Thailand (Bangkok -> Ko Samui -> Ko Phangan)

Eagerly awaiting the arrival of some of our friends, we sit outside the hotel they have booked and get a drink waiting for them to arrive. John, John and Andy have come out on holiday for two weeks and we plan on joining them for their comparatively small trip. We however are not staying in 4 star £80 a night hotel but are down the road in a nice clean guesthouse for £20 a night. I will refer to everything as a holiday as we weren't really travelling for these two weeks.

Bangkok is an interesting and bustling city similar to places we have visited like Saigon or Shanghai. The city seems multicultural and the stereotypes are true about ladyboys. The holiday got of to a boisterous start with the first night I ended up sleeping on their sofa and izzi on one of the beds in the lads hotel, waking up at 10am confused and dazed we had drank too much for sure. The good things is as the lads had booked a joining family room they got extra breakfast tokens so for the next three days me and izzi casually strolled through reception and into a 4 star buffet breakfast courtesy of the President Palace Bangkok, delicious it was too (even better as it was free!). That day we didn't do much other than sit by the pool and chillout. One of the main attractions was to go see some temples and then to go out down Khao San Road, a bustling party street known for ping pong shows and late night regrets. All together Bangkok was good although we didn't end up going to see a ping pong or ladyboy cabaret show which both of us said would have been interesting. We did manage to drag ourselves to one temple (while extremely hungover) which housed a ridiculously large reclining Buddha. 

Koh Samui is an island off the east coast of Thailand, used as a beach get away and a jumping point to the infamous Koh Phangan, full moon party. This time in Koh Samui we stayed with them and split the bill, racking up costs about 3 x what we would normally pay but we knew this would happen. We spent most days on the beach, water sports, drinking, reading and sunbathing being the main activities of choice. We went out to the main strip a few nights visiting many bars and even a strip club, quite an odd place, one street was lined with working girls and they literally would try and drag you in and garb you as you walked by. One night we went to see some Muay Thai fighting which was actually good fun, not that brutal until the last fight when someone got knocked out and bad way! Footbal golf was also good fun, however all of us were rubbish, and I actually won which is a surprise as am I totally useless at football.

Koh Phangan this mystical party island of the east coast of Thailand known for complete and uter debauchery where anything goes and the party is never too far away. Me and Iz had mixed opinions of what to expect from it, looking forward to the full moon but not sure what we would make of it. We have 5 nights here and plan to see some of the island as we've read its much nicer than where we are staying, haad rin bay (the party beach).  We rented a jeep one day, however it was more of a buggy on steroids and me and izzi sat in the pickup bit at the back, not the safest or the most comfortable and the ride was hair raising but we survived and managed to drive around to see several other areas which are definitely nicer and also beautiful. On the way back we stopped at a shooting range so John could shoot a gun, I wasn't that impressed with the range but the AK47 and M16 I shot in Cambodia and Vietnam felt a little more backstreet rustica style. We headed one night to Mellow mountain where they serve magic mushroom shakes, openly smoke ganja and playing really good music which turned in to a very funny night. We ended up sitting there and laughing, maybe offending some people, for several hours without realising, god knows why (um...?).

The fullmoon party was here, we dond our fluorescent gear and painted ourselves up, joining in with the kids, I say kids as sometimes we did feel a bit old. We headed down after consuming several buckets in the room, taking nothing but essentials as we hear it's easy to lose stuff. As you get closer to the beach the crowd starts to get thicker, the music louder with buckets on sale everywhere you can see. The beach is bonkers, packed with thousands of people all raving their tits off to some equally good and equally awful music. We wondered up and down stopping to take photos or to watch some fire rope skipping or juggling and to have a dance. After a while we got separated not by choice, I took John home as he was a goner, this was my biggest mastake. I ended up not finding them for nearly 2hrs 30mins. I had sobered up and they definitely weren't. After eventually finding them we got back on it and joined the party. The night was okay, in my opinion I have been to better parties and raves in the UK, probably not helped by me wondering around for hours trying to find them but still it was an experience. The next day was most definatly a write off for everyone, spent mostly doing nothing, occasionally stopping this to eat.

