Inkhusin House, Surat Thani, Day 1
28 de enero de 2018, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Today is an early start as we say goodbye to the islands and begin our journey North, eventually ending in Laos. We pack our things and go and wait to the ferry that will take us all the way back to where it began a couple of weeks ago.
After a lovely sandwich for breakfast, it is time to jump on board, and we quickly grab some comfy seats in the downstairs compartment. The boat is pretty busy to start off with, but after a stop at Koh Phagnan, it soon empties out, leaving a nice and peaceful journey all the way to the mainland. It is empty enough that Amy can lie down on the seats and sleep while I read. Not a bad way to spend a travelling day.
When we dock at Don Sak we are pointed onto a bus and the on-land leg of our trip starts. After just over five hours on a boat, it is something we could do without, but needs must.
After around 90 minutes we get to the airport, and a very helpful lady calls our hotel for our free pick up. We soon find out that she works in the hotel next door, which is very handy and lucky for us. We sit for a few minutes until a very smily and friendly man picks us up and drives us to the hotel.
One day of our travelling over, two more left until we aim to be in Laos, or should I say have to be in Laos as our visas are running out. We eat in the cafe downstairs and get some sleep, before we head back to the airport tomorrow.
Not a very exciting day, but we feel a lot closer to Laos now!Leer más
Aries Residence, Udon Thani, Day 1
29 de enero de 2018, Tailandia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
We are fortunate enough to wake up to a free cooked breakfast this morning. It is something we may need as we have a long day ahead of us. One of the great things about Amy being a veggie now is that I am gifted with the meaty parts of breakfasts when she gets them. Long may this continue!
After eating we pack again and head back to the airport we got to last night. Today our destination is Udon Thani, and we have to go there via Bangkok. We check in for our first flight fairly easily. Surat Thani airport is very small with only two gates, meaning it isn't very busy and there is hardly and queuing. We breeze through security and before we know it, are sat in front of our gate, waiting to board. The tannoy system spoils our luck though, telling us our flight is delayed. The actual flight time passes, as does the delayed flight time, and we are starting to get a bit twitchy about missing our next flight. We really do not need another night in Bangkok again!
The flight arrives and we board. Air Asia flights are cheap, but you certainly know about it, especially when the loud snorer in front of you immediately leans his seat back as far as it will go. Anyway, it is only a short flight, and we arrive in Bangkok with half an hour left of check in time. We collect our bags that are starting to feel like old friends, we have been through so much together, and get it all sorted. There is a self check in system that just confuses most people and ends up taking much longer then it would normally. They also have a staff member on each self check in bag drop, making the point of self check in rather redundant. Me and Amy consider ourselves experienced travellers though, and our bags are soon shafted onto another plane, and we make it to our gate with plenty of time to spare. We even managed to fit in a burger king.
The next flight finds me sat on the row behind Amy. We seem to wait a long time to take off, as every flight is making for the runway just as we do, but again it is only a short flight so a small delay doesn't hurt too much. Amy finds herself sat next to a very excitable young Thai boy, who plays with her the full journey, which seems to please his Mum very much as she relaxes in her seat.
We land after around 75 minutes, and collect our bags in the small Udon Thani airport. We booked a hotel very close to the airport so as to get a cheap taxi, but we have to get on a minibus for the same price as the people heading to town anyway, which is rather annoying.
It has been a very long day and we are ready to put our feet up, so it isn't great when the door to the hotel is locked. A neighbour pops by, who I'm not sure works there or not, and let's us in to the empty reception. Apparently they haven't received our booking. We show the neighbour our confirmation, as he talks to the owner on the phone. He then says we need to pay, but we explain we already have, and we start to feel like we may not be done travelling yet today. We end up Facebook messaging pictures of our confirmation e-mail to the owner, before we are shown to a nice room.
It would be lovely to relax a while, but we need to get our journey to the border sorted. We go out into Udon Thani town and seek money, which we need to exchange into dollars, and a way to the border. It is late, and Udon Thani is obviously not often frequented by tourists. After being in the most tourist heavy areas of Thailand, it feels odd to be back somewhere were people look shocked to see you. It is also dark, and doesn't seem the nicest of towns to be walking around, especially because our hotel is on the outskirts as well.
We find a bank and get money before deciding that will do for the night. We find a nice guy selling omelettes on rice for about a quid. When we get it it is huge. We buy snacks and coke and head back to the room for a hotel tea. Wild dogs and guard dogs seem to be everywhere, and we run a short bit as we hear growling and barking in the darkness beside us. It's a pretty scary walk home, but it feels good when we get back. What a way to spend our last night in Thailand!Leer más
Intouch Guesthouse, Vientiane, Day 1
30 de enero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Today's job is to leave Thailand and enter Laos. In the final day of our visa, we have certainly made it exciting. We are up early, planning to change Thai baht into dollars so we can pay for our visa at the border. We make the long walk we made into town last night (it's not as spooky in the light of day) and walk around the banks. We stop on the way at a photo shop to get some passport photos, and she ends up buying loads by accident. The picture that comes out is something that has to be seen to believed, but I am sad to say I feel I will be the only person to get to see them. Amy looks like a scary dinner lady from the 1950s, with her bobble hidden behind her head, giving her a kind of perm.
After we have gotten over the photos, we find a bank and get our dollars. Our only problem now is how to get to the border. The initial thought when coming here was that it was so close to the border it would be easy, but the 20 or 30km between us and Nong Khai (the border) seems a long way right now. Our bags are still in our hotel room, so we head back to get them and then plan on maybe heading back to the airport where we know a minibus goes every so often to the border. We are starting to get nervous, but then a tuk tuk driver offers a lift for free to our hotel. This is odd and we immediately think it's some sort of scam, but he insists he is going home and we are on his way.
He drops us off and doesn't expect money, and we decide he may be the key to our problems. After a brief questioning, he tells us he will take us to the bus station and point us to the right bus. We excitedly run to our hotel room and grab our bags. The non existent hotel owner is still AWOL, so we leave the key in the door and jump in the tuk tuk.
Quarter of an hour later and we are at the bus station. Several people try to help, one woman keeps pushing us towards a counter that we know isn't the right one. When she turns away we make a days for the correct direction, and are pointed towards a packed mini van. We jump in and set off for the border. It's not a long journey, but it is very cramped, with more people then seats inside the small van.
The border is a relief, and we feel the weight of the expiring visas in our pockets lift as we check out of Thailand. A very excited man talks to us about England as we fill in our departure cards, before departing with a double handshake to me and Amy. It is easy to expect everything to be a scam out here, but most people are really genuinely lovely. As we get our final stamp to say we have left, we wander up to the usually stern looking guards on the desk. Instead of stern though, this guard is watching comedy on his computer, and laughing away to himself while gleefully stamping passports without a second look! We walk away from the Thai border laughing at the jolly guard and board another bus to make our way over the friendship bridge and into Laos.
