TravelStream™ news feed for member courtenay on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/courtenay en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:18:18 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1249506126/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1249506126/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1249506126/tpod.html Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:18:18 -0400 My travels...

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Muang Ngeun, Louangphrabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

I've somehow at some point become one of those strange travelers, wearing the special clothes that only travelers wear and with all sorts of things hooked onto the outside of my backpack. I started carrying all the extra things around in India and the clothes transition also took place in India, when the monkey at my pair of normal pants in Varanasi. I didn't notice that this transition had taken place but had it pointed out to me by two guys that I met on the boat to Mong Ngoy who asked what all the 'strange things' I had attached to my bag were. I started thinking about it all, and wondering when this change had happened. I remember many months ago, when I met up with Ellie and Eric in Peru and Ellie asked me if I was going to get some of the pants that all the travelers wear in Peru (which are different from what is worn in Asia) and I told her that I wasn't going to, I was fine with my regular people clothes. And now, about a year from that conversation, I have made the full transformation! Completely unintentionally without even realizing it had happened...funny, especially considering how adamantly I was against it a year ago back in Peru.But anyway, I left Luang Prabang and headed to Mong Ngoy, a little village a few hours away. It required a 4 hour bus ride. By bus I mean sangtheaw, one of those covered trucks with the benches along the sides-of course it was full and so I had to sit on a plastic chair in the middle. There was a man behind me, also on a plastic chair. I was facing forward and he faced backward. After about a half an hour, he pushed his chair back up against mine. I didn't really want to rest my head against a stranger's so I inched forward. And he inched closer again. I woman watching this gestured that it was on purpose, so we could lean against each other and go to sleep. So, I stopped inching forward and just let it be. It made it a little more comfortable because I didn't move around so much!  Anyway, after the 4 hour ride I got to the town of Nong Khiaw. I wasn't sure if I would stay a night there or continue on to Mong Ngoy, an hour boat ride away. Luckily, there was a boat leaving in a few hours which gave me some time to walk around the town and have a nice noodle soup for lunch. Mong Ngoy is a little village with no cars. It has become a tourist spot in the last few years. It is another one of those great little laid back villages in Laos. It is on the Nam Ou River. It was low season and so pretty quiet but it looks like during high season every house converts into a restaurant/tour agency/guest house. And there were lots of bungalows being built, I guess in preparation for the coming high season. It was pretty empty when I arrived and most restaurants had no other customers. My last day there, many people arrived and most of the restaurants were full! I can't imagine it during high season as even with the small crowd, the wait for food at restaurants was really long. And, they were running out of food...I guess they weren't expecting a large crew that day! They have to order all of their supplies from Nong Khiaw and they are sent over by boat. So, if lots of people come unexpectedly, I guess they have some problems. They only have electricity a few hours a day so they don't have supplies in the fridge or anything. But, I loved it there!I stayed in the last guesthouse in the village, after looking at them all, because I refused to pay 30,000 kip for a room. I was shocked by the lack of bargaining-noone would come down at all but I persevered and made it to the end and found a little bungalow for 20,000 kip. I was with one of the Israeli guys that I had met on the boat, while his friend watched our stuff for us. Made it a lot easier to go on the hunt for a room, especially since it was raining! Anyway, it was totally worth it as I loved the place I stayed. Shi, the owner's son, was great fun. My first night there he invited me to a party at his house. His little sister has been very sick and so a shaman had come and he had spent the day drinking Lao Lao with the shaman. In the evening, his friends came over and they had a big feast. So, it was my second party where I was the only farang! I didn't stay for too long as I had promised to meet up with the Itay and Amir (the Israelis I had met on the boat). I was still pretty sick for my whole stay in Mong Ngoi so I pretty much spent my time relaxing, laying in my hammock and reading. Had lots of time to do some yoga, which I hadn't been doing much of since I headed north in Laos (and maybe the reason I got sick!) I spent lots of time hanging out with Shi, met an American girl, Katie, and spent time with her as well. One day I went on a nice (if a bit muddy...the mud was higher then my ankles...I just took off my shoes and walked through it barefoot as my flip flops were just treachorous in the mud. After a little less than an hour, I made it to a cave. There are two caves nearby, one where you can swim and another one that is very dark and has a lot of cow droppings, as well as a Buddha statue in a corner. I couldn't see it very well, but I could certainly smell it!After leaving the cave, I ran into two others who were hiking to a village. So, I joined them and walked for another hour, through some beautiful rice paddies, surrounded by mountains, till we got to a small village. Now, this village is an hour boat ride and a two hour walk from anywhere with cars or electricity. Yet they did have a guesthouse and a restaurant. If I had longer, I might have come and stayed out here for a few nights. We left after having a drink in the restaurant and then walked back, as the sun was making its descent behind the mountains. It was pretty amazingly beautiful!Mong Ngoy was one of the highlights of  my trip in Laos. Just really peaceful place to relax for a few days!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1249050608/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1249050608/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1249050608/tpod.html Sun, 13 Sep 2009 07:10:30 -0400 My travels...

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Luang Prabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