The next day they leave us to go home, sad and strange for us as we have a good few months left. We now plan to move further south into Malaysia and see what it holds for us.

Thailand (Kanchanaburi)

We headed straight to Kanchanaburi after a pretty awful and bad experience spending one night in Bangkok. The night we spent consistsed of walking around Chinatown trying to find somewhere clean to stay within our budget that wasn't infested with cockroaches or prostitutes. We believed it would be easy to find a place to stay around the train station but it wasn't!

We boarded the train to kanchanaburi which was full to the brim and all seats taken. The train was supposed to leave by 11 but as its Thai-time and after the guards decided to remove a carriage and squash everyone up into a small space, then realising and putting the carriage back on the train we didn't leave until gone 12ish. The train ride was fun and at one point we stopped as the rain was so torrential the track was flooded. As the train bobbed along, at one point it breaked suddenly and everyone who's window was open got covered in water which was funny (people soon closed up their windows after that!).

On arrival we checked into our guesthouse, a clean old fashioned looking room with a/c private shower and bathroom, however the toilet had manual flush consisting of a large bucket of water and a jug. It sounds awful but it really wasn't that bad. We have experienced these before but not had one to ourselves before! There were also several cats & dogs which appeared to live at the guesthouse. Two of the cats would occasionally meow at our door until we would let them in, they were very friendly. 

The town is small and easy to get around, a main street runs through most of the places we will need and it seemed to be popular with backpackers as well as a few crusty old expats drinking in bars from morning until late. Compared to Bangkok it was cheap and comfortable.

We have a few things to see and do including exploring the town and visiting the bridge over the river kwai, where the classic film is based and is one of the reasons it is famous and popular to visit. On our visit to the bridge we saw a man sleeping with a leopard with another baby leopard in a very small cage. He was trying to raise money for the nearby safari park - very unethical if you ask us. The death railway was started here by Japan and built during the 2nd world war, killing hundreds of thousands of POW to get it finished. Historically very interesting and the war museum we visited was very good and provided much detail and insight into the murky and gruesome past of the death railway. Outside the museum there was a large lizard baking in the midday heat. We're not sure if he was a wild lizard or belonged to someone at their museum but he was interesting all the same. 

We had only planned to stay two nights but actually found it very pleasant and also got word of some amazing water falls nearby so decided to stay another night. Every evening we played pool and had a few beers, the bars were cheap and the beer cold.

We caught a bus to the waterfalls about an hour away, famed as the best in Thailand. The bus was packed and sweaty but manageable. The waterfalls were really nice. In total seven levels of waterfall cascaded down the mountain which was right in the middle of a national park and nature had been left alone leaving dense jungle all-around. We only went to the first 5 levels. At each level were pools you could swim in, waterfalls and hundreds of fish of varying size which would start nibbling on you as soon as you jumped in, a bit like the things in England where you put your feet in, 'happy feet', although much big fish and quite unnerving when they start chomping all over your body. The bus back was probably very dangerous and quite an experience. The bus slowly started filling up and we realised we would be standing. In total there was 25 people sitting, 27 people stood up! To say the bus was overloaded would be an under statement, at one point four people were considering getting on the roof which wisely the driver said no and further squashed them on the bus. I couldn't even stand up and the trip home was very uncomfortable, thankfully we got home safely.

We booked on a minibus to Bangkok to go meet our friends and made sure we booked somewhere nice and in a better area than our first trip.

Thailand (Sukhothai)

The bus from Chiang Mai was only five hours but was bum numbing none the less. Sukhothai is an ancient captial of Thailand many thousands of years ago and predates Angkor Wat in Siam Reap, Cambodia. We have gone for budget diggs with shared bathroom and no A/C, only US$6 a night but it should be adequate for a quick two night stopover before moving on. The worst bit about the accomodation was the number of mosquitoes, especially in the showers and bathrooms, not too enjoyable and very annoying.