It is very sad to be leaving Thailand, where we have spent two months in some amazing places, but sadness fades away and is replaced by excitement as we cross the bridge and the Thai flags change to Laos.
The Laos border is a pretty easy one, and after filling in the standard form found at most borders, we have a lovely new stamp in our passport and are in this new country. We find a minibus that seems expensive, but we're not too bothered as we just want to reach our hotel. It ends up being a good choice as the driver gives us lots of information about Laos, and especially Vientiane, the capital.
We arrive at our hotel and immediately get some food, before taking a short nap. Our hotel is right on the Mekong, and we head there when we wake to watch the Sun set. A huge exercise session is going on behind us as the music pounds out energetic songs. Laos looks fun. We stumble upon a huge market that is selling good stuff for mere pounds. Amy is in her element, and spends around an hour wandering the stalls wide eyed and eager to come back tomorrow when we have taken some money out.
We decide to get some food and end up at an Indian near our hotel. We both get a mix of currys and they are all amazing. Beer is back to cheap prices here as well, which is all welcome. When we finally end up back in the room, we are delighted to have ended our long 3 days of travelling, and reached our destination. We can't wait to explore Vientiane more tomorrow, and learn more about the culture and people of Laos. It's going to be a good month!Leer más
Intouch Guesthouse, Vientiane, Day 2
31 de enero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Our first morning in Laos starts slowly. It has been a long, stressful few days and it is lovely to rest for a morning knowing we don't have to travel anywhere. Saying that, our first stop today is the bus station.
After a quick breakfast at a lovely cafe, we try and catch a bus that will take us to Buddha park. It is surprisingly a park full of Buddhas, and it looks pretty cool. Public buses in Laos are surprisingly nice, and when we finally find the right one after many friendly people pointing us in the correct direction. The walk to the station is nice and it is great to see some of the Laos culture, but it really hits home that we aren't in Thailand anymore as we leave the capital and drive through the less busy districts. We take a brief stop at the border we crossed yesterday, before the road turns into more of a dirt track. We bump along slowly, and it is noticeably less commercialised and built up then anywhere we have been for a while. This adds a certain charm to the place though, and the people all seem very friendly.
The bus stops directly outside Buddha Park, and we walk in not really knowing what to expect (apart from Buddhas and a park). It exceeds our expectations though, as we walk around the many statues. Some are big, especially one in particular where you walk through a giant mouth and work your way to the top, which gives a great view of the whole park. There are animals, and many different incarnations of the many God's of Buddhism. It would be great to know the stories behind some of the statues but unfortunately all the descriptions are in Laos. Some of the sights are downright bizarre, including a man (or God) fighting a giant cockroach, and seemingly winning as he rips one of it's legs off, and a giant serpent with multiple heads. It is a serene, peaceful place, and it is lovely to sit in the slight breeze and admire the work. All in all it is well worth the trip out of town and a great way to start our tour of Laos.
We leave Buddha Park and a bus pulls up straight away heading back to town. After the half an hour ride we stop for a sandwich. Despite saying 'no meat' in many different ways, Amy still ends up with a pork sandwich, but at 50p a pop we can't really complain (and it's great news for me as I have two). We then head to the COPE visitors centre. It is a small walk and Amy grabs a giant plate of fried veg on the way.
It seems to be a hidden secret that Laos is actually the most bombed country in the World per capital (which google tells me means each person). Between the years 1964 to 1973, a planeload of bombs was dropped on Laos on average every 8 minutes, 24/7. The centre is an incredibly informative and inspiring place. A large display of the many times of bombs that were dropped, including mostly the commonly used cluster bombs, that are made to cause as much destruction as possible. The centre raises money for the many people still affected by the bombs today. As so many were dropped, plenty are still in the ground unexploded. Starting a small fire on land, tending to your field, or a child mistaking a bomb for a ball are all ways in which these devices are triggered far too often. It is definitely an eye opener, and involves an amazing display of the many homemade legs that people who couldn't afford anything else were forced to create for themselves, sometimes out of old bomb casings! We spend around an hour walking around the place, before walking back along the Mekong river and heading back to our hotel for a rest.
The market was just being set up when we walked back, and it is there we head. Amy has her eye on many things, and we now have cash. As everything only costs a couple of quid, we both buy a lot of stuff for a tiny amount of money. It is a busy place though, and I am very glad when we leave.
There was a rumour that the doner kebabs on sale at the stalls near the market were amazing. I had to test this, for investigational reasons only of course, and can confirm this was true. It was made with turkey, and tasted like heaven in a wrap. Amy watched on very sadly as i indulged in this lovely food, and then I had to watch as she ate some noodles at the food market.
A tiring day, but a very good one. We are very excited by what Laos has shown us so far and can't wait to see what else it has to offer.Leer más
Intouch Guesthouse, Vientiane, Day 3
1 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Today we plan to explore more of the city, and to do these we enlist the help of a couple of bicycles. The roads don't seem as crazy as most places we have been, so we feel pretty confident we will be okay. We set off not really aiming for anything in particular, but just biking around seeing what we see. There are plenty of temples to keep our eyes occupied as we head to the quieter part of the city, but before long we get hungry. We stop at a lovely little cafe and get a huge portion of fried rice. The family that run it also supply us with a free pot of tea and a small bowl of soup that tastes amazing. We leave there full of food and drink, and all for a pound each.
I feel at this point I must mention how amazing the tea in Laos is. It is truly gorgeous, and beats any other country we have been to by a mile. I don't know what they do, but it works.
After dinner we realise we are quite close to a monument named Patuxai. It is a huge, kind of tower with a large archway on each side. We bike there and take a walk around. Yesterday in the mini bus we passed by and didn't think much of it, but on foot it is much better.
We also get to climb to the top of it, giving great views of the whole of Vientiane. A lovely park is situated at the bottom of it and we spend a bit of time wandering from Patuxai at one end the the freedom gong at the other. This was something given to the government of Laos as a gift, and is covered in flags and symbols form places all over the World. One thing I will never get used to is seeing the swastika symbol. Seen as a symbol of good luck and also a symbol related to the heart and soul of Buddha, it is often seen at temples, and also is on the freedom gong. Obviously connotations are different in Europe, and even though I have seen it a lot, it is always strange.
When we leave we take a short ride to the MAG centre. This is similar to the COPE centre we visited yesterday, and we chat to a worker who talks us through the impact the bombs had and still have in Laos. MAG does great work, employing local people to find the unexploded bombs and carefully detonating them, before someone else does accidentally. It is great to talk to the worker, who is initially from Manchester, which is where the charity is founded.
We are pointed into the direction of a temple complex we are told is good, and it is there we bike to next. It is a rather long ride, but we are feeling energetic today, buoyed on by the excitement of a new country, and we get there in no time. The complex has some good temples, but one inparticular, that is named Pha That Luang, or the Golden stupor, stands out. It is a huge monument and is bright Gold. It is quit some sight, and we are glad we found it.