On my minivan ride to Luang Prabang, I met Scott, an American from Nebraska who has been teaching English in Korea for 5 years. We decided to head out together and look for somewhere to stay. Looking for a guesthouse reminds me of when I was apartment hunting in NY, which is so funny cause it doesn't matter that much, I'm usually only going to stay for a few days, but it is always nice when you find the right place. We ended up at a nice guest house, where they had free water refills, coffee, tea, and bananas! Lovely.My friend Claire has described Luang Prabang to me as 'Disney does Laos' and I can see why that is true in many ways. The town is a UNESCO world heritage city. All the shops have the same format of signs on them, with the same font. It's all very uniform, but also kind of quaint. I stayed in a great spot, very close to the local daily fresh produce market, which is full of all kinds of food-fruits, veggies, fish, chickens, worms, eels, and some unidentifiable things-and a few random stalls selling things like underwear. Luang Prabang is well known for its night market. It is nice to walk through as none really hassles you. And, they had some really beautiful stuff. It is arranged and lit nicely and has a sort of calming effect-not what you typically think of in a market. Once you get in and start barganing, it is just your typical market it gets a little more intense but I really enjoyed it. There is also a food section, where they have a 5000 kip vegetarian buffet. You can fill one plate as full as you like. These stands were very crowded. There are also other foods to choose from-various grilled fish and other meats and sausages. My first evening there, Scott and I headed to the market and enoyed the veggie buffet. We ran into Mari (Dutch), Dave (Australian), and Dom (French) whom we had met earlier at our guest house and we all had a lovely dinner together at the crowded street corner tables. I headed to bed early as I was developing a cold (it wasn't just a hangover I had on the minivan that made me feel like such crap after all!)The next day I spent wandering around a bit. I was feeling pretty sick so I didn't see too much but did have a nice walk around town, stopping at a few temples here and there. I met up with my friends again in the evening for dinner and we went out for Laotian BBQ. It was quite fun-we had big plates of meat that we grilled on the pan and around the outside was broth the we put our noodles and veggies into. It was really delicious!The following day we all went to visit a waterfall-Kuang Si Waterfall. This was by far the most beautiful waterfall I had seen in Laos (and yes, we did have to pay to enter...this is one thing I noticed in Luang Prabang that I hadn't seen elsewhere in Laos-you have to pay to get into anything here. I guess that's what happens when a city turns into an UNESCO site!). First stop were some black bears that have all been rescued from poachers. They were pretty cute and we watched them play around for a while. Then, we hiked up to the top of the waterfall. It was beautiful and we lounged around in these natural pools at the top. It was a tough climb up (in flip flops, while feeling stuffed up and a bit off balance) but the way down was even scarier as it was pretty steep and very muddy! But, I managed to make it without falling too badly. At the bottom there are these beautiful swimming pools. By this point I was feeling pretty exhausted so I just watched as the others played around. We spent several hours there and were a bit late meeting our tuk tuk driver to take us back but he wasn't too angry!After a nap I headed to the Royal Palace. Inside there was one room that was painted with all of these traditional folk tales, which was pretty interesting. In another building there was an exhibit of photographs of novice monks. I really enjoyed them, although it seems like it must have been a bit intrusive, and kind of the total opposite of what the point of being a monk and meditating is all about, if you have people coming and taking your photo! I headed up Phu Si next, a big hill in the middle of the city. There is a great view of the city from the top. There is a temple on the top and another temple (maybe even two) on the side of the hill, on the way back down. When I got to the one closest to the bottom, there were some monks chanting. I sat outside and just enjoyed the chanting for a bit. It was really quite relaxing. There were some little monks and they kept coming out and looking at me. One gestured that I could come in so I cam up and sat near the door of the temple. It's amazing how the chanting can just take over and you can get so lost in it!I met up with the crew for dinner in the market again and then we went out to one of the bars in town. I hung out for a bit but was definitely glad that bars close early in Luang Prabang (11 pm) as I was still feeling sick!THe plan in the morning was to leave Luang Prabang and head further north. But, when I woke up with a fever I decided it wasn't a good day to be traveling. So, I decided I could do with a bit of spoiling and headed to JoMa, a fancy coffee shop, (with air conditioning!) and enjoyed some cookies and tea and read my book for a few hours. Dave and Scott had left in the morning but I spent the afternoon drinking more tea and hanging out with Dom until he departed and then had dinner with Mari. Another early night, as this time I was determined to leave in the morning, regardless of how I felt!Again, I spent longer than planned in a city (they always do that to me!) but I really liked this one. It is an easy city to be in-you can walk around to most places, lots of cheap food available, and it just has a nice feel to it!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248765918/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248765918/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248765918/tpod.html Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:52:31 -0400 My travels...

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Vang Vieng, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