The main reason for us coming here is to see the historic ruins and temples in the old city, about 12km out of the new city where we are staying. To get there you simply pay a flat fee of 30 Baht pp and board a big Russian looking truck with seats on both sides inside of a trailer. The trucks go back and forth between the old and new city with tourists and locals alike, its surprisingly pleasant if a bit slow. When arriving at the city it didn't appear to have much, a 7eleven was near by, a few resturants and an underwhelming night market. A tasty  local dish which was sold in most places 'Sukhothai noodles with pork'. It was a delicious sweat and sour soup which I ate twice in only two days.

We awoke and headed for the ruins early, catching the truck and renting some push bikes to ride around the park. We tried to get audio guides but they didn't have any working ones left which wad a shame. The best part was biking around everywhere. It was relatively flat and very well kept so made for an enjoyable days cycle. We probably cycled for 4 hours in total but when combining with the bus and the elephants a few days before both of us felt it! To the north of the main site a few kilometers away was another part of the ruins. This turned out to be the best simply due to the surroudings and the lack of the tourists as others tended not to venture from the main park. After being in the sun most of the day we both got a bit burnt but nothing too bad. 

We had bumped into a dutch family, two boys and the parents, who we got chatting to and we agreed to meet up for a drink and some food later that night. We ate and drank, exchanging stories as the parents seemed to have a quite adventurous past and had travelled around S E Asia and China before. We spoke about everything from cooking, sport and tv, it was an enjoyable evening. Unfortunately towards the end of the evening three sorry looking small sad elephants walked by with their Manhouts who were trying to sell fruit to tourists so they could feed the elephants. They were being dragged by the ear and didn't look happy, a sorry sight and it brought home what our elephant training day taught us, thankfully no one fed them which would only encourage the practice.

That evening we struggled to decided where to go next finely deciding to get up and board a bus to Phitsanulok about hour away to get us to the main train line. From there Bangkok is an 8 hour train journey where we will stop for just 1 night before catching the morning train west to Kanchanaburi.

Thailand (Chiang Mai)

We flew from Laos on a dodgy and jerky plane and eventually landed safely much to our joy. I have come to the conclusion that I feel much safer and comfortable on big jet propulsion planes and the smaller propeller planes are just not for me, I hate the fact that every bump and jolt of the plane feels so strong but I'm not sure I will have the luxury of choosing what we fly in when we do.

First impressions of Chiang Mai is that it was much bigger and busier than we both expected. We had a night booked at a guesthouse in the backpacker area north east of the old city. After one night we moved as we could get cleaner and nicer accomodation about 50m down the road for the same price. We have 4 nights, 3 full days here and we set about deciding what to do.

The first day we explored the city on foot, walking to all the main temples and sights in the old town. Everything was quite accessible and easily reached without the need for a tuk tuk. We also stumbled on a Boots and obviously izzi had a field day stocking up on various cosmetics and the sort since it had been three months since she had such a good opportunity. Other delights were also the hundreds of 7eleven's dotted on every corner. We made the most of it buying up pretty much every box of Kelloggs frosties for breakfast for a few days. We booked on and sorted out the itinerary for the next few days and settled down to life in Chiang Mai.

Day two we booked on a cooking course, Thai Farm Cooking School, leaving at 8:30am and not getting back till 4pm. They picked us up and we drove away from the city for about 45 minutes. The first stop was in a local market where our guide took the group around explaining Thai cooking and ingredients as well as answering many questions which was good. Once we had finished we headed for the farm where we all put on hats and aprons and prepared for a day of cooking. We started by walking round the garden tasting and pickng herbs and spices which will be used in the dishes we cook. In total we got to cook and try 5 dishes, a soup, curry, vegetable dish, noodles and dessert - we chose classics such as Pad Thai and red & green curry. At the beginning we made the paste you need to make the curries, unfortunately I got a bit in my eye and my eye began to cry, washing it in water helped but it stang most of the day. Our teacher was overly camp and hilarious, picking fun and dropping in jokes throughout the day. By the end of the day we had eaten so much we had to take some home in doggy bags which we ate later that night. At the end we all got a small cooking book with the recipes we cooked which was a nice touch to the end of the day.