We start the journey back along some very busy roads. It is actually fun to mingle with the traffic, and stopping at lights and working your way to the front of the queue to join all the mopeds is very good fun.
We take a breather and grab a very tasty cake and coffee at a shopping mall. It would be amazing if a pancake stall didn't have the most annoying song of all time playing on repeat the whole time we were there. It was enough to drive the calmest man insane, and we left vowing to never buy a pancake from that company (N and B, it pains me to even write their name).
We bike back along the river, and stop off at a lovely park, where a young boy and his mother come over to sit with us. His mum then walks off, leaving us in charge of a child whom we have no real ways of communicating with. Luckily, he is happy tearing leaves apart, and doesn't seem too bothered that has been left with two pale looking strangers. I am sure Amy would have taken him with us if she could, but his rather worried looking Dad comes and claims him. After another long day, we head back to the hotel exhausted and hungry.
After a short rest, we head out to a lovely restaurant before going back to the room and getting some sleep. Vientiane has been great, and we can't wait to head North to Vang Vieng tomorrowLeer más
Molina Bungalows, Vang Vieng, Day 1
2 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ☀️ -2 °C
Well, it's another moving day. We don't leave until mi morning so get a small lie in and time to eat some breakfast before we jump on the bus. It's not a minivan which is nice, but it is still a very small bus without much legroom. Ahh well, we're kind of getting used to long journeys in small places anyway now. The couple sat behind us very loudly discuss their drunken antics last night, that end up in a sick covered staircase at 4AM and it makes me feel very glad I'm not hungover, as the roads in Laos aren't made for smooth driving.
It's a bumpy journey, and after a few hours we stop at a roadside cafe for a rest and some food. When we get back on, they have invited more people on the bus, meaning the pull down seats in the aisle are used, and we have even less room. We are also sharing the bus with a box full of baby chickens or ducks, I'm not sure, but they squeak away until the engine drowns out the sound of them.
We bump along for another few hours, while the views get gradually better. Hills line each side of the road and the city buildings of Vientiane make way for large green fields. We stop in Vang Vieng a short walk from our hotel, and we immediately love it. Ninh Biinh in Vietnam was a special place, and this seems on par with it in terms of natural beauty. It is a very small, and not a very developed town, but it is certainly something good to look at. Vang Vieng was once famous (or infamous) for the drunken tubing down the river, which is where tourists on rubber rings floated from bar to bar, supping booze at every one. This has now stopped due to a large number of tourists dying while doing it. I read somewhere around 20 tourists dies while tubing which is an insane number! Anyway, the government shut down all the riverside bars, and Vang Vieng is now a hotspot for people because of it's surroundings.
We dump our bags in the nice bungalow we have booked for a few nights, and head out for some dinner. After a wander around the town, which is great as most streets offer a straight view to the mountains at the end, we find a great restaurant right on the riverside, with unbelievable views and cheap sandwiches. Both are taken advantage of as we frantically look at maps of the area around here and plan what to do.
It is already mid afternoon so we don't plan on getting bikes and wandering around today. Instead we take a short walk down to the river and have a walk around. It is amazing. It is so peaceful, with nothing but a few kayaks and some workers plucking away at something under the water to bother us. We wander in all directions, through fields and down dirt tracks, before we finally arrive back at the town, and back at our hotel.
We end up eating in the same place as we ate dinner. It is a cool place that show Friends repeatedly all day on massive televisions, so Amy is happy. We have a couple of beers before deciding to go back to the room and chill out, so we can be fresh for a long day cycling tomorrow. On the way back we wander down a busy street, and a club promoter tries to get us in his bar. This is common now for us, so we get ready to shun him, until he says the immortal words 'free whisky'. We inquire about what the catch is, and it turns out their isn't one. A line of whiskys has been poured on the bar and you can just go and grab one. The club is unsurprisingly packed, and everyone seems to have taken advantage of the free booze a lot more then we have. One guy in particular entertains everyone with some actually very impressive drunken dancing. Amy is not impressed by the whisky though, and after a couple we head back.
As we are heading North, we really start to feel the cold now, and it feels great to wrap up in bed in a cold room that isn't due to an air conditioning machine blasting down on you. It feels very cold, but at least we have a belly full of whisky to keep us warm.Leer más
Molina Bungalows, Vang Vieng, Day 2
3 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
It's an early morning today as we want as much time as possible to get out and and see what's around. We start off by getting a sandwich for breakfast, and then rent a couple of bikes. We are told we have to have the bikes back by 5, which seems inconsequential as we happily take them, but proves not to be later in the day.
Our first stop is a cave just outside the city that we would like to see. After a few minutes biking we are out of the town and into the countryside. It is hard not to stop every few seconds to take a look at the views you get when biking, but we make it to the turn off and follow a sign that says cave. The road here, which has been smooth so far, now turns into a stony dirt path. This would be okay on a mountain bike, but we are sat on old, one gear things that offer no mercy on our bum as we bump along the road. It isn't particularly easy on the legs either, as the tyres grind their way over the rocks and mud. We pass a large family of cows that very kindly move for us to pass, before discovering the best view we have had of the mountains yet. We stop for a few minutes to take it in, before consulting a map to see how far the cave is. Of course, we have gone the wrong way. We turn back, and I spot a small track through a forest that we think could lead the way. As there are no other tourists around and no-one to point the way, we are rather stuck.
After a few minutes through the forest and a few nettle stings, we realise it is probably not the right way, and again head back onto the stony dirt road, thinking that must be the way and the maps wrong. We pass the cows again and push through the stones until we reach a river. Again, it is a beautiful spot, but there isn't a cave. We give up, determined to come back tomorrow after we have looked it up online. The cows, who must be very fed up of us now, move out of our way one last time, before we are back on the road.
Back through the town we go and to a different exit point. This time we cross a couple of very cool bridges, and head West. After only a few minutes of cycling we see a sign for another cave. We bike across a field until we come to a small entrance where we each pay 10,000 kip (just under a pound) to enter. A young girl acts as our guide, and hands us both headlights. What have we got ourselves in for here. As we climb into the pitch black cave, the girl anders ahead as if walking on a path. We stumble along behind her, squeezing through tiny gaps and down slippery ladders. There are some cool rock formations pointed out to us, but it is hard o appreciate them fully in the small, dark places. All we can hear is the guide saying 'watch your head' over and over as we try and not lose her whilst also trying not to slip over or walk into a rock. We go deeper and deeper, and I will admit I begin to get rather worried. When my headlight falls on what resembles a huge spider on a rock, my worry triples, and I am pretty glad when we reach the water at the end. She offers us a dip in the water, which we both decline, despite being covered in sweat due to the immense heat. It is a relief when we get out.That is enough caves for one day,
Next to the cave is a viewpoint. We decide to try and get to it, which involves a ridiculously steep climb up a hill. Our desire to reach the summit overrides the common sense which is telling us it is too dangerous, and we pull ourselves up further and further, nothing to stop us slipping but loose branches and jutting rocks. it is starting to get scary the higher we get, as the footholds seem to diminish. One look behind us tells us it is time to go down. Despite reaching what looks like the top, it is overgrown by trees anyway so there is no view. We slowly go down, mostly sliding on our bombs as we shakily hold onto anything we can. It is safe to say one slip here would be pretty nasty. It takes a while as we carefully manoeuvre downwards, an boy are we glad when we get to the bottom. We walk back to the bikes with weary legs, ready to push on and see what's next.