There are two ways to get to Vang Vieng from Vientiane-the local bus or a minivan. Now, most of the people I met recently in Vientiane were of the minvan type-lots of young university students on holiday for a month or two, in South East Asia to party. I admire them for being so adventurous-when I was 18 I certainly wasn't traveling around SE Asia with my friends (very few of these travelers are American. Actually, I don't think I have met any Americans in this catergory) however I find that I don't have very much in common with them as traveling companions! So, I got a few strange looks when I said I was going to take the public bus to Vang Vieng but, not only is it cheaper, you also usually have a more interesting ride! Which, of course, I did. I was a bit confused as to why the woman who sat down behind me had a bunch of plastic bags with her, until the bus started moving and she spent the whole 4 hour ride vomiting into the bags! If vomiting was happening on the minivan, I can gaurantee whoever was doing it was not as prepared as this lady! So, perhaps I didn't have a better ride but at least it was a bit more of an adventure!Vang Vieng is in a beautiful spot-along the river (of course...like all of Laos, although this one is on the Nam Song River) there are huge karst cliffs all around. People originally started coming here becuase it was beautiful and because there are lots of adventure activities possible-rock climbing, caving, kayaking, biking, tubing. At some point, however, tubing kind of took over and now that is why people come. Except it's not just tubing. Some locals got smart and realized that the foreigners would love a drink while floating down the river in their tubes so they set up a bar along the river. More locals decided to set up as well and now there are quite a few bars that the tubers stop at. There's a guy standing on the shore of the river by each bar who throws you a rope and pulls you up to the bar. Each bar has its own attraction-swings, zip lines, slides, mud pits. So, people spend the day floating down the river, stopping at bar after bar and getting more and more drunk. In the evenings, the town is full of restaurants all with the same menu and the same entertainment-Friends. Actually, there are two different types of restaurants. Some have Friends and some have Family Guy. So, you literally just sit and eat and watch hours of these shows, surrounded by drunken people, frequently soaking wet drunken people who have just come off the river.I had been unsure about going to Vang Vieng. It didn't really sound like my kind of place. Don't get me wrong...I can see how tubing down a river could be fun with a group of friends, maybe even stopping for a drink or two along the way. However, the stories I have heard about this place, the amount of over the top drunkeness that results from here, I just didn't think it would be my thing. It seems like at some point it got way out of control. And, I wasn't with friends, I was traveling on my own (the travel flow moves north to south in Laos, so everywhere I went I met lots of people but I was pretty much on my own in between destinations) and even if I had been with friends I wasn't sure about the rest of the people who choose to go to Vang Vieng. Wasn't sure I would enjoy spending a day on the river with really ridiculous people. Regardless, I decided to go just cause I HAD to see this place that is so popular, such a part of the South East Asia backpacker trail. I spent my first evening eating dinner in a Friends restaurant. And, I must admit that I enjoyed watching a few episodes of the show. It's a bit strange to eat surrounded by people that seem like zombies, however. Usually drunken people are rowdy. But, everyone I saw eating or coming out of the water just looked completely done in, sitting in a trance and watching Friends along with me. The next day I went on a kayaking trip. I thought this would be a good option because you get to kayak, you get to see some caves, and you go through the tubing portion of the river. The trip would provide me with the oppurtunity to see the tubing without actually having to partake in it. There were 5 of us-3 Chinese women who didn't speak any English, one was about my age, her mother, and her grandmother (who couldn't swim), a 50 year old Chemistry professor from England, and me, on the trip, as well as two guides. When we got to the river the guides asked where I was from. When I said the US they said good, because Americans now how to kayak and I somehow ended up in a kayak on my own. I was the only one who had ever kayaked before so somehow this qualified me for going down a rushing river, with a few rapids (very small ones but still!) on my own. I was a bit scared about this (I did drown in a past life!) but there wasn't much choice as noone else could go by themself. Our first stint in the river was pretty quick. Just across the river and down for a few minutes and then we got out to visit some caves. The first cave, elephant cave, has some natural structure in it that kind of looks like in elephant. There is also a Buddha footpring and some Buddha statues. We left there and walked to the next cave which was a bit more exciting. It is in water and you have to swim into the cave. We put on head lamps and swam in, holding onto a rope the whole way. ON the way in, the current was going against us and it was really hard going. It was pretty cool inside, if a bit scary. Apparently, in dry season, you can float in on tubes, and at the end of the tunnel, you get to an open lagoon. Since the river was so high, there was no room for tubes. Only our heads were sticking up out of the water. The way out was much quicker as you could just lean back and the current pushed you along. Again, a bit scary cause it was moving pretty fast. We had lunch here and then headed back to the kayaks for our big trip down the river. It was actually pretty fun. The rapids weren't too bad, but I was terrified each time. The only bad part came when we got to the tubing section. We got to the first bar and some drunken idiot swam up to one of the other kayaks and tried to flip it. The guide yelled at him and pushed him off with his paddle. As he let go I realized he was probably going to try for my kayak next and frantically tried to paddle out of his way but I wasn't fast enough and he grabbed my kayak. A short struggle ensued, me trying (unsuccessfully) to hit him with the paddle while screaming obscenities at him, while he just continued to drunkenly try to flip me. He didn't say a word the whole time and eventually did manage to flip me over. I was livid! I had my camera in the kayak with me. It was in a dry back but I wasn't sure how well those things worked (it worked fine luckily). I did manage to get back into the kayak without losing my paddle (my bag and flip flops were strapped in). We stopped at the next bar. This is the time when you can take the opportunity to drink and act like the tubers but noone in my group was really into partying. The young Chinese woman did play tug of war in the mud pit and I did go on the big swing (again, terrifying!). We stayed for a while, with the chemistry professor complaining about it all, although he was being a good sport about it, considering he'd had no idea what he had been getting himself into when he signed up for the outing-he thought he was going to be trekking! The guides were definitely hoping we would join in on the partying but we weren't having it so eventually we all got back in our kayaks and continued down the river. I was careful to avoid any more drunken tubers!One of the guides invited me to a party that evening. His boss was having a party for his wife, who had been sick but was better so they were thanking the gods. He said I was welcomd to join. It seemed like a better option to me then hanging out at a restaurant with a bunch of zombies watching Friends again. I met Thed (the guide) at the tour office and we rode to his boss's wife's family's house on his motorbike. There was a ceremony going on inside and outside was a table with about 25 men. We joined them. They were all drinking beer. They have an interesting beer drinking custom. There was one bottle of beer and one small glass. Someone was in charge of the glass and the beer. They filled the glass up and gave it to someone who drank it and then gave it back. The glass was filled again and passed to the next person and slowly worked its way around the table. So, I joined the men in their beer drinking (I think all the women were inside cooking). Those of you who have known me since I was young are probably shocked that I would share a glass with 25 strangers but I've changed a lot. And, what else is there to do when you are at a Laotian party?? When the ceremony inside finished, we all went in and tied a white string around the husband and wife's wrists and gave them a wish for something. Then the eating began. A pig had been slaughtered for the occasion so we had pig soup and a few other dishes with pig. There was sticky rice and some vegetables. Since it's such a long table, a few small plates of each were set out around the table and then everyone just digs in and shares. Most people were kind of avoiding the food in front of me, Most of them are guides so they are familiar with the pickiness of westerners I would guess! I did get a special bowl of soup (don't know if it was on purpose or if it just accidentally ended up in front of me) with the pig's foot in it. The old man next to me kept gesturing to it, telling me it was good and I should eat it. I kept avoiding it and then eventually offered it to him. He was thrilled and ate it right up!After the festivities were winding down, a few of us went to karaoke. They kept trying to get me to sing a few songs. Luckily, I can't read Laos so I couldn't. Then we went over to the disco next door. It was pretty empty so we only stayed for a few songs. Although it wasn't a typical Vang Vieng experience, I definitely enjoyed it! Much different then expected but it turned out to be very interesting!I left in the morning for Luang Prabang, not a nice ride when you've had a bit too much Beer Lao (but honestly, how are you supposed to keep track of how much you've drunk when you're drinking it from such a small glass??) as the road goes through the mountains and is very winding. I took the minivan option as it was impossible to find out about the local bus. Noone really knew anything about it, or at least they weren't willing to share any info with a falang. I was told that if I stand on the side of the road between 10 am and 8 pm a bus will probably come by from Vientiane on it's way to Luang Prabang and if there was room then I could take it but there probably wouldn't be. So, I figured the minivan was safer. We left in a caravan of minivans. We had a stop for breakfast an hour after we left (that drives me crazy!) and then when we were in the mountains in the middle of nowhere, we all of a sudden turned around and headed back a bit. Turned out one of the other minivans had broken down. So, for some reason we ALL had to wait on the side of the road. An empty minivan came and picked them up (it was strange...there had been one empty minivan that left with us-maybe they just send one everytime since apparently one van breaks down everytime) and we continued on, stopping for lunch about 15 minutes later! but, we did eventually make it there.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248593077/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248593077/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248593077/tpod.html Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:32:42 -0400 My travels...

