt, no shade to be seen all around. little by little, the village children gather to watch us eat. they are so shy, but they are entranced by this man's beard. They don't know what to say about it, they only stare quizzically at his face. Suddenly one child reaches out to touch it... and some other children get brave enough to rub it too.



Towards the end of the hike, I'm so hot I feel nauseous. We finally make it to the waterfall. Actually, we climb up several small waterfalls til we get to the largest, a 40 meter fall. It's like heaven to stand under it, washing the sweat and dirt away.



The next day three of the guys will head to Luang Prabang by kayak, a two day trip. they try to convince me to go, but I don't have the money for it. Nor am I convinced I have the energy for it either, even if it's downstream. But I do head to Luang Prabang by boat, and it's a very nice 5 hour scenic ride. As evening approaches the local fishermen check their nets, people are taking their evening baths in the river, naked children are rolling down muddy hills.

Primary School kids in Muang Ngoi


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Luang Nam Tha, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

It took us around 9 hours, maybe more, to get to Luang Nam Tha, the second half of which was spent crammed into a minibus filled way over capacity. But this is normal in Southeast Asia. The town is a lot smaller than I thought it would be and really quiet. There's not much to do in town itself, so the next day we rent a motorbike and head off to see a waterfall and drive around the countryside.

The waterfall is small but nice, and we drive through small villages to get there. There are little black piglets everywhere and they are funny - one sees our motorbike coming, panics, runs in a little circle before taking a flying leap over a small ditch and oinks, but it sounds more like "Quack". Maybe he's gotten confused with all the other farm animals around.





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Luang Prabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

People I've met had so many nice things to say about Luang Prabang. It is a nice little town to walk around, but I get bored fast. One of the neatest things to see is the night market. Vendors line the street and they lay their goods out on a mat, lit by a single bare lightbulb. Standing in the middle of it, you get an eerie feeling from all the faces illuminated by these small lights.



It's surprisingly hot. I climb to the temple on the hill in the middle of town, Phu Si, and at the top I'm sweaty.

Top of Phu Si



One evening I go back to a temple and listen to the monk's evening chant. The monotone drone of their voices is a good soundtrack to the fading sun.

Early in the morning the monks go out to receive alms from the townspeople. It's like a procession, where the whole line of monks passes by kneeling people who offer rice to the monks. There are so many monks, but the procession is quiet and solemn. You can't even hear their bare feet as they pad along on the paved street. I take a few pictures, but I feel wierd. Like a rubbernecker at a highway accident.


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bui/se_asia_2006/1158918600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bui/se_asia_2006/1158918600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bui/se_asia_2006/1158918600/tpod.html Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:22:52 -0500 Viet Nam, Laos, Thailand... lucky me!

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Vang Vieng, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Left the ghosttown of Vientiane by bus yesterday for the tourist hangout town of Vang Vieng. Beautiful limestone karst formations all around and a view of the river from our bamboo bungalow.

The bus ride was pretty quick and nice and we were only two of about ten people on the bus. On arrival, the bus dropped us off at a bungalow place way south of town, obviously who'd paid commission or something for that to happen. And actually the place wasn't bad and the prices were fine. Except that I just dislike feeling forced into choosing something. So I made Matt pick up his big pack and start walking. The first place we checked out was gorgeous but too expensive. The next place was cheap but not very pretty. By then I was really feeling bad about dragging Matt down the road. So, I decided to give in and go back to the original place. On the way back we passed by a steep rocky road, descending into darkness but with "Bungalow" signs pointing downward. We decided to give it a shot and we wandered down the road. A couple of places just seemed deserted. As we were about to go back up, a man came out of the darkness hoisting a sign on his shoulder. He said "Do you want a bungalow?" He put down his sign which read "Le Jardin Organique - riverside bungalows" So we went with divine providence and followed the man. It turned out to be our lucky night, because the bungalows were great. There were a row of nice bamboo and wood bungalows lined up on the riverbank, overlooking a nice garden. The family running the place was super nice.

Vang Vieng is a small town but very geared towards backpackers. There are little restaurants everywhere, which is sad, because it's low season and many of them are empty. Outside Vang Vieng you can kayak, rockclimb, trek, tube and cave. In one cave we visited, you had to pull yourself along a fixed rope on a tube to explore the tunnel into the cave. Very cool. And the water was really cold! We also biked to an organic farm outside of town and met the owner - a very nice Lao man who focuses on community development.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bui/se_asia_2006/1158745620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bui/se_asia_2006/1158745620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bui/se_asia_2006/1158745620/tpod.html Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:22:29 -0500 Viet Nam, Laos, Thailand... lucky me!

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Vientiane, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Flew to Vientiane this morning after overstaying my Vietnam visa by 5 days. Let's just say the customs official was not amused. And neither was I after I unloaded my wallet to pay the fine.

Vientiane is the capital of Laos but it's not quite what you'd call a "city". Especially coming from Vietnam! There is barely any traffic not to mention people. I actually wonder where everyone is??? There must be some hotbed of activity somewhere here, but well hidden from foreigners... maybe it's underground or something... although from the looks of the sewer system here, I certainly hope not!

Matt and I took a tour by tuktuk of the main sights of Vientiane. It took an hour and 40 minutes.

Our tuk-tuk driver


Storage of rescued Buddhas from sites damaged by war


Top of Padomxai, Vientiane's equivalent of the Arc de Triomphe


Another thing is that people keep talking to me in Lao or thinking I'm Thai... which wouldn't be so strange except that they don't seem very friendly about it... I'm beginning to wonder if it has to do with me walking around with Matt. (i.e. the western guy with the Asian prostitute) I should ask Matt to stop looking so greasy. =)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bui/se_asia_2006/1158585480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bui/se_asia_2006/1158585480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bui/se_asia_2006/1158585480/tpod.html Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:22:09 -0500 Viet Nam, Laos, Thailand... lucky me!

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Ha Long, Vietnam

Wow. Ha Long Bay is as beautiful as everyone says it is and more. We had an amazing time and were in awe of how special this place is.



We shelled out a big chunk of change (by our standards) to get a spot on the largest wooden junk cruising the bay, the Dragon's Pearl. I admit, the name and the pictures of the boat alone might have hooked us, but I did do some research ahead to find a good tour company to go with. We really wanted to do Ha Long Bay right, and in the end, it was worth every penny.

We had to pay extra to do kayaking, and it was absolutely a must. Cruising around the limestone islands on a junk is really amazing, but getting into the bay on a little kayak, paddling around these huge formations and into lagoons... it's indescribable. If you ever go to Ha Long, you must must must kayak. We kayaked through small openings in the limestone, to come out on the other side into a pristine lagoon - you feel like you're in another world. You are surrounded by emerald green water, walls of limestone and all you hear is cicadas and the leaves of trees.



We ate a lot of seafood, as you can guess. Except Matt went veggie, and they actually went the extra mile to try to replicate every course we had in veggie style. We had one crazy dish - praying mantis prawn. That is one bizarre animal.

The other people in our group were cool too, although the funny part was that when we were doing introductions, everyone had professional white-collar type jobs. So we were a bit out of our element but had a lot of fun with them and actually ended up going out in Ha Noi when we got back.

I will never forget this part of our trip.


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