Week 3 Update
Trip Start
Oct 24, 2007
1
13
26
Trip End
Jan 13, 2008
Chiang Mai,
Thailand
Monday, November 19, 2007
welcome to the 3rd week of my trip. for those that have been missing the
updates or have just been added to the list, the past 2 updates can be
fond at
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/sameer_chandani/trip_2k 7/tpod.html
so, highlights of this week include sleeper train to Laos, caving, tubing,
kayaking and fly-foxing on the Nam Somg River, 7 hr bus journey to North
Laos and paying inflated tourist prices, and a 1 hr flight on the only
airline that does not publish its safety records!
so, last i left you, we were in Bangkok. we spent one more day there and
went around the town sight seeing. the royal palace, the largest
reclining buddha, and other temples, called Wats! the oddest ting right
now in Bangkok is that over 80% of the local population is wearing the
same yellow gold shirt to honor the king. all the shirt has is a small
emblem that says 'Long Live The King"! even if you paid 80% of Canada's
population and gave them free T-shirts, it would be impossible to get
them all to wear them! it's like all the bangkok locals are wearing a
uniform! we have become adept at taking the local transit in the form of
bus or river taxi (just like Venice) for a fraction of the price for tuk
tuks. after hours of sightseeing, we splurged and set at a nice
restaurant with an outdoor patio and people watched. our bill came to
less than $10 and we had the best meal in Bangkok! we took an overnight
sleeper train to the border of Thailand and Laos that night for $20,
which included an air conditioned car, bedding and option to buy dinner
and breakfast. the train left on time and arrived on time. Thai Railways
definitely has my vote of support. it was Alykhan's first time on a
train and even he was impressed.
Our goal for the day was to make it to Vientiane (capital of Laos) in
under $25 each! the next morning we reached Nong Khai and took a tuk tuk
for 50¢ ea to the Thai side of the border. went through Thai immigration
in about 10-15 minutes. then a bus ride for 50¢ ea across the
"Friendship Bridge" to the Laos side. got a VISA on arrival for $42 and
crossed into Laos. after fending off the numerous taxi, VIP bus, and tuk
tuk drivers charging exuberant prices, we made it to the local bus and
paid 50¢ ea to get into Vientiane (a 40 min ride). we were the only
non-Laos people on the bus and caused some curious whispers. the
difference in infrastructure and development is huge between Thailand
and Laos. it's like crossing form the US into Mexico, i suppose. and the
language barrier much higher. found a mall and after searching for an
English speaking mobile phone attendant, we bought SIM cards for $2! the
older lady spoke French as well as Laos was a French colony. so thank
god for grade 11 French. had noodle soup for $1. businesses will take US
dollars and supply change in KIP. 1 USD = 9500 KIP so imagine paying
10000 KIP for a meal or 5000 KIP for a coke. one feels so rich with
500000 KIP in the pocket. got a nice double room with A/C and private
bath hot water for $9. toured the town and saw another temple and Laos
version of the Arc De Triomphe. Rented bicycles for $1 ea and rode
around town. got many stares as the sight of 2 skinny Indian guys
cycling around town can be very entertaining. that night we ended up at
a very chic modern restaurant/sports bar! it turned out to be an
expatriate hang out so obviously catered to them. so we splurged again
with a pitcher of LaoBeer, plate of mixed meat bbq skewers, chicken
kurma with naan, and Laos style spaghetti and marinara sauce, and Laos
style milk dessert. and all that cost $15! Pimping is easy in Laos!
next morning we took a bus to Veng Vieng which is about 150 km North. so
a VIP bus with A/C carrying about 60 tourists cost us 60,000 KIP ($6
ea). of course, there was nothing VIP about it and the A/C barely
worked. nonetheless, the trip tool under 4 hours and for the first time,
finding a cheap place was easy as we basically got dropped off in front
of it. got a double room with fan and private bath boiling water for $6!