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Vientiane, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

After my stay on the island I was ready to head north, to Vientiane, the big city! I was looking forward to riding on the VIP sleeper bus, since I had heard so many stories about it. I have taken plenty of overnight buses in my travels, but they were always in chairs. Here, you have a bed, with no real option to sit up. And, it is a tiny bed, a little bigger than a twin bed, but two people have to sleep in it, and, if you're on your own, you share with a stranger! Not too surprisingly, it wasn't so great! Luckily, my bus wasn't full so I got a bed to myself. And, got to move from my reserved seat to another bed, a huge relief since my bed was on the bottom, right across from the bathroom. I switched to a top bunk, on the other side of the bus from the bathroom! It rained most of the night. Shouldn't have been a huge deal except that the luggage compartment leaked and all my stuff was SOAKED! Lovely to get out of the bus in the pouring rain and find that all your stuff is soaked. And of course, we got in at 5:30 am. Why don't the buses leave at 9 or 10 pm instead of 8 pm so we could get in at a more reasonable time? Had to walk around in the pouring rain for over an hour, looking for a guest house, as some weren't open yet and those that were didn't know if they had rooms available yet. Didn't even matter that it was raining since I was soaked from the minute I put my pack on! My main goal in Vientiane was to get a 60 day visa for Thailand. So, I spent a few hours on my first two days at the Thai Embassy. It's a pretty easy process but you do meet some characters...there are some strange Westerners who have decided to settle in Thailand and have to make the border run on occasion for a new visa. It's pretty quick to get to Vientiane from Bangkok. They get straight off the train and head to the embassy, many with a beer or a bottle of whiskey in hand. They complain about having to spend the night in terrible Laos. Then, they come back the next day, just as drunk as the day before, pick up their passport and visa, and head straight back to Bangkok! Not everyone was like this but there were certainly a few! I guess it provided a bit of entertainment while I was waiting for my visa but it also disgusted me a bit!I ended up really liking Vientiane. Most people I met don't like it and complain about having to go there at all but it is a nice little city, right on the Mekong (as all of Laos seems to be!) It was originally settled in the late 9th century and became the capital of the French Proctectorate in the late 18th century. It has a bit of a French Colonial feel to it and there are many French Restaurants around. I visted a few Wats...Wat Si Saket, which is the oldest surviving temple from 1819. It is surrounded by a thick-walled cloister with all these small niches with over 2000 silver and ceramic Buddhas. There are also over 300 larger Buddhas made of wood, stone, silver, and Bronze. Pretty cool wall! Another Wat, Wat Sok Pa Luang, offers massage and sauna. DOn't worry, the monks don't give the massages, lay people who live at the temple do the massages But, it is a bit strange to be getting your massage on the grounds of a temple! It was a nice experience, but not the most relaxing, as there were lots of people and talking. The massages and sauna are up on a platform, surrounded by trees. So, you're outside, on this platform, with 6 beds, lying next to strangers, in  your sarong, all getting massages. If there hadn't been so many people, I think it would have been really peaceful, listening to the forest noises around. But, we (I went with Femke and Mathjis, 2 Dutch people I had met at my guesthouse) still had fun. The woman who runs the massage and sauna was very energetic lady. She invited us to come out that night to see some of her friends perform in a drag show. So, we had an interesting evening, at a gay bar/massage parlor, enjoying a show. It was a good time!Another main attraction in Vientiane is Patuxai, Laos' Arc de Triomphe. It was built in the 1960's with cement that the USA gave to Laos to build an airport but they decided to build this monument instead. It is jokingly called the 'Vertical Runway.' On the weekends it is really crowded, with tons of people sitting outside, enjoying the park and fountain around it. One day Femke, Matjhis and I rented motorbikes and headed out of town (we only rented two...I rode on the back. I did try to ride it around the parking lot but I was way too scared!) The goal was to go to Xieng Khuan Buddha Park, which is 27 km outside of the city. It is this huge park with Buddhist and Hindu sculptures. It was built in 1958 by Luang Pu Bunleua Slilat, a yogi-priest-shaman who merged Hindu and Buddhist philosphy, mythology, and iconography together. There are huge statues of Shive, Vishnu, Arjuna, and Buddha that were cast by untrainted artists. The largest sculpture is a large pumpkin shaped concrete monument that you can go inside. It has 3 levels to represent hell, earth, and heaven. It was pretty cool (if a little dark and difficult to walk around inside!) Of course, the day didn't go as smoothly as planned, as we got caught in a ridiculous rainstorm and were completely soaked when we finally had to stop cause our drivers couldn't even see the road anymore. But, we found a lovely place for noodle soup and stopped and dried off a bit. Eventually the rain let up and we made it there.My favorite part of Vientiane is the riverside in the evening. All of these little restaraunts set up along the water with great fresh seafood. It's really cute, if a bit touristy. I went out for one dinner to one of the lovely French restaraunts (Thanks Mom and dad!). It didn't turn out to be the spectacular meal I was fantasizing about, but I did get the first glass of decent wine I'd had in a while!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248258497/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248258497/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248258497/tpod.html Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:30:27 -0400 My travels...

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Don Khô, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