Day three we had arranged to do a days elephant Manhout training at a place called Baan Chang Elephant Park. We read lots of things about places where elephants are mistreated and badly kept but this seemed like one of the good ones. The day was great fun, firstly feeding and getting to know your elephant and learning about the reasons for the park and some of the history of elephants in Thailand. We learnt basic commands to ride them but since we always had the elephants full time Manhout with us the elephants rarely needed any direction and followed him around and mostly did what he said. We felt the park was good but it still doesn't seem fare to keep such big and magnificent creatures in captivity. We were told all the elephants here were rescued from working the streets or from owners who could not look after them properly so it was the better of two evils, he also explained that they could not be released and lots of them had only ever know human company and simply would not survive in the wild. After lunch we went on a hour or two trekking with them, swapping driver half way so me and izzi could ride front. The best part of the day was washing and bathing them at the end. This obviously seemed the most enjoyable for the elephant and also for us, our elephant constantly squirting us with water and shit but still was great fun.

The next morning we woke and travelled to the bus station aiming to get a bus to Sukhothai, an ancient capital of Thailand.

Laos (Luang Prabang) - white water

Luang Prabang, the place of 33 temples, is  small city and a place dubbed The Gem of Laos. We have not only read but have met people who think it's amazing and would stay forever. Our opinion isn't quite as high but it certainly is a pleasant and lovely city to explore for a few days. The city has imposed limits on traffic and vehicles inside e city which mens that you're not constantly watching your back for buses, lorries and cars - in fact only tuk-tuks and motorbikes are allowed which means the streets are relatively decongested and safe to walk down. The city isn't quite as charming as I expected but I guess that once a place becomes a main stop off point for tourists you are bound to lose some charm. We planned on 4 nights to allow for general exploration of the city, white water rafting and a day to see some local water falls and a bear sanctuary.

The first day we explored visiting some of the 33 temples, picking the biggest and best reviewed ones we could find. They weren't the nicest temples we have seen but good none the less. The Buddhist monks all lived next door to the main temple and watching them go about thier daily lives, washing, eating and praying was interesting to see. At every opportunity when we saw a tour operator (there is a lot) we popped in a asked about white water rafting, they varried in price drastically and after gaining some insight and reading reviews online we went with a respected and Lonely Planet recommended company called Green Discovery Tours.

We got picked up at 8:30 the next day to head out for a day rafting. We boarded a truck with 10 people all together with three guides between us. After stopping to load the truck with paddles, kayaks and various other bits we headed off. After about 1.5 hours of driving we got to the launch point. We unloaded and geared up and then began a brief safety lesson. The trip consisted of a 22km kayak down stream through varying strengths of rapids from 1-3. We had no idea how big they were but the maximum strength is 5 we were told. Having already been kayaking a few times on this trip me and izzi should have been fine but after about 100m we were stuck directly on a rocky/bushy outcrop right in the middle of the first 'baby rapids' as the instructor called them. I had to jump out and try to get us untangled, not a great start to the trip and the instructor told me I owed him a beer! We headed of further down and things became easier, successfully navigating, inside the kayak, several smaller and medium rapids befores stopping for lunch. Me and izzi have got along well on the trip and with little to no problems but by the first stop we had decided that as kayaking partners we weren't so good, god knows how many times we found ourselves going down the wrong way, paddle coordination was none existent and tensions occasionally flared, looking back its funny now but frustrating at the time! The views, scenery and buffalo wallowing in the river bank mud were really cool. We stopped for dinner on a quiet bend and all sat round Lao style and got stuck in, fingers all the way. The food was good considering it was cold and we liked the fact everything was wrapped and served in banana leafs meaning at the end there was no rubbish or mess. We paddled for a further 20-30 minutes then stopped on a bank. Just ahead was the tough part, several strong and dangerous rapids all in a row. Our guides spoke between themselves and carefully examined the currnets telling us the best way to get though and what to avoid. They explained that as it was wet season the river was high and the rapids strong hiding rocks below which were the main danger. We got told to go left, then straight, right around the large rock and paddle hard left again once after the small calm stretch. Rule of the thumb is, if you capsize go feet first and try hold on to your paddle. We set off second in turn to attempt it. The first bit went well we were in position for the next bit then the kayak started to turn and we hit the biggest part of the rapids at an angle. Padding my ass off trying to straightening up, izzi with her eyes closed and not paddling (dont get me started) we had no chance, we hit a rock and I was out! It was scary, I had no chance of staying in but managed to keep hold of the paddle. I smashed into a rock and have bruised my leg and hip. It was great fun and a good bit of adrenaline was pumping though my body once I reached the calm stretch. I felt better as two other people and one of the instructors and his passenger also went over and all at the same point I felt out. We regrouped and made sure everyone was okay, rescuing lost paddles and flipflops people had dropped and headed to the next section. From then on we started to do much better and we didn't capsize once and neither of us fell out. The next sections were fast but not as many rocks and obstacles, we even went down them facing the right way :-). After a further hour or so we reached a wide part of the river and everyone jumped out, floating downstream and letting the current do the work for a change. All in all a great day out and we both felt it the day after, my back and shoulders were aching.

