Tuesday, November 23, 2010
London through a lens
So I know that I am still due to finish my SE Asia blogging, and I've been darn slack about it too, but I though I'd share some of my pics from London so far, just to tie things over...
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Vietnam part I (finally)
I have been working in a call centre for 2 months now. It is boring as hell, and doesn’t pay very well. I thought I’d take the opportunity of sitting at a desk doing mindless work to try and update my blog. So here we go, from a call centre looking out over the River Thames, St Pauls’, the Gherkin, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, an update of SE Asia, with more to follow.
From memory I left off as we were entering Vietnam after a 25 hour bus ride from the capital Vientiane to Hanoi. The border crossing was something of a mission, not helped by the border staff trying to charge us twice for a visa stamp that we shouldn’t even have had to pay for one. The highlight was probably getting back on the bus on the Vietnam side, and one of the stupid gap-year Poms realising that his iPod he had left in the seat pocket was missing. We all assumed that one of the border guards must have taken it, but as we pulled out the guy suddenly headed to the front of the bus – he had recognised his headphones on the bus driver – and demanded his iPod back. The driver didn’t argue, gave it back with a shrug, and off we went into Vietnam. I can confirm that a 25 hour bus ride is not an experience I will be in a rush to repeat, but with the help of some sleeping pills I did at least manage to get myself unconscious for a decent chunk to the journey.
Hanoi. Hanoi is crazy. Hanoi is as busy as any city I have seen. Hanoi is awesome. I liked Hanoi. When we got there we headed to a hostel with a couple we had caught the bus with. It was cheap and cheerful, and they had free homebrew in the evenings. We were right in the thick of it where we stayed and spent a lot of time walking round exploring. One of the amazing experiences we had here was going to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. We were lucky to get in as we got there literally minutes from closing. We were ushered in by one of the armed guards and proceeded to follow the dimly-lit stairs up, walking past solemn armed guards every 5 metres or so. When we got to the top we were the only ones there (except of course more guards) and had a good look at the former leader's glass sarcophagus. We had to keep walking and eventually made it back outside. It was a very surreal experience, and was almost like walking into another world.
We got back to Hanoi and spent one night in the hostel before switching to some new accommodation. Got to hang out with Mum for a few hours one evening which was really cool – she had a workshop to attend to didn’t have too much time to socialise, but it was still fun. Other highlights from Hanoi were definitely the water puppets and the Prison Museum which was better than a lot of the museums we saw on the trip.
From Hanoi we caught a train south to Hue, situated smack bang in the middle of the country. It was a bastard of a train journey, crammed, noisy and smelly. And there were some sort of weird flesh eating beetles patrolling the carriage… Hue wasn’t quite as interesting as we’d hoped. It was getting more humid the further south we got, so this wasn’t helping. The river ‘cruise’ we went on was lacking in everything you could hope for in a river cruise, and we paid far too much for it. We managed to find a supermarket, which was a novelty, but in terms of sight-seeing we were under-whelmed. We should have gone to the citadel, as it is probably the city’s highlight. In the end the highlight was probably the small homemade ice-cream shop we found.
The next stage was a bus trip to Hoi An. Hoi An was a highlight of the entire trip. Known for its abundance of cheap tailors (which we took full advantage of, or rather, who took full advantage of us), it was also a beautiful little town. We hired bicycles one day and rode to the coast, which was lovely, and so cool riding along listening to our iPods. The water was amazing for swimming, however the women peddling their junk was a bit annoying. We had access to a neighbouring hotel’s swimming pool and breakfast buffet, which were both very welcome, and it was REALLY cool bumping into 3 of the friends we had made earlier in our trip (2 from the Gibbon Experience in Laos, one from the junk in Halong Bay). Again we ate some really nice food here, and the whole experience was very pleasant. Definitely recommended for anyone heading to Vietnam (and I guess it is fairly obvious, but cheap tailor made clothes are, for the most part, cheap for a reason, so don’t expect those shoes to last an entire season, or that shirt to keep its buttons…)
Further installations to come...
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Laos: Final days, final thoughts
Luang Prabang really was a lovely little town. It was very easy to get around, on foot or rental bicycle, there was plenty of interesting food about the place, much of it with a very French influence, the views of the two rivers (the Mekong and Nam Khan) were lovely, and there was a cool night market on the main street every evening. We caught a tuk-tuk out to a waterfall one day with some friends and were delighted to find not only a wonderful series of falls and swimming holes, but also an Asian Black Bear sanctuary where you could see the bears lounging in hammocks (!) or play fighting. Very cool.