My next stop was Don Kho, a little island about 15 km from Pakse. THe island is known for its silk weaving. It is also a place where you can do a homestay. Sophie, a friend I had met in India had recommended I do a homestay there. When I asked in the tourist office in Pakse how I should arrange this, I was told to take a sawngtheaw from the Morning Market to Ban Saphai where I could catch a ferry across the river to the island. When I got to the island, just tell someone that I wanted to do a homestay and they would set me up. Now, I've gotten pretty good at turning up in a town that I'm not at all familiar with and finding a hostel to stay in. But, it seemed a bit strange to be turning up on an island (an island where very few people speak any English) and inviting myself to someone's home! But, I figured, why not give it a go??I headed to the morning market (of course got horribly lost on the way...why do people have such a problem with street signs in this country?? I do realize that even if there were street signs I probably wouldn't be able to read them seeing as my Laotian isn't so great but anyway...) and ended up taking a tuk tuk. He looked at me like I was confused when I said I was planning on going to Don Kho for the night, saying there were no guesthouses on the island and it was a little bit late for a day trip. He dropped me off at the spot where you can take a shared sawngthaew to the village and they explained to me that I would have to wait until there were at least 6 people in order to leave. I was person number two. Not a big deal...I wasn't in a rush. Or so I thought until I waited OVER AN HOUR till we left. Now, again, I wasn't in a rush. I've been traveling for a year now with nowhere to be and nothing to do. And still, I was extremely annoyed by having to wait so long. I've been in plenty of other countries where you have to wait for the bus to fill before you can leave. But I've never had to wait so long. And I just kept wondering about all the other people that were waiting with me. What were they doing in Pakse at the time? Did they really have nowhere else to be? Did it not really matter what time they got home? I get annoyed in NYC when I have to wait 10 minutes for a subway and all these people were fine waiting an hour to get home! But, that's Laos...people don't seem like they'e in a rush for anything! My time on the island just confirmed that theory! We never got the 6 people we needed but eventually left anyway. Turns out we dropped off some messages and packages along the way so maybe that made up for the 2 people we were missing.When we arrived at the 'ferry terminal' (a few steps down to the river where some little boats were tied up) some boatmen came up to me. They pointed to a sign that said it was 20,000 kip to cross. At the tourist office in Pakse I'd been told that it was 5,000 kip. I figured they were just trying to rip me off, take me in my own boat when there is a regular ferry that I could take with others for the cheaper price. Not really sure why I was thinking this was a good idea after I'd already waited an hour for my ride to the town but for some reason I was dead set on waiting for a cheaper ferry. And, wait I did! About another hour. THere were a few times I almost got rides. One guy gestured that he would take me for 10,000 kip, if I went with him and several bags of concrete. I said sure. However, as he kept loading and loading up the huge bags of concrete, and the boat began sinking lower and lower, I began to reconsider. He did as well becasue he motioned that he would take the concrete and then come back for me. While I was waiting for him to return, a couple of guys (including one that had ridden over with me from Pakse) came down and got in a boat. They gestured that I should join. I hopped in (not even asking the price...at this point I didn't even care! It ended up being the promised 5,000 kip). One of them pointed to the temple and said "Wat" and something else that I didn't understand and I nodded my head yes because it was indeed a Wat. I guess they were asking me if that is where I wanted to go because they ended up dropping me off there. Not a bad place to leave me, as I was greeted by several young monks who spoke a bit of English and when I said 'homestay' one of them ran off to get someone to arrange it for me. Mik arrived. She is 26-years old and has studied English in Pakse so she was in charge of communicating with me and finding me somewhere to stay. I spent the next two nights staying with Joay and her family-her husband, her parents, and her two younger brothers. The island is designed with houses along the river and rice paddies in the middle. It was not rice planting or harvesting season so the families weren't overly busy. The men fish and the women weave silk. It was pouring rain once I finally made it to the house and Joay's husband and one of her brothers were just heading off to fish for dinner. They asked if I wanted to come along but fishing isn't exactly my idea of a good time (as much as I did enjoy my piranha fishing in Ecuador!) and especially when it is that wet. So, I declined. Spent some time talking with Mik and Joay until the rain finally let up and Mik headed home. I was left with the family, who knew no English. The men had come back from fishing and the family seemed to be cooking dinner so I headed towards the kitchen to watch the preparation. They seemed a bit uncomfortable with me watching and eventually showed me the way back to the living area. They eventually brought out a round table with my dinner on it-fish, sticky rice, an omelet, and fish sauce. Joay sat down with me and showed me to be careful about the bones in the fish. She showed me how to ball up the rice (which I already knew how to do luckily so I didn't feel too stupid for not knowing how to eat!) and dip it in the sauce and eat it with the fish. I wasn't sure if itwas just my food or if I was meant to share and I kept gesturing, asking if she was going to eat as well. A little while later another little table came out and the whole family sat around it, eating together. It was a bit strange that I was left to eat at my own table, alone, but I guess they figured that falang don't really like to share the same dishes, seeing as they eat everything with their hands out of communal bowls. After dinner the mother got out some photos, many of Joay's recent wedding and showed me lots of pictures. The TV was on and the family was watching a bit, until the storm picked up and the father seeemed concerned about the lightning and turned it off. I sat around with Joay, her husband, and her brothers. They looked through my guidebook. In the Lonely Planet, there is a picture of a woman weaving on Don Kho. Joay's husband was very excited when he saw the picture, kept pointing to himself, and finally told me that that was his mother! Pretty cool that she's int he guidebook! At 8 pm it was bed time. They had curtained off a section of the living room and put a mattress on the floor and a mosquito net around it for me. I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep so early but I managed just fine! Woke up a little after 5:30, to the roosters. I was the last one up. Joay's husband and brother were already out fishing. I managed to get some yoga in and then Joay came with my table for breakfast. I ate alone, I think the family ate downstairs...not really sure why we ate completely separate that time. Had more rice for breakfast, along with some vegetable and meat dish (not sure what, chicken maybe?) and some fruit, a fruit I had never eaten before...Joay had to show me how! After breakfast I headed back to the Wat to look for Mik's house. She had said I should come over in the morning and she would give me a silk weaving lesson. Her house is behind the Wat. Getting there involved walking along a narrow path through