As if that last viewpoint wasn't enough, we decide to take on the big one. Pha Ngern looms above us, and we plan to reach the top of it. We park our bikes and pay the 10,000 kip entry fee before setting off. It says it takes an hour to the top, we soon realise that is a lie. Fortunately, this one isn't as dangerous as the previous one, and it is a more of a path with stone steps then a climb up a slippy hill. We walk and walk, and our legs are beginning to ache even before we reach the first stop which is about two thirds of the way up. When we do reach it there is a punishing scramble up some rocks that would be impossible without the rope to help. The view at the top is worth it though. You can see right over Vang Vieng and all the surrounding hills and fields. The fresh air feels lovely, and we spend five or so minutes staring out at the World below us.
We don't have time to burn though. One look at our watches tells us we have two hours before we have to have the bikes back. Not long if we want to reach the summit and then get back down. We decide to go for it. Our burning legs ask for pity, but we offer none as we climb quickly up the rocks. We have said 3.30 is the cut off point where we have to turn back to make it in time. As that time comes nearer, I can sense we are close, but Amy's energy is fading. At 25 past she gives in, telling me to go on. I run up the steps, before turning a corner and dejctedly seeing another steep staircase. It's too much, and i turn back.
A group of 3 locals see me do this. They have just been at the top and are on the way down. '2 minutes' they say and point me upwards. i can't stop 2 minutes from the top. No way. I run all the way and finally stand on the rock on top of the mountain. What a feeling and what a view. I can see for miles. Unfortunately I don't have time and need to go get Amy, so I turn round and to my surprise there she is, climbing the ladder to the top, red faced and breathing heavily. She made it. Given energy by overhearing my conversation with the locals, she pushed on, and we spend a few minutes together, on top of this painful mountain.
With legs that are begging us to stop, we now go through what could be a record run on getting down. We jog the flat bits, and quickly jump the rocks and steps that seemed so painful to climb earlier as the minutes click by. It took us 2 hours to climb, we make it down in 45 minutes.
We bike back like Lance Armstrong minus the drugs, and reach the bike shop. The time, 4.45.
We are elated to sit down in a nearby restaurant and have a fruit shake and some food. When time to leave comes by, we struggle to stand, and the walk home is pretty painful, but it is all worth it to know we made it to the top and back down in time.
We get back and relax for a few hours, not wanting to move our legs. We only go out once more to get some food, and Amy has a fish sweet and sour that involves some of the most bony fish i have seen on a plate. bad news for Amy as it puts her off her food. Good news for me as it is delicious.
Finally it is time for bed. We're going to sleep well tonight!Leer más
Molina Bungalows, Vang Vieng, Day 3
4 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ☁️ -3 °C
It's our final day in Vang Vieng and it starts almost identically to yesterday. The only difference is we decide to head over the bridge to get breakfast and bikes instead of getting them this side of town. This turns out to be a mistake. We soon realise after walking over the two wooden bridges that there isn't anywhere to eat. We find a bike shop and rent a couple of bikes for cheaper then we paid yesterday, but boy does it show. As we bike along, my bike rattles and whines very loudly, destroying the peacefulness of the surrounding areas.
After a bit of biking we stumble across a restaurant called Valhalla, which serves us some good fried rice and some good Laos tea, before we head off in search of the blue lagoon (of which there are plenty).
It only takes around half an hour to reach blue lagoon 1, and it would have been a lot quicker if we didn't stop to gaze at the views on the way. We only really share the road with a few bikes, and a couple of groups of quad bike buggy style things that seem to be the in thing to rent. It is a thoroughly enjoyable ride despite the awkward bikes we use.
When we reach the lagoon, it is clear to see this won't be the serene blue water lake we have imagined. The car park is packed full, and it is obvious why. We were warned this was a busy spot, an it certainly is. The lagoon itself isn't very big and isn't even that blue. People are jumping in off a nearby tree and joyfully splashing around on inflatables which is fun to watch for a while, especially when someone tries to dive in and ends in awkwardly landing headfirst, arms flailing at his side in panic. Despite us being clad in swimming gear, we decide we don't fancy a dip, and soon get back on the bikes and head off in search of something a bit quieter.
While eating at Valhalla, we were told blue lagoon 5 is the one to see, and we see a sign that is advertising it outside blue lagoon 1. It is only 8km away, and that can't be hard on a couple of bikes, right? What the advert didn't mention was that just after the sign, the nice, smooth road transforms into a dirt track covered in rocks. We immediately slow down, as it feels like we are pedalling through syrup, and watch in anger as people on mopeds nip past us.
It is a hard ride, and the Sun beats down on us as signs telling us every kilometre passed seem to get further and further apart. At least the views are good!
After over an hour we realise we have gone wrong somewhere, and the lagoon we were aiming for is back behind us far down one of the turn offs we struggled past and ignored. Luckily, we see we are doing a loop that will bring us out near the mountain we climbed yesterday, which is near home. We struggle on for probably 10km, stopping often to rest our legs and admire the view (but mostly to rest the legs). We pass by limestone cliffs in the distance, looking green up close and then fading to nothing but grey outlines against the clear, blue sky as they get further away. We also pass a lovely bridge that is a nice place to stop, and through villages where locals wander by, going about their jobs that their daily routine entails. Despite the road being tough, it is a thoroughly enjoyable ride.
When back at the mountain and back on the smooth road, we stop at a restaurant. A very playful toddler entertains everyone by running about mischievously, as a jealous dog cries loudly in the garden as his friend is walked around the neighbouring field.
We return the bikes, this time without the mad rush of yesterday, and head back to the room to rest our legs. They have taken quite the beaten the last few days, and need a few hours to stop feeling like jelly.
All the work during the day has made us hungry, and after a disappointing meal of pizza and chips (that are advertised as covered in cheese and gravy, but are served with a few bits of grated cheddar and a small dish with a gloopy brown liquid that is passed off as gravy next to it) we head over the road to a sandwich stall expecting a light snack before bed. What we get is a huge baguette packed full and coated in mayonnaise so much it looked like there had been a paint spillage. It tasted blooming good though. We eat it in bed, and fall asleep. What a place Vang Vieng has been!Leer más
Sackarinh G-house, Luang Prabang, Day 1
5 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
It's time to go. After the last journey, being crammed onto a minibus with live birds and hardly any room to move, it is safe to say we aren't really looking forward to this one. We eat a breakfast just over the road from the bungalow, which is enormous. I eat enough rice to keep me full for about five days, and Amy jealously looks on as she eats her muesli and fruit.