We caught a 9 hour bus from Luang Prabang to the capital, Vientiane, and while it was not a terrible trip, the first half was really windy and mountainous. The capital does not seem to have much on offer, possibly backed up by the fact that the first thing on the guidebook's list of 'activities' is the bowling alley. It is, from brief impressions, a fairly messy and grubby town lacking the charm that redeems similar cities such as Bangkok and Chiang Mai. We were dropped at a guesthouse which was not the one we asked for, but settled for what we were presented with, and took a room in what turned out to be Lonely Planet's 'pick' of the accommodation in Vientiane, Syri 1 Guest House. There is nothing particularly appealing about the place, and when we were shown to our room the lady assisting us went and used our toilet on her way out! Pretty random really.
So final thoughts on Laos. I have heard from a number of sources that Laos is where Thailand was 20 or 30 years ago. While I can see what these people mean, I think that the tourist experience that Laos is going through is happening a lot quicker than it did for Thailand, and so the changes and impacts are manifesting themselves a whole lot quicker, and there is less time for adaptation. The touts operating in this country are amazing and do not let up. Even when our boat broke down in the middle of the Mekong River and few guys boarded us with pictures of the accommodation they were trying to sell, all while the boat drifted towards the rocks. Kids would also get on the boat when it docked and ferret around looking for dropped money/valuables, or offering to carry your bags to your guesthouse. Goodness knows how bad they'll be in 10 years time!
In Laos' favour, I started drinking beer in this country. This happened basically because a) it was so cheap; and b) it is absolutely EVERYWHERE. The Beer Lao logo is plastered the country over, and you can't walk 10 metres without being reminded of the country's brew of choice. It's a bit sad really, but I guess that's the way things are.
Our last experience of Laos was the first part of a 25 hour bus trip from Vientiane to Hanoi. It sounds miserable, but we coped, and with sleep it was actually quite bearable.
Finally for Laos: check out a video of me ziplining on the Laos Gibbon Experience
We caught a 9 hour bus from Luang Prabang to the capital, Vientiane, and while it was not a terrible trip, the first half was really windy and mountainous. The capital does not seem to have much on offer, possibly backed up by the fact that the first thing on the guidebook's list of 'activities' is the bowling alley. It is, from brief impressions, a fairly messy and grubby town lacking the charm that redeems similar cities such as Bangkok and Chiang Mai. We were dropped at a guesthouse which was not the one we asked for, but settled for what we were presented with, and took a room in what turned out to be Lonely Planet's 'pick' of the accommodation in Vientiane, Syri 1 Guest House. There is nothing particularly appealing about the place, and when we were shown to our room the lady assisting us went and used our toilet on her way out! Pretty random really.
So final thoughts on Laos. I have heard from a number of sources that Laos is where Thailand was 20 or 30 years ago. While I can see what these people mean, I think that the tourist experience that Laos is going through is happening a lot quicker than it did for Thailand, and so the changes and impacts are manifesting themselves a whole lot quicker, and there is less time for adaptation. The touts operating in this country are amazing and do not let up. Even when our boat broke down in the middle of the Mekong River and few guys boarded us with pictures of the accommodation they were trying to sell, all while the boat drifted towards the rocks. Kids would also get on the boat when it docked and ferret around looking for dropped money/valuables, or offering to carry your bags to your guesthouse. Goodness knows how bad they'll be in 10 years time!
In Laos' favour, I started drinking beer in this country. This happened basically because a) it was so cheap; and b) it is absolutely EVERYWHERE. The Beer Lao logo is plastered the country over, and you can't walk 10 metres without being reminded of the country's brew of choice. It's a bit sad really, but I guess that's the way things are.
Our last experience of Laos was the first part of a 25 hour bus trip from Vientiane to Hanoi. It sounds miserable, but we coped, and with sleep it was actually quite bearable.
Finally for Laos: check out a video of me ziplining on the Laos Gibbon Experience
Friday, May 14, 2010
Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang
Chiang Mai seems like something from a few months ago now, even though it has really only been a matter of days since we left. Being on holidays does funny things to your sense of time.
We left Chiang Mai by bus, and it was a seven hour trip to the border town of Chiang Khong. It was fairly uncomfortable, however I am sure that there's worse to come, so won't complain too bitterly just yet. They did provide water and a snack, but the blaring t.v. wasn't so appreciated.
From Chiang Khong it is a short boat trip to Huay Xai in Laos, and after the usual immigration paperwork we were free to go and find some accommodation. It does seem sometimes that once a guest house makes its way into the Lonely Planet guidebook that it then takes the liberty to drop its standards. We felt this of B.A.P. Guest House, which charged us 600 baht for the night.