the rice paddies! I managed to find my way however with only a few minor slips, nothing that landed me IN the rice paddies, which is what I feared. Mik showed me how to take the thread and wind it onto the spool. Then, she left me alone to do it on my own. Of course, I kept going till she came back, and was impressed by the large spool I managed to make. She laughed when she saw it and ended up having to redo it because it was too big. Oh well! I tried. Her silk had gotten wet in all the rain so she wasn't able to do any weaving so I didn't get the lesson. But, we spent several hours talking. She lives alone with her mother, her father died when she was young. She has a sister who is married and lives in a house next door, and some brothers who live off the island. I tried to figure out if it was typical for a man to move in with his wife's family when they got married (as Joay's husband had done) but she didn't seem to understand the question. She did say that she will live at home with her mom, even if she does get married. I asked a lot of other questions, trying to figure out some of their traditions and culture and just way of life but the language was too much of a barrier. She also showed me lots of pictures of her and her friends and after a while I headed off. I took a walk around the island.  I walked some along the river, by the houses and through the woods, and some through the rice paddies. Which is so cool cause I LOVE rice paddies, although I was still nervous that I would fall in. I didn't, despite getting stuck in the mud a few times and having to search fro my flip flops! I got called in to a few houses (well, under houses-they all live in stilt houses and they sit underneath them to eat, hang out, weave, feed the chickens...) and the women showed me their scarves. All very nice but I dont' need anymore scarves! I got invited into a house, by a man who told me all about his family. His daughter's husband lives in the United States as well as some of his brothers and he he told me all about it. We had a nice little chat and I continued on. His house was not a stilt house-he had built a bottom level to his house. I noticed this at other houses-they were building walls around the open bottom level. I tried asking about this and it seems that from watching TV they want to change their houses. I also tried to figure out why they are stilted in the first place. I think it's just for storage. When I got back to the Joay's house she gave me my silk weaving lesson. I did ok, managing to get it back and forth and remembering to change my feet on the peddles below. I didn't have much luck with the pattern, however, and completely messed it up. It was fun, but my legs were tired afterwards. The evening was much the same as the night before-more fish and sticky rice. The food was delicious, although I was a bit concerned about where it had come from...for dinner I had catfish. I hadn't seen them catch any catfish that day but I did remember seeing some in the big water trough in the bathroom that you use to flush the tolet with. When I went to the bathroom later I noticed that there weren't as many fish as there had been the day before! I guess they keep them there for storage? Kind of different! I ate before the family this time.When their food came out, they invited me over to try it. Joay's husband had caught a HUGE fish and they made a big fish soup. I was amazed be how quickly they made the soup and how good it was! While they were eating I figured it was time to take a bath, something which I had been a bit nervous about. They have three big concrete cisterns full of rain water behind the house. There are buckets in them. The men usually bathe in their shorts and the women wear a sarong. I felt a bit strange walking past them all while they were eating in my sarong to go downstairs, again, my being unsure of what is appropriate and being slightly confused about the modesty in the country. So, I changed into my sarong in the bathroom downstairs. I was hoping I could take my bath quickly (as I wasn't sure I was doing it right...where do you stand while you bathe-are you supposed to hide behind the cisterns or out in front so you can chat with people while they walk by.) Unfortunately, they are quick eaters and my uncertainty made me into a slow bather. While they were clearing their dinner they saw me downstairs bathing (the walkway to the kitchen from the main house is open). The mother threw me down a different bucket...I guess I was using the wrong one. But, noone else commented. Some of them did come downstairs so I had to finish my bath in public. I eventually managed to finish bathing, felt slightly more clean then when I started although not so clean that I was sure the effort was worth it!We watched some TV and again went to bed early. I had my breakfast early the next morning, paid my bill, and then Joay and her brother took me back in a boat to the mainland (for 20,000kip!)I really loved the experience. It was nice to be the only foreinger somewhere, if a bit challenging. I did wonder about how much these homestays change the way of life of the families. I paid more to stay a night there then I had paid so far in Laos. And, the meals cost the max I had ever paid. I have no problem paying for the homestay but it just seemed like I was paying A LOT. I think my whole bill ended up being 210,000 kip. They had told me that it takes one day to make a scarf and they sell a scarf for around 30,000-40,000 kip, making a profit of 20,000-30,000 (since they have to purchase the silk). And they weren't all weaving while I was there. THere seemed to be a lot of downtime. Maybe that was because I was there and so they knew they didn't need to make scarves that day, they had plenty of income already coming in. But, even the neighbors who had noone staying with them, weren't all working on scarves. So, that means that they don't usually make even 20,000 kip a day. And then along comes a falang and they make 210,000 kip. It has to change things a bit. Maybe that's how some of the families are able to change their houses now, and buy TVs and things. But, this is all speculation...I don't really know. I did think it was nice that they did have the down time. They worked hard while they were working, weaving quickly, going out fishing, and I'm sure during rice season they are all working all day. But, when they didn't have something to do, they spent time just hanging out, relaxing under the house. Talking to neighbors. It is just so different from life at home. At home, in the middle of the day, people don't just sit around and relax, hanging out with their neighbors. Everyone is working, working, working. Trying to make money. To buy more and more things. But in Don Kho, they don't. I guess there is no point in making scarves all day long, maybe they can't sell that many. But, they're not looking around for something different. Not trying to make more money so they can buy furniture (the houses don't really have furniture...mats on the floor to sit on, the tables they carry in for meals, all the beds are mattreses on the floor). I guess some people have, and that's why they have left the island, like Mik's brothers, to do something different. But, it seems like they are satisfied with their lives. Satisfied with what they have, even though it is so much less then what we would think is acceptable at home. I kind of wish that I could have that, in a way, that I didn't want to have nice things. That I would be fine with less than what I am used to, and in the process maybe enjoy life a little bit more....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248085541/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248085541/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248085541/tpod.html Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:11:33 -0400 My travels...