The last day we had planned to get a tuk-tuk to some nearby waterfalls and to a local honey bear sanctuary but izzi wasn't well and stayed in the air conditioned room most of day, I only ventured out for food and medicine. One of the most interesting bits in Luang Prabang was to get up at 5:30am and go see the hundreds of monks follow the alms ritual where people give them food, interesting to see but by 6am I had had enough. We have a flight booked to Chiang Mai the next day so izzi rested and I watched a film and planned the next part of our trip. Having only spent 10 days in Lao I would definitely say we've only seen a glimps and only gone to the main parts, I would come back and venture further south and to some of the lesser known places but you can't do it all and we need go get to Thailand to see the north before our friends come to meet us. It will be nice to see some people we recognise and know for the first time in nearly 3 months.

Laos (Phonsavan) - The Plain of Jars

Phonsavan is the back of beyond, miles away from most major places but there lies the plain of jars, one of the top things I wish to see in our short 10 days through Laos. We arrived on a small half empty propeller plane from Vientiane on an air strip which flet like a old tarmac road with an airport terminal (if it can be called that) which resembled a scout hut. Not to say the plane wasn't pleasant as it was and a 30 minute flight is better than a 10hr bus especially when we don't have much time. We plan to spend two nights here before quickly moving on to Luang Prabang. The scout hut (terminal) was very busy with people coming and going and once you'd got your bag from the trolly and been through passport control, a man with a book writing down your name and passport number (by hand!), we jumped in a car to drop us off at our guesthouse, 'Nice Guesthouse'. The town was very quiet, the man driving us told us that in high season 30 tourists a day come and in low only 10. We checked in and scoped out the main strip, soon realising the main strip was a 500m long road where all the action is, not that there was much action. We both liked the town - it felt a bit like a place from an old western movie set, albeit no cowboys and pickup trucks instead of horse and cart. The area itself was the most bombed area in Laos and only 7 of the 50 jar sites have been cleared of UXO and opened to tousits. We wondered around and tried to book some sort of tour/visit to the jar sites only to find that of the 3 nearby sites only one was really available due to the wet season - the others being inaccessible by car most of the time. Site 1 is the biggest and best we have read so were not to bothered about not seeing the other two sites around town.

The first day we booked a tour, our mini bus away to Luang Prabang and wondered around. We visited the Military Advisory Group (MAG) to learn about the effects of the bombing and UXO's on the local people, shocking and emotional indeed, a travesty that it isn't more widely known about the abuse and problems faced. We tried to find something to do stumbling on a shop front with two snooker tables and a very rowdy drunk local, we asked to play snooker and he said okay. We got an hour of snooker and a few beers for £3 which was okay. The table was in a poor condition and with only 5 red balls, we were still both very bad at it and only managed about 1 1/2 games in the hour. That evening a lot of the bars put on short films and documentaries about the bombing and the modern history of Laos, we settled down to a film and a few beers. Two Australian blokes came in and we started to talk. Soon the Lao Lao was out (local rice whisky tasting like vodka and tequila mixed together - positively awful!) and we started to drink and chat. Damien was a Catholic military priest and the other guy was retired and lived in Thailand, both on holiday. We got chatting and had good conversion all night, moving to two other bars and finishing about 1am.