There are five us from the bungalows waiting for this bus, including one German who was on our bus from Vientiane, which is rather a coincidence. When the bus turns up a worried driver gets out of the front and starts debating something with the owner. He holds up five fingers and points at us and the bus, indicating we can't get on. My immediate thought is we are going to have to wait until tomorrow, or find another way of getting there. Instead, we are told to wait fifteen minutes. It is explained to us that they booked every seat on the bus out, but didn't expect anyone's bags to take up room. To put it bluntly, our seats were taken by rucksacks.
The next minibus arrives, and the blacked out windows offer no clue as to how busy it is. As the door is opened all five of us marvel upon a gloriously clean and empty minibus. We sit down and enjoy the leg room and comfort that this stroke of luck has gifted us. After a nervous ten minutes as we drove around the town hoping no-one else would get in, we leave. The air-con is good, and we have room to spread out all our things and relax. What's not to like!
After some annoyingly long food and toilet stops, at one of which Amy asks for a non-spicy Papaya salad and gets served molten lava on a plate, we start to slowly climb a mountain. We edge higher and higher as the road seems to get thinner and thinner. It's rather worrying as the giant drops over the side are not fenced off or anything. The views are great for a while, but soon mist descends, leaving nothing but an eerie greyness outside the window. It's pretty spooky, and then we stop. In front of us we can make out the red brake lights of other travellers, and our driver gets out, leaving us on a hill in the hopefully safe hands of a handbrake. It doesn't help our nerves when the first thing the driver does is scurry around grabbing rocks to put behind the wheels to stop them moving. He wanders off, locking the door behind him and leaving us wondering how long we will be on top of this mountain.
After a quiet five minutes, he miraculously appears from the mist like a stars in your eyes contestant, and starts the engine. It feels good to have a brake ready and not a handbrake, and we slowly but surely make our way past some roadworks, and over the peak.
it is pushing 5 hours when we stop again for the drivers to clean their vans in a petrol station, despite their being an hour of travelling along a muddy road left. Eventually, we set off for the final time. An hour later we arrive in Luang Prabang and complete the journey that would have been pretty unbearable if it wasn't for the empty minibus.
We are dropped off half a mile from our hotel, and start to walk there in the cold air. It is already dark, and we have to push our way through the night market to reach our hotel. It is a very frustrating walk, as the small alleys at the market don't leave much room, especially when most people stop to stare at stalls and leave you standing behind them motionless, unable to squeeze past.
When we complete our long trip, we arrive to a surprisingly nice and cosy guesthouse. We drop our bags off and head to the restaurant that is literally on our doorstep. It's cheap and cheerful, and fills up our bellies that haven't eaten properly since breakfast. We go for a wander around the lovely streets of the old quarter of Luang Prabang. It is now a UNESCO World heritage site, and it is clear to see why, as temples almost number the same as cafes. It is a great place, where time seems to move at half the speed of normal life. Despite the hectic day, we feel relaxed. It is as if the whole place is one big spa, and everyone in it should be wandering the streets in white robes sipping a mojito wearing slippers. It is so chilled out that we can't wait to spend some time here in the light of day, and our mind is already drifting to the thought of booking more nights!Leer más
Sackarinh G-house, Luang Prabang, Day 2
6 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Our first full day in Luang Prabang starts with a much needed morning of rest. It is very cold, and is very nice to stay wrapped up in bed and know there are no mountains to climb or miles to bike today. When we finally wake, we eat a lovely breakfast of omelette and steamed rice in the restaurant outside. This is our new go to breakfast and at just over a quid a pop, you can't go wrong.
After breakfast we get a lovely cup of tea in a nearby cafe. I am starting to learn the wonders of green tea, and out here it is amazing. After the tea, Amy finds a small spa in which she can get her nail varnish that was applied before her birthday off. As she sits and gets it done I find a small stall that sells big fruit shakes. What must have been about ten pineapples goes into my litre of shake. It tastes great, but is unfinishable to mere humans due to its astronomical size. It is great to sit and watch the place go by as I drink. Tuk tuks beep by with the drivers trying to catch my eye and give me lifts, and it is lovely to sit and not sweat in immense heat like usual. No-one here seems to be rushing anywhere, and it is the perfect place to sit and read for half an hour.
I meet Amy back at the spa and we go for a short walk to the riverside. We see a rickety looking bamboo bridge, that must be sturdier then it looks as a lot of people are walking over it. I didn't expect to be so close to the river, and it seems like miles away from the busy streets, despite only been minutes. It is very cool but we decide against paying the fee to cross. We head back, taking advantage of the lazy day we have given ourselves.
After some relaxing time we go out and grab a sandwich to eat by the river. We find a staircase leading right down to the water and sit and eat. There is hardly anyone around, and the views of the river and the bordering hills are very nice. Once we are done, we skip over to the sand next to us and wander along the small riverbank that leads us back to the bamboo bridge. Amy finds a smouldering fire that someone has recently left to die and warms her hands up on it, which shows the temperature today (or shows Amy's sense of melodrama).
We head back up and wander around the streets of Luang Prabang. It is so tightly nestled between big hills, that any direction you walk in leads to a view, and it is lovely to forget about maps and just wander, knowing we won't end up too far from the hotel. We walk past what looks like a wedding. The dancefloor is packed with dancers who are either performing a well known dance, or are the most synchronised family in Laos. Anyway, they look like they are having a great time, and some tourists join in with the dance (not us obviously).
We don't do anything but slowly wander until it is time to head back to the room and relax for a bit. We have a developed a good system of washing in which clothes are hung in a cupboard with the unneeded room fan left to blast them all day. Clothes are drying and our huge laundry bags are slowly diminishing, which is good news. Who said travelling was all play and no work!
We go to the same restaurant as always for tea, as it is lovely and handy to be less then a minute from our room, before getting an early night. Today has been more about recharging the batteries, and we have done that with the aid of a lot of tea and fruit shakes an a good deal of rest. Tomorrow, we get back to it, and plan to tackle mount Phousi (gulp).Leer más
Sackarinh G-house, Luang Prabang, Day 3
7 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
We wake up today ready to tackle another dreaded viewpoint. This one is only a few minutes walk from our hotel, so at least it doesn't tire our legs getting there. We walk up to the entrance and take a look inside a small temple that contains a very old mural which I guess depicts the life of Buddha. It is really interesting as the cracked paint and worn wood leaves a powerful feeling. It feels like a real place of worship, and three Buddha statues gleaming in contrast to the rest of it tops it all off.