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Tadlo, Saravan, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Once my friends decided to leave for Vientiane on an overnight bus I decided I would continue on to Tadlo. Tadlo is a town that has 3 waterfalls that you can walk to. It's sort of a backpacker hangout but not that many people go there, especially now, as it is the low season. Another kind of relax and enjoy place, like the 4,000 islands, but with a bit more hiking around. The bus ride was shorter than expected, always a surprise. Met Ray (England) and Lisa (Canada) on the bus. The bus lets you off 1.8 km from the town so we headed up the hill together. They had left some of their luggage in storage in their guest house in Pakse but I had everything with me. It wasn't too terrible of a walk but I would think I'd be more used to carrying my big pack around with me by this time! We walked through a little village, a mixture of traditional wooden or bamboo stilt houses and more modern concrete ones. Noone paid too much attention to us, I guess they're used to seeing falang (foreigners) walking up the hill. Found 'lovely' bungalows to stay in. Not as nice as where I'd been in Don Det but they did have balconies on the river, with a view of one of the waterfalls, Tat Hang. No hammocks though. And the bathroom water was pumped straight up from the river so it was the same chocolatey color as the river going by. Really nice when you're taking a bucket shower and the bucket is full of brown water! In the evening we strolled around town and had a nice dinner at one of the 5 restaurants in town (some of which consist of one table on someone's front porch!) I woke up early and decided to do some yoga. Unfortunately my porch was a bit too sloped for me to use for yoga so I had to find another spot. After about an hour and a half I was joined by some small children, one who just came and sat on my lap in the middle of a pose! The other one sat next to me. I kept trying to will them away but they were having none of it so I eventually had to give up on the yoga. Went back to the bungalow, got out some rambutans (my favorite fruit) and was just sitting down to eat them when the little guys appeared again and began eating all my fruit! Well, not all, they did share a bit with me. Ray was also eating some snacks and the kids were attacking his as well. Julie eventually woke up from all the noise (although we didn't mind sharing our snacks, they were trying to get at Ray's peanut butter! Now, for anyone who has traveled away from home for a long time, you know that peanut butter is sacred and needs to be eaten sparingly, not just given away to any little kid that comes walking by! It turned into a loud 'defend the peanut butter' game!) It was a lot of fun, even though the kids got a bit violent, jumping up and down on Ray's lap while pulling his hair, but we all managed to escape unharmed! When we finally managed to get away from the kids, we headed up the hill to a waterfall, Tat Lo (tat means waterfall in Laos). It was beautiful up there. We found a scary path leading to the bottom of the falls and sat there for a while, enjoying the spray in our faces. Then went up to the top of the waterfall, layed on some rocks and just relaxed to the sound of the falls breaking below us and the kids playing and bathing all around. The sun was shining and we had a beautiful blue sky overhead and trees all around. A few families came by. One father pulled up on a motorbike with his three kids and they found a nice pool to take their bath in. Bathing is so different here. In such a modest country, where bathing suits and even tank tops are looked down upon, bathing is a public event. I mean, they all bathe covered up-men in underwear and women in sarongs, but they do it in front of everyone. To me, showing my shoulders by wearing a tank top doesn't seem inappropriate at all, but bathing myself, even in a sarong, seems a bit too personal to do in public. I never quite know where to look when someone is bathing in front of me. They all do it together so it must not be a private thing at all but who knows. After relaxing for a while we played with some kids. They showed us how to twirl bamboo sticks around on our fingers. They looked like they were playing Rambo or something, climbing in trees and shooting at each other...I guess kids all over the world like violent games, even the ones who don't play awful video games all day long. After playing around they asked us for money or food. It's so sad when tourism makes kids into beggars. They didn't look like they were wanting for things, they didn't look starving or dirty or anything. But, tourists walk around, giving out money or pens or toys and now when children see foreigners, they assume they will get something from them. Had a delcious lunch at Mam and Pap's- a HUGE pancake which Amber had recommended to me back in Don Det. Pretty much all the falang in town ended up eating there so we stayed for a few hours, all chatting. Tried another restaurant for dinner-figured we'd spread some of our kip around to as many places as we could and again ended up eating with most of the falang in town. Ray and Lisa left in the morning and I decided to head toward the waterfall that is a few kilometers away, Tat Suong. Ran into a group of small children carrying some sort of bean pods after a while. I tried to avoid them because I figured they were going to hassle me for money. But they didn't. One of the oldest ones, Noi, (he said he was 8) asked me if I was going to Tat Fan. I said I was and he said he was to, gesturing that he and his friends were going to play there. So, I followed them, still a bit concerned that this was going to cost me something. They took me on a different path then my guidebook had suggested, as they had to stop in their village. This was more of a traditional village then any I have seen so far. They were all stilt houses. Women were chewing on betel nuts and smoking something that was rolled in a leaf and smelled a lot like marijuana...hmmm...Lots of animals, pigs and chickens, running around. It was a pretty quiet village. I'm assuming they had electricity as they were right next to a power plant. Anyway, the kids gave the bean pods to their grandmother. Some of the kids went home and 3 continued on with me, to the waterfall. We walked through the river bed, climbing over rocks and in the water, definitely not the path the Lonely Planet had laid out for me. I never would have found this way on my own. The kids were sweet and waited patiently for me while I slipped and stumbled on the wet rocks that they were nimbly leaping across! We got there and they went swimming and jumped off some big rocks. Then, they played a game of hid and seek. I watched. They tried to get me to tell them where there friends were hiding, but I refused to help them cheat! After a while I decided to try to get to the top of the falls and motioned to the kids that I was heading up. They seemed a bit concerned. Noi was making some gestures but I didn't understand. I started up and they followed me. I motioned that they didn't have to come but they insisted. The further along we got the more concerned Noi was getting. All of a sudden I remembered reading in the guidebook that at certain times of the day they let out more water and the falls become a lot stronger. I figured that that was what Noi was trying to say, with his gesture of water coming down and his 'I don't know.' I turned and gestured back and he nodded in relief and we headed back down. This whole adventure had been a couple of hours and noone had asked me for money so I figured I was being overly paranoid. However, we got down to a safer location and started heading back and then Noi turned and asked me for money. I had a huge dilemma. On the one hand, they did do me a service, showing me the falls. And people should get paid for services. On the other hand, I didn't ask for this service and it is what made me wary of the kids in the first place. I hate when children think that we are just for money! I told them no money. They looked a bit upset (but still showed me the way home...I was worried I would get lost!), stopping just outside of the village to ask again (I wonder if they are discouraged from doing this because they made a point of asking me outside of the town, like they didn't want their families to see them getting the money) I refused and they stopped walking with me. I headed back the rest of the way on my own. Such an uncomfortable situation to be in!I left the next morning, heading back down the hill to wait for the bus on the side of the road. A few come every day, but noone knows for sure what time they will come because they are coming from pretty far away. I luckily didn't have to wait for too long. I later found out that Ray and Lisa had ended up riding in the back of a truck the whole way back to Pakse! I guess I'm lucky that a bus showed up first!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1247825922/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1247825922/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1247825922/tpod.html Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:20:50 -0400 My travels...