The following day was the start of the Laos Gibbon Experience. Man, what a cool way to start our time in Laos. We packed out a couple of utes (cab and tray) and set out on the two-hour drive to the start point. They drive on the right in Laos, but in reality they drive wherever there are less potholes, and overtaking on corners is par for the course. Needless to say, we made it in one piece, and so began the hour-long uphill slog in the blistering midday heat. Having a flu didn't help matters, but I certainly sweat most of the bloody thing out by the end of the trek. They gave us a good 20 minutes breather, and then distributed the harnesses and divided us up into our separate tree houses, in groups of six or so. Zip lining from place to place was an amazing experience and we all had a lot of fun. There was a bit of walking to do between zip lines, but it was worth building up a sweat to have the instant cool-down effect of flying 150 metres over the forest. We stayed two nights in the treehouses, and while we only saw a fleeting glimpse of a gibbon, it was still well worth it. The excitement was added to by the thunderstorms we had both nights. And these weren't just run of the mill thunderstorms, the lightening and thunder was a constant melee for hours on end, and when the thunder was right over head it really was almost deafening. The wind (in our minds) threatened to topple the tree house, and one of the other houses was evacuated by their guides, while another self-evacuated to a small hut for 4 hours. We were bitten by mosquitoes, had our blood sucked by leeches, and dowsed by rain in the middle of the night, but man it was awesome.
After returning to the relative calm of Huay Xai, and indulging in some Beer Lao and some different accommodation, we caught the slow boat south on the two day trip to Luang Prabang. What sounded like a peaceful and picturesque meander down the Mekong, was picturesque, but as they crammed as many people onto the boat as possible it wasn't exactly comfortable, and if you weren't there early like we were, you got wooden benches instead of converted mini-van seats. Overnight on the trip we stopped at a small town called Pak Beng, although it seemed for a moment that we may not make it, as the motor cut out just as we reached the town and we started drifting perilously close to some rocks. Some quick thinking men in boats came to the rescue and with the help of barge poles and some nifty lasso work our drift was halted and our motor finally started again. The second day saw some very dodgy activity of what looked like two monitor lizards stowed under a step on board (while still alive) and made to endure the day long journey tied up for transport to what I can only assume will be a dining plate somewhere. I am still unsure what to do about this, I found it pretty disturbing.
And so it is that we are now in Luang Prabang, a lovely little town with a lot of French influences, and probably my favourite town so far on this trip. We have another night or two here before moving south again, and then we will make our way to Vietnam.
I haven't been writing on here as much as I thought I would, I guess I've been having too much fun. Keep an eye out for the next installment.
We left Chiang Mai by bus, and it was a seven hour trip to the border town of Chiang Khong. It was fairly uncomfortable, however I am sure that there's worse to come, so won't complain too bitterly just yet. They did provide water and a snack, but the blaring t.v. wasn't so appreciated.
From Chiang Khong it is a short boat trip to Huay Xai in Laos, and after the usual immigration paperwork we were free to go and find some accommodation. It does seem sometimes that once a guest house makes its way into the Lonely Planet guidebook that it then takes the liberty to drop its standards. We felt this of B.A.P. Guest House, which charged us 600 baht for the night.
The following day was the start of the Laos Gibbon Experience. Man, what a cool way to start our time in Laos. We packed out a couple of utes (cab and tray) and set out on the two-hour drive to the start point. They drive on the right in Laos, but in reality they drive wherever there are less potholes, and overtaking on corners is par for the course. Needless to say, we made it in one piece, and so began the hour-long uphill slog in the blistering midday heat. Having a flu didn't help matters, but I certainly sweat most of the bloody thing out by the end of the trek. They gave us a good 20 minutes breather, and then distributed the harnesses and divided us up into our separate tree houses, in groups of six or so. Zip lining from place to place was an amazing experience and we all had a lot of fun. There was a bit of walking to do between zip lines, but it was worth building up a sweat to have the instant cool-down effect of flying 150 metres over the forest. We stayed two nights in the treehouses, and while we only saw a fleeting glimpse of a gibbon, it was still well worth it. The excitement was added to by the thunderstorms we had both nights. And these weren't just run of the mill thunderstorms, the lightening and thunder was a constant melee for hours on end, and when the thunder was right over head it really was almost deafening. The wind (in our minds) threatened to topple the tree house, and one of the other houses was evacuated by their guides, while another self-evacuated to a small hut for 4 hours. We were bitten by mosquitoes, had our blood sucked by leeches, and dowsed by rain in the middle of the night, but man it was awesome.
After returning to the relative calm of Huay Xai, and indulging in some Beer Lao and some different accommodation, we caught the slow boat south on the two day trip to Luang Prabang. What sounded like a peaceful and picturesque meander down the Mekong, was picturesque, but as they crammed as many people onto the boat as possible it wasn't exactly comfortable, and if you weren't there early like we were, you got wooden benches instead of converted mini-van seats. Overnight on the trip we stopped at a small town called Pak Beng, although it seemed for a moment that we may not make it, as the motor cut out just as we reached the town and we started drifting perilously close to some rocks. Some quick thinking men in boats came to the rescue and with the help of barge poles and some nifty lasso work our drift was halted and our motor finally started again. The second day saw some very dodgy activity of what looked like two monitor lizards stowed under a step on board (while still alive) and made to endure the day long journey tied up for transport to what I can only assume will be a dining plate somewhere. I am still unsure what to do about this, I found it pretty disturbing.