As we head up we pass the bird sellers. Apparently it is lucky to release a bird from the top of the hill. We decide against it in the end as it makes us sad to see the tiny cages they are kept in, but it is a nice thought and when we see a woman doing it on the top it does look cool.
Luckily, the path to this viewpoint is proper steps, and we walk up slowly, knowing it won't be a long one as we can already see the bright Gold monument at the top. Our legs are still feeling the strain that the roads and hills of Vang Vieng left on them, and start to ache despite the short distance, so it is a relief when we arrive at the top. There is another temple there where some locals are praying, and a large Golden stupor, but none of these are as impressive as the views. From all sides the views are great, and we look out over the town and the Mekong that snakes through it. The hills in the background are also great to look at, and we find a spot in the shade and chill our for a while.
On the way down there are a few more sights, such as a small cave containing some Buddha statues, and what is supposedly the footprint of Buddha. It is huge, and some entrepreneurial youngsters try and charge us after we look at it, but he receives nothing but a 'nice try' from Amy.
Back down and after another giant fruit shake, we head to the national museum. It looks cool, but we wince at the 30,000 kip entrance fee, and opt to have a walk around the neighbouring temple instead. It is a stark contrast to the one from this morning, with its many decorations glistening in the sun, and we'll deserves it's reputation as Luang Prabang best.
It is still only early afternoon, and we go for a wander around the small alleyways and streets that cross through this town. We walk through food markets selling everything from chicken feet to fried banana, and markets selling h and m t-shirts for about twenty quid. It is lovely to walk around at the slow pace that is instilled into you like a drug when you come here. With temples every few minutes and brightly coloured bars and restaurants, it is very hard to get bored.
Before we know it we have done a loop and end up back near our hotel in the old quarter. The sun, that has been neglecting Northen Laos since we travelled up, finally comes out, and we celebrate by having a few beers in one of the cafes near our hotel. We sit on a table on the street and watch the world go by as one beer turns into two.
When it comes to tea time, we eat near our hotel again, and have a few more beers before we go back to the room, and Amy almost immediately falls asleep. She may blame the exertion of today's exercise, but I think we all know the reason for it.
Anyway, tomorrow we are up early for a trip to the famous Kuang Si waterfall, so it is best we stop drinking now and get some sleep. No-one would want a hangover on these bumpy roads!Leer más
Sackarinh G-house, Luang Prabang, Day 4
8 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Early start today, and it seems we stopped drinking at the right time as we both feel fresh and ready for the day ahead. The minibus picks us up at nine, and Amy manages to fit in an omlette and rice before we go. I opt for a free banana from the hotel, and live to regret it when it is a while until we eat again.
The bus pulls up only slightly late (which is practically early out here) and we are of course the last ones to board, meaning we are shuffled to the uncomfortable and stomach churning back seats. We have now realised being at the back of a mini bus means you get swung around and bumped about a lot more then the front, and with the way they drive and the state of the roads out here, that is rather dangerous.
The drive to Kuang Si takes around an hour, and despite Amy feeling slightly ill, we make it without giving the people in front of us a nasty surprise. The views on the way are great as expected when you climb uphill out here, but we are glad when we climb out.
The waterfalls are at the end of a short trek through the jungle, and the first stop after we are ushered in by the driver, is a small bear sanctuary. Poorly and endangered bears (of the moon and sun species) are housed in a giant pen, and looked after by the workers. It is great to watch them as they doze the day away in the tyres or beds that are put out for them, or playfully wrestle and fight with each other. Apart from the biggest spider I have ever seen casually chilling on a web near to the viewing platform (it is a bright yellow colour that looks very nasty) it is a very enjoyable half an hour.
We didn't come here to see bears though, and as we walk further into the park that houses the water, we soon see the main event. The blue lagoons in Vang Vieng weren't the most inspiring things, but the ones here really make up for it. A short read of some of the informative signs tells me that the water is so blue due to the limestone that runs off the rocks and into the water reflects off the sun (I think). Whatever it is, the end result is a turquoise blue substance that doesn't look real at first glance.
The smaller waterfalls that flow into some of the lagoons that are occupied by a few brave souls who have fought off the chilly morning air and jumped in are very cool, and the way they form ridges in the water that makes it look like individual pools is great. We carry on walking, spending a few minutes at each stop and debating whether to jump in or not.
When we reach the end point (or so we think) we encounter the big boy that we all came to see. It is a huge waterfall and is probably the best we have seen in the whole trip. With the massive flow of water coming through it and the bright blue pool at the bottom, it is an amazing sight.
We notice signs pointing to the side of the water and follow them onto a trail that leads up the side of the falls and over the top of it. We were hoping for a view from above of the falls, but unfortunately trees block the view. We do get some great views of the surrounding countryside though, and a few more lagoons to look at. We meet an English woman who we chat to for a bit, before heading down the very slippy slope back to the fall. We have some time left before our bus leaves, so we casually stroll towards the car park, spending some more time with bears and lagoons, before it is one o clock, and we are left wondering where the past three hours have gone!
The drive back doesn't seem as bad as the way out, and we eventually get to have dinner.
When we get back into the hotel we decide to rest for a while, before heading back out to walk around the night market, that we haven't explored fully yet, mostly due to my hatred of them. Its not that I don't like what they sell, it is that they are always so busy and stressful that I would rather pay more in a shop. The thought of the food at the end gets me through it though, and we have a fried vegetable and cashew nut dish that is awesome!
We head back through the market and take a look at the other side, before getting back to the room and relaxing after another long but very good day in Luang Prabang. As time flew at the waterfall, we can't believe we only have one day left here, after booking five nights. The time has flown by!Leer más
Sackarinh G-house, Luang Prabang, Day 5
9 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
It is our final day in Luang Prabang, and after a nice lie in we head out and grab some bikes, so we can see more of the city before we go.
Our first stop is the market, where we get a nice breakfast, and eat enough rice to fill us up for the day ahead. We head off aiming for a clothes market in which I saw some shirts I wanted to by, but unfortunately they're too big. Its not a completely wasted journey though as there is a pretty cool art gallery opposite that we walk around for a few minutes.
We head off again and we see a sign for a place called Utopia. This place was mentioned on a list of things to do that I put on here a few days ago, so we decide to go for a drink. What a place it is! Right next to the fast flowing Mekong, we sit (or more like lay down as we are on mats with a small lift at the end that are a lot comfier then they look) and immediately feel relaxed. The view is great, and the design of the bar is also great. It feels like a very dance back garden, with a few massive bombs that must have been dropped around here sticking out of the ground in decoration. The tea is excellent again, especially Amy's ginger tea. Apart from quiet music from the bar, that is quite a way a distance from where we sit, it is almost silent. We could sit here all day, but as midday rolls by we feel we should do something, and sadly leave it behind and head off again.