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Pakse, Champasak, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

After our few days in Champasak we all headed to Pakse together. It was quite an adventure getting to Pakse. When we originally came to the Champasak, we had taken a bus and then gotten dropped off and came over on a ferry. We figured we would cross the ferry and then take a bus on the other side. We weren't too excited about the little boat trip because it was pouring rain and the ferry was just a little boat with no cover. The owner of our guesthouse drove us to the ferry and there was a bus waiting to get onto the ferry. Now, the ferry we had come over on was just a tiny little thing. This one was about two tiny little boats, strung together somehow. There were already several cars on the boat and we were about to stick a full bus on! It took almost an hour of manouvering but we eventually got on. Not entirely sure how and we spent the entire ride assuming that we would sink. But, we somehow made it! The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful as it's not too far away. Of course we stopped a bit outside of the city and tuk tuk drivers came on, teling us we had to get off there and take a tuk tuk into the city. Luckily, there was a lady who spoke English and told us that the bus was going to take us more into the city-they were just trying to rip us off!Anyway, we had heard the motorbikes were cheaper here and so were all set to set out on our motorbike adventure. It was raining a bit the day we arrived so we figured we would rent the bikes in the morning. Spent the afternoon walking around a bit, visiting the market and one of the many Wats (temples) around. Had a lovely dinner at an Indian restaurant (there are a lot of Indian restaurants in Laos, a few chains!) and then of course got stuck in some rain. This was the hardest rain I had seen yet and it continued all night long. We decided that it probably wasn't a good idea to go biking in the morning as the roads were probably not going to be so great. So, our motorbike adventure was cut out. The rest of the group decided to head north to Vientiane and then into Thailand. I had some plans to stay in the south so we split up and I headed out on my own to Tad Lo.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248259411/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248259411/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248259411/tpod.html Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:11:03 -0400 My travels...

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Champasak, Champasak, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

I left Don Det and headed to Champasak with some friends I had made-Nick and Matt from New Zealand and Lois and Jasmine from England. Champasak is a quiet little French colonial town. The architecture is a mixture of French Colonial houses and traditional Lao houses. There are some new houses, sort of a combination of both, with these shiny, pearly pink, brown, green, and white balustrades (well, each house had a different color, not all of them having the same!)  that seemed somewhat out of place but which I loved!We were hoping to rent motorbikes and ride around the south of Laos. Unfortunately bikes are a bit expensive down in Champasak and there was a lot of rain. So, we decided against it. Instead, we rented bicycles one day and rode out to Wat Phu Champasak, which is an ancient Khmer Religious complex. Not as impressive as the Angkor Temples in Siem Riep but still beautiful. It is up in the mountains and is a bit mysterious, given the weather and the cloud coverage. Kind of misty. Not very crowded so it was fun to just walk around and explore on our own. I definitely enjoyed it.There wasn't too much else to do in Champasak. A quiet peaceful river town. There was only one good restaurant-the rest of the food was pretty terrible!! But the people were friendly. A nice stop on the trip but not the most exciting. But, always good to travel somewhere with good people!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248256535/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248256535/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248256535/tpod.html Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:59:05 -0400 My travels...

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Don Det, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

I arrived on Don Det, anxious to start some serious traveling again. Not exactly what you get in the 4000 Islands, where you basically sit in a hammock all day long. Or rent a bike and ride around the islands. I wasn't in the mood for relaxation when I first arrived and after 2 days I thought I was ready to leave. However, on the third morning there, I woke up having changed my mind...I really got into it!There aren't really 4000 islands. There are lots of trees sticking out of the river and each of those is pretty much considered an island. Because it is rainy season, there are far less than that sticking out right now, so definitely not 400 Islands now! People travel to 3 of these islands, Don Det, Don Khon, and Don Khong. Don Det is the one that most backpackers seem to go to. It is the easiest to get to, or at least the only one I found a bus in Phnom Penh that would take me there. It is a small island that has lots of houses along the river and some rice paddies in the middle. There are dirt roads following the coast. Some cars on one end of the island but the end I was staying on only has bikes and motorbikes. Almost every house has some rooms or bungalows to rent out so there are plenty of places to stay. And, being that it is low season, it is very cheap! I stayed in two different bungalows, neither was terribly nice but both were fine. And, both had hammocks on their balconies which were overlooking the river. Riverfront room for less then $3 a night!So yes, my 5 days in the 4000 Islands were not too taxing, although somehow I didn't even spend too much time in the hammock reading. I went on two all day bike rides, which were great, even though the roads are very bumpy. The rides took me to Don Khon, the island right next to Don Det, which you can get to by a bridge that costs 9,000 Kip (a little more than a dollar) to cross, well, for falang (foreigners) anyway, probably free for locals. I visited Li Phi Falls (also known as Tat Somphamit...slightly confusing that is has two names but that seems to be the norm in this country...more than one name for the same thing!) The falls has traditionally been thought of as a trap for bad spirits of dead people and animals. Therefore, noone swims there, as it would be tempting fate, and incredibly dangerous. Although it doesn't fall from a big height it is pretty rough around there. The other *exciting* things to see on Don Khon are an old French peir, an old railway line with two old locomotives, and men fishing. So, not too exciting but nice to ride around.Another day trip from Don Det took me to another waterfall, Koh Phapheng Falls, which is supposedly the largest waterfall in South East Asia. The Lonely Planet refers to it as being the 'largest and most awesome' waterfall. I was extremely disappointed! By largest they mean the most water goes through it then any other waterfall, with millions of liters going into Cambodia. To me, it just looked like a big white water rapid. Or brown water rapid, as the water here is very brown, slightly reminiscent of the chocolate river in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Luckily, the point of my trip wasn't to see the falls...I wanted to go and see the Irawaddy Dolphins. They live in a 190 km stretch of the river between here and Kratie, Cambodia. They are endangered and it is believed that there are only about 100 left in the area. Traditionally, Khmer and Lao people believed that they were reincarnated humans. The Khmer Rouge killed thousands of them to get rid of this belief back in the 1970s. Now, they are still killed, unintentionally, because of poor fishing techniques and water pollutions. To see them we had to take a boat to Cambodia. A $1 'fee' is included in the tour price to give to the Cambodian border officials so we can sit there and watch the dolphins. You just see the fins of the dolphins as they swim but we did get to see lots. It remdinded me of the dolphins I had seen in Ecuador. Although it wasn't as peaceful of a setting. There were the loud boats going by, the border 'officials' and other travelers, hanging out and drinking Beer Lao while watching. But, it was exciting. It being rainy season, there were a couple of torrential downpours but for the most part the weather was pretty good. It was always funny trying to walk around after the rain-dirt roads get pretty slippery. The sunsets there were amazing. Three of the five evenings I was there were beautiful-the whole sky was transformed-oranges and pinks. Really amazing. In the end I really loved the Islands and I was sad when it was finally time to leave.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248257064/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248257064/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/courtenay/1/1248257064/tpod.html Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:05:46 -0400 My travels...

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Stœ̆ng Trêng, Stœ̆ng Trêng, Cambodia


]]>