The next day we woke at 7am, not feeling to fresh, to ready ourselves for the trip to the jars. We had organized a tour to site 1 of the jars, the quarry where the jars where made, crater ally (a crater riddled valley where bombs where dropped) and a local village where they use the bombs and debris to build houses and other things. We first stop was the quarry, a huge mountain with a 1000 step walk to the top. The walk was great although steep and tough, the quarries consisted of half finished jars. The best thing about the climb was the views at the top, spectacular views of the surrounding countryside with mountains in the distance. The ground was wet and slippery which made for slow progress of our group of 6 people. It was definitely worth the climb and effort, again I iterate how breath taking the views and landscape of Laos is, the most beautiful we have seen on our trip. Lush green jungle and fields flow up and down the mountain scenary like something from a postcard. We headed for lunch at a local eatery and had traditional Lao lunchtime dish of noodle soup with fresh herbs, lettuce and runner beans which you put in the soup as you please. On the table was this chilli paste which our guide told us to put small amounts in and try before adding too much. Both me and izzi (and in fact the rest of the tour group!) were overly confident and by the end of the soup everyone was breaking a sweat from the heat of the soup, delicious it was though. The second stop was a Hung village, the village was interesting but we didn't see many locals which can sometimes be the best bit. They use bomb casings as stilts for the houses and to grow herbs and plants inside them. The downside is that the dirt path to the village was very bad and to make it worse my flipflop broke and got stuck in the mud, I ended up caked in mud by the end of the walk but thank god I had already walked up the mountain and my flipflop could be mended easily. The next stop before the jars was crater ally, again the craters were interesting but the views and landscape were what made the stop. A sweeping low lying valley with mountains and jungle in the distance, peppered with huge bomb craters. The final stop was the jars site, we headed into the site with instructions to keep to the main paths just incase of UXO. The jars were impressive, varying in size but with a common shape and look. Local mythology states they were drinking cups of giants or just used to brew Lao Lao for huge parties after wars between neighbouring areas. The archeology tells a different story with evidence of burials taking palce inside and around the jars. We walked around and admired the site and the scale as over 300 jars exist at this site alone. The site had an old and ancient feel, both of us agreeing it felt a bit like stone henge. On the way back to the start we were on top of a hill when torrential rain started, we took refugee under a few branches and eventually decided to walk down, the path now resembled a small stream which was good as it cleaned my feet, not sure how safe it was though. Next we have a minibus for 7 hours to Luang Prabang.

The journey to Luang Prabang started of well, we arrived at the bus station and prepared our packs for the trip, securing them up and wrapping them up with water proof covers ready to tie to the roof rack. We set off and soon realised the bus wasn't going to be smooth or spacious in any sense of the word. Every now and again the driver would pick up another person, stopping for 5-10 minutes to adjust the roof rack and add more stuff to it. By half way we were nearly full and then he stopped again, this time 4 more people got on with god knows how many bags of stuff added to the roof. Now the minibus was about as over loaded as it can get and we had 13 people on 10 seats, excluding the driver. The 8 hours actually passed quickly and the people were nice, all of them local which was good fun. However me, izzi and the two locals sharing 3 small seats at the back were cossy to say the least. At one point when we stopped I was the centre of the attention from the villagers, 'big nose' as they call white people, they acted like they'd never seen a tall, fairly stocky and generally large white man before. Before I knew it the camera was out and several people lined up next to me, most weren't  as tall as my shoulder, they were all very nice and smiling which made it fun not unpleasant. The drive was good until the final 20km, the driver seemed to be board and decided to the drive very fast. We bombed though a village and then bang and a massive jolt of the van. We looked behind and unfortunately saw a dog rolling around howling on the floor, obviously in great pain. The driver didn't even blink an eye, our only hope is that the dog will have been quickly put out of its miserly, probably eaten from what we know. It wasn't nice and broght things home about how unsafe the roads can be. We arrived in Luang Prabang eventually safe and well.