so Veng Vieng is a small town on a river and is known for kayaking and
tubing. and oddly enough, all the restaurants show reruns of friends and
all u see is backpackers sitting on these elevated platforms with
cushions and pillows, eating and watching Friends. no one is talking to
anyone. so we decided to just relax and enjoy our vacation. went to a
bar on the river side and sat in a cabana with hammocks for 5 hours and
just read, ate and watched the river and numerous kayaks and tubes float
by.
next morning we woke up relaxingly, ate breakfast, surfed the web, went
back to smile bar, watched the sunset, and
then succumbed to sitting at a restaurant watching Friends for 90
minutes - in Rome, do as the Romans. so that was a good relaxing day!
next day, we had the best day so far! signed up for a full day tour of
caving, tubing, kayaking, trekking for $12! met a couple of guys from
New Zealand and a British guy and ended up being split into a group with
them. so the 5 of us basically clicked right away and had an awesome
day. first we drove about 10 km up river and trekked through a village
to the slopes of a mountain where there are underground water caves. we
went in on large tire tubes and paddled with our hands. each of us had a
flashlight attached to our forehead (like underground miners). so this
was caving with tubes for about 1 km. quite scary in the dark and the
ceiling of the cave was only 2-4 feet above us. after that we had Thai
food for lunch on the river side and then trekked to a spot where a
truck picked us up and took us about 7 km up river and we kayaked from
there. it was 2 people per kayak. some of the rapids were amazing and
the New Zealand guys capsized once. after about 4 km of kayaking, we
stopped at a riverside bar! so the thing to do here is to get a tube and
get dropped of 10 km upriver and spend the day cruising down the river,
stopping at the several bars along the river for a drink and food!
that's all people do here (and watch friends). the riverside bars have
fly-foxes and swings where you can practice your Tarzan skills and jump
into the river. we did this about 10 times! then we continued our
kayaking down the river for another 3 km and that was the end of the
day! met up with the boys for dinner and then went to Smile bar again
and sat by the fire. an Italian guy, Fabio, came by and entertained us! he could be the next
Russell Peters. and that was the night.
next morning we took another VIP bus to Luang Prabang, another 230 k,
north and this journey took a tiring 7 hrs. the only good part was the
scenery as we drove over a mountain so getting to the peak at 30 km/hr
was torturous. well, at least i got to take a video of the scenery at a
decent speed. once we got to Luang Prabang, we found it hard to get a
cheap guest house. it is a UNESCO World Heritage site due to the old
French Colonial District. so most of the tourists are older French and
Europeans and the prices are inflated as to them $20-$50 a night is
still cheap. luckily found a place for $6 with shared bath and hot
water. after the fact we found the water was not hot, and there were a
few bed bugs! next morning we found a place for $12 a night with fan and
private bath warm water! as we were only staying 2 nights, we weren't
too concerned. did not do much except sigh see a bit and just relax and
read and walk by the Mekong River. decided to go to a recommended Indian
restaurant and it was the worst Indian food i have ever tasted! i can
cook better! Because of our high priced room the second night, we deiced
to eat off the street the second day! 50¢ baguette sandwiches and 70¢
noodle soups! next day we took a flight from Luang Prabang back into
Northern Thailand into Chiang Mai on Lao Airlines (the only airline with
unpublished safety records!) it ended up being okay and the flight was
on time and quite impressive with complimentary lunch and drinks! can't
say as much for Air Canada!
we are no in Chiang Mai and compared to Laos, i can say we are now in
civilization. spent he day walking around and got a good room for $6
with private bath hot water. we booked a 2 night 3 day trekking tour
into the hills so no Internet and phone for 3 days! just lots of
trekking, elephant riding, bamboo rafting and 2 nights in hill tribe
villages.
till then, take care and keep those personal emails coming.
for pictures, please go to
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=68008&l=17137& id=690225651
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=68820&l=04b2b& id=690225651
till next week then,
sameer