We head over the Mekong on a bridge we spotted at Utopia, and find ourselves in a much more sparse part of town. The big buildings and shops are much fewer, and it is plain to see that this is the poorer side. We bike around a bit before finding ourselves on a dirt track. After a few minutes we see a small cut through and follow it until we reach the Mekong again, and see the bamboo bridge we saw on the first day here, but this time from the opposite side.
To be truthful, without biking for miles and miles, there really isn't too much of interest on the outskirts of the city, and eventually we decide to go back to the old quarter and grab a sandwich.
With dinner packed and ready, we bike along the Mekong again, until we reach a lovely picnic area where we stop and eat. A friendly local tries chatting to us but we can't really understand what he is saying so just laugh when it seems appropriate for most of the conversation.
After dinner we drop the bikes back off and try booking a bus for the next day to Nong Khiaw, but in the end decide to try our own luck in making our way to the station.
After resting in the room for a bit, we head out for tea at the market again. It is like walking a gauntlet as you head down past the many stalls, and try not to have eye contact with any of the screaming ladies asking for your custom. As soon as you pick up a menu and hear them telling you to sit down, it is very awkward to say no and walk away. In the end we sit down on an empty table before checking the menu, which results in Amy not having many veggie choices. It is too late to leave now though. Fried rice it is.
Luckily for Amy, and mostly for me, she is cheered up by a delicious nutella and strawberry crepe on the way home. We get back in the room and watch a movie before going to sleep, ready for another travel day tomorrow.Leer más
Vongmany Guesthouse, Nong Khiaw, Day 1
10 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
The alarm doesn't feel good this morning and we wish we could stay in bed a bit longer, but needs must. Despite loving Luang Prabang, we feel it is definitely time to move on, and today we head North to Nong Khiaw. Pick up is 8.30, and we mange to get loaded up on bananas and sandwiches for the journey, before standing outside at the agreed time. We decided to book a ticket with a tour company yesterday to take us there, as it was around the same price and would be less hassle, right?
8.30 passes, but it would be strange for them to be dead on time as they are probably picking other people up first. 8.45 then rolls by and we start to wonder where it is, or start to think we will be the last place to pick up from and therefore will be shoved to the back again. As 9 and then 9.15 passes we start to get a bit worried, especially because it was meant to leave at 9.
A tuk tuk driver comes over wondering if we want a lift anywhere, and we show him the ticket. '8.30, now 9.30' he shouts before laughing. Just as this happens we see a man waving to us out of his van. Finally we are on a mini bus and our troubles are over. Or so we think. Turns out this bus is just giving us a lift to the station. We arrive with a Brazilian man (who weirdly flies to London from Bangkok the same day as us) and fight through a throng of locals to get some tickets.
We are pointed over to a bus and load our bags on, before Amy goes to take her seat. She stops a few steps onto the bus and looks at the half a seat left for both of us. It is only half a seat as it is on the back row and half taken by the many bags that have been put there. We get off expecting an explanation, but only get told to get on. By now the exasperated passengers have started to get off for coffees and toilet breaks, and we feel we could be here a while.
After a rather stressful five minutes, four more people turn up to share the half seat. This makes things worse, but is kinda nice as we aren't the only ones holding the bus up now. Thankfully this surge of customers means another bus soon arrives, which is the one we came to the bus station on in the first place. We climb on and again are blessed with a pretty empty and comfortable bus. The driver seems pretty hyper, and is yelling 'NONG KHIAW GO GO' out the window did at bemused looking travellers. He also says after ten minutes that he is heading to Vang Vieng, resulting a few panicked looks from his passengers before he burst into laughter. Funny guy. Apart from picking up one more passenger and a small stop where the driver picks up his packed lunch from his wife who stands at the side of the road waiting for him, we are finally on the way North. One of the great things about travelling is that every day something seems to happen. Today proves that point exactly.
The journey takes around 3 and a half hours but goes pretty quickly. We pick up a local woman who keeps dragging phlegm up from what sounds like her feet, and spitting it out the window, leaving a trail of greb most of the way to Nong Khiaw like Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumbs, and three workers, one of which looks quite a lot in pain, and it's no surprise when we drop them at the local hospital.
We are dropped off at a bus station out of town, where a tuk tuk driver takes the bus load of us into the tourist area. We are 2000 kip short (20p) and the driver won't take our 10,0000 note, but luckily the Brazilian man lends us the money.
As we get nearer to the hotel, we can see why this place is facing a surge of tourists recently. It is beautiful. We cross a bridge with stunning views on either side, and get dropped off right in front of our new home for the next few nights. We didn't expect much from the hotel, but it exceeds our expectations massively. It is huge and the views from the balcony are amazing. We immediately plan to stay more nights then the two booked.
After getting settled and getting some washing done out on the balcony (it turns out you can buy actual washing stuff from the shops for 10p a sachet) we head out for some dinner. We stop at a place called Alex restaurant for some local Thai food. I have a fish special that is great apart from the thousands of bones I have to pick out, and Amy has a dish called oh-kai which is very nice but rather odd. After that we head for a walk down the only road through the town. We don't walk far as we are pretty tired, but the views are great, and there are hardly any cars or motorbikes, or anything really on or around the road. Apart from the small batch of hotels and restaurants just over the bridge, we are out in the open, and it feels great.
We sit and read on the balcony as the sun goes down before heading out to eat. One of the foods we have been craving is Indian, and there is a curry house right across the street. We head there and eat a delicious meal of two cups of tea, one jalfreezi, one traditional curry, two rice and a naan, for under 6 pound. It tastes amazing and we vow to eat here every night!
This is a great place, and the lack of internet or television really makes you realise you are in the middle of nowhere (I only get online in the Indian restaurant so have to write these up offline and load them all at once, this may mean a few days are the wrong way round). We love it, and tomorrow we plan to take on the massive mountain viewpoint.Leer más
Vongmany Guesthouse, Nong Khiaw, Day 2
11 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
It is lovely to sleep in a room so big and nice, and the coolness of the night around here doesn't hurt. It is bizarre that it is so hot during the day, and then so cold on a night, but it is lovely. It is also really nice to step out in the morning and be confronted with he misty limestone hills in the distance.
After we slowly get up, we head for some breakfast. A rather angry looking cockerel stares at Amy most of the time while we tuck into some fried rice and vegetables. It is rather off putting, but it soon leaves us alone after Amy fires some cucumber onto the car park outside.
With full stomachs and re-energised legs we head for the viewpoint. The final stop is visible from the road, and it looks a very dauntingly high way up. What is also daunting is the signs warning us that this was one of the most heavily bombed areas in Laos during the nine years of attacks from the Americans, and to step off the track is very dangerous. A sign in the hotel reiterates this and also adds the threat of poisonous animals hiding in the bush. We stick to the advice, and don't step foot off the beaten trail ahead of us.
As trails up hills go, this isn't a bad one. It is 10.30 as we set off though, and the early mist soon rises, leaving a very hot morning. Before long our legs are aching and we are covered in sweat as we plod on up in the humid air. We are offered glimpses of the views on the way up, which helps, but it is certainly a hard climb.