And so it is that we are now in Luang Prabang, a lovely little town with a lot of French influences, and probably my favourite town so far on this trip. We have another night or two here before moving south again, and then we will make our way to Vietnam.
I haven't been writing on here as much as I thought I would, I guess I've been having too much fun. Keep an eye out for the next installment.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
From a plane to a train...
Our flight from Singapore to Bangkok was uneventful, and I got a wee bit more sleep in. After getting through the usual business at the airport we caught a taxi to Hua Lamphong Station, where we were due to catch our overnight train to Chiang Mai 11 hours later. We found the luggage storage amidst the hubbub, and after a short walk down some dodgy sidestreets where (possibly rapid) dogs started barking their heads off at us, we decided to tuk-tuk to Khao San Road for some lunch. Enjoyed some food and a fruit shake and the endless harassment by stall owners, tailors and drivers, but didn't want to spend any money and didn't have much else to do, so we headed back to the station and read for hours and hours until we finally got on the train and left at 6.10pm.
(We didn't see any sign of the red-shirt protesters in Bangkok, however some buildings had pretty heavy armed guards, military men with big guns and steel gazes.)
The train was pretty sweet. I managed to sleep all night and the views out the window in the morning where very nice. Sunrise over the mountains and rice paddies in the foreground... When the train guards came round to clip tickets on departure, the poor girl opposite us didn't have a print out of her ticket and assumed (not unreasonably) that showing them the pdf on her laptop would be sufficient. They weren't at all happy about it though, and it took about five minutes plus some help from a nice Thai lady who spoke English to finally convince them to give her the okay. Oh and if you want to smoke on the train, the guards will inform you that the toilet is the place to do so!
We got into Chiang Mai at about eight this morning and headed to our guest house. We are staying at Banilah guest house, and it is lovely. 500 baht per night for the two of us, in very comfortable rooms with lovely staff looking after us. There is an amazing food market just down the road, and old Chiang Mai, the happening part of town, is about 20 minutes walk away, and full of amazing temples. We got talking to a man from Bangkok at one of these temples, and he told us to forget about the tailors in Hoi An (Vietnam) and that the Chiang Mai tailors were the ones to see for quality at a good price. We thanked him for the advice, but didn't think we'd make it to the recommended tailor, and were happy to settle with Hoi An later in the trip. However just down the road a man remarked that he liked my beard, and after stopping to chat (because a beard compliment does not go unacknowledged!) it turned out that he was a Vietnamese man living in Albany, south of Perth, and that he and his wife were in Chiang Mai specifically to buy some tailor-made clothes, from the very same place that we had had recommended to us not five minutes earlier!
We hailed a tuk-tuk and headed straight there, and our first fitting is at eight o'clock tonight...
(We didn't see any sign of the red-shirt protesters in Bangkok, however some buildings had pretty heavy armed guards, military men with big guns and steel gazes.)
The train was pretty sweet. I managed to sleep all night and the views out the window in the morning where very nice. Sunrise over the mountains and rice paddies in the foreground... When the train guards came round to clip tickets on departure, the poor girl opposite us didn't have a print out of her ticket and assumed (not unreasonably) that showing them the pdf on her laptop would be sufficient. They weren't at all happy about it though, and it took about five minutes plus some help from a nice Thai lady who spoke English to finally convince them to give her the okay. Oh and if you want to smoke on the train, the guards will inform you that the toilet is the place to do so!
We got into Chiang Mai at about eight this morning and headed to our guest house. We are staying at Banilah guest house, and it is lovely. 500 baht per night for the two of us, in very comfortable rooms with lovely staff looking after us. There is an amazing food market just down the road, and old Chiang Mai, the happening part of town, is about 20 minutes walk away, and full of amazing temples. We got talking to a man from Bangkok at one of these temples, and he told us to forget about the tailors in Hoi An (Vietnam) and that the Chiang Mai tailors were the ones to see for quality at a good price. We thanked him for the advice, but didn't think we'd make it to the recommended tailor, and were happy to settle with Hoi An later in the trip. However just down the road a man remarked that he liked my beard, and after stopping to chat (because a beard compliment does not go unacknowledged!) it turned out that he was a Vietnamese man living in Albany, south of Perth, and that he and his wife were in Chiang Mai specifically to buy some tailor-made clothes, from the very same place that we had had recommended to us not five minutes earlier!
We hailed a tuk-tuk and headed straight there, and our first fitting is at eight o'clock tonight...
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