We pass one resting stop that is about half way up, but it is busy with nowhere to really rest, so we fight on, and soon enough we see a sign saying 5 minutes to the top. As if we are given a little treat for climbing the hill, the road flattens out for the final few steps, and we finally reach the rocky platform that is placed on the top.
The views are amazing, probably some of the best we have seen on the trip, and after one big family leave, it is rather deserted which is nice. We sit and take in the view from all sides. It looks right over the town of Nong Khiaw, and the small tourist area which looks tiny from up here. It really pushes home the idea we are in the middle of the mountains as we see only one small village for miles around, surrounded by the hills. The Mekong slithers through, adding to this postcard worthy view.
The way down is usually easier, but this time it seems harder, as the slippy dust on the path makes us go slowly, which burns the legs which are beginning to go numb. It takes around 45 minutes, and boy are we glad to get back to the booth where we bought the tickets to start up.
We go for a sandwich and a fruit shake that takes about an hour to come, and head back for some rest. The great thing about Nong Khiaw is there isn't a great deal to do, therefore we don't feel bad about sitting in the sun on the balcony. We get some washing done and put out, and enjoy a well deserved relaxing afteroon.
After a while we are hungry again, but then disaster strikes. Deen's Indian restaurant is shut! There is no way we will survive the night without our fix of curry, so we head to the less popular neighbour. It is just as good, if not better, despite the smaller portions. We finish eating, and head back, sneaking a small stop on the way for a plate of chips at a restaurant.
Another good day in Nong Khiaw, and another one that has left us very tired!Leer más
Vongmany Guesthouse, Nong Khiaw, Day 3
12 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
We wake up feeling not as stiff as we thought after the hike yesterday. It feels kind of impossible to start a day quickly here, so we end up slowly dragging ourselves out of bed and into the misty, cold morning that is waiting for us. The mountains are only half visible, as fog covers most of the top of them, but we are sure the Sun will break through at some point in the day, so manage to get some washing done and left on the balcony before we head out.
Our first stop is a restuarant for some breakfast. We opt for what is advertised as a Lao garden breakfast, and which consists of steamed veg, an omelette, an amazing salsa dish, and a large helping of sticky rice. It is delicious, and so big we are sure it will last us most of the day. It feels good to grab a handful of sticky rice and mould it into a stick perfect for dipping in the spicy salsa. It is another food we are adding to the 'must learn to make this at home' list.
After eating and feeling very full, we rent a kayak from a very happy man. He tells a joke about our English being good after I tell him we are from England, which he enjoys thoroughly with the kind of laugh that makes everyone laugh along no matter how good the joke was.
After he grabs us a free kayak, we jump on board and are left to ourselves. We are told to go anywhere and go back anytime. We start off heading in a direction we are told is best, and it is lovely. It is as if we have rented the Mekong river for the day as well, as no-one else is on it at all apart from the odd boat every now and then. The water is so calm it is as if we are boating on a lake, and it feels awesome to slowly drift inbetween the limestone hills. We pass small beaches packed full with buffalo and wild pigs, and also go by some nice looking bars in which people are doing karaoke (before midday!)
After a while, we start to feel the burn in our arms that constant paddeling entails. We drift a little further, not wanting to miss out on any views, before heading back. He views on the way back are much better then when we heading in the opposite direction, as the biggest mountains are directly in front of us. We paddle back to the starting point, taking lots of breaks to lay back and rest in the calm water, hearing nothing but the birds in the trees and the distant hum of motorbike engines. At one point a very loud bang startles us. We aren't sure what it was, but knowing this area is one of the most heavily bombed, and therefore most covered in unexploded bombs, makes it rather ominous.
When we get back to the starting point we head past it and journey down the other way of the river for a bit. This bit takes us past the town and past some very posh looking hotels. The views are great again, but not as good as the other side, so we turn back after a short while and head home. Our arms (and legs and back) are knackered by now and the last 100 metres or so seems neverending. When we get back we are exhausted, but we manage to get some more washing done and head out for another great meal at the same restaurant as this morning. Amy has an enormous sweet and sour that tastes delicious.
After that we relax for a bit. Unfrotunatelt the sun is only coming out in small bursts, so it isn't as lovely as the last few days. After Amy has a nap and I read a bit, we head out for tea. Deen's is jammed full so we go next door and eat a nice meal before heading back to the hotel and almost immediately falling asleep.Leer más
Phonevilai Guesthouse, Muang Ngoi, Day 1
13 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ 🌙 12 °C
Time to leave Nong Khiaw, and we will soon be heading the same way we briefly ventured yesterday on the kayaks. After getting up and getting packed in time for the early boat (early being half past ten) we make our way over the bridge one last time and down to the dock. We are pretty early but it is already looking like it will be a busy road as the crowd of rucksack laden tourists grows and grows as departure time gets nearer.
When it finally comes we have formed an orderly queue down the stairway leading to the water, but as people start to board, all rules are broken as people from the back wander down anyway, oblivious of the angry stares of the people in line. One of these people is Medi, a man we met on the balcony of our hotel in Nong Khiaw, and who looks a bit like a tanned Wayne Sleep. He finds himself on the comfy seats, as we are shoved into the back on some very uncomfy benches.
We squeeze so many people on the boat there is hardly any breathing room, and then shove a few more on. It isn't comfy, so thank God the journey only lasts an hour. After filling two boats, there are around five people left. These are the obedient law of the queue abiders, and karma looks down on them by gifting them an empty boat, where they can stretch out and admire the scenery.
When we finally set off we are nearly an hour late. The scenery is lovely along the route, but it is far too awkward to turn around to look at it that it isn't worth it. It is with great joy that we finally see the gueshouses and bugalows of Muang Ngoi in the distance.
When we arrive, my knees are very painful to move due to being cramped up for the last hour, and just getting out of the boat and onto the wobbly platform is hard work. We instantly reconise that this place is special. Nestled inbetween the many surrounding mountains, it only got a road out in 2013. Before that it was only accesible by boat, and it is as far flung from Bangkok and Hanoi as you could get!
We grab our bags that have been slung onto the platform, and head off with the crowd in search of somewhere to sleep. Most people head for the riverside hotels, so we decide to head further inland. What we find is a dirt road that looks recently dug up and churned. What this place lacks in infrastructure it certainly makes up for in beauty. The mountains (not hills according to Medi) are everywhere you look, and it is probably even better then Nong Khiaw.
Carefully balancing with our bags on our back and flip flops on our feet, we find a lovely little bungalow, that comes with a nice balcony and hammock. We snap it up at 100,000 kip a night (just under £9) and get settled in.
After a while we realise we haven't eaten all day, so head out for some dinner. We walk a short way down the dirt road and find a cool little restaurant where we settle down to eat. Medi turns up after a few minutes and sits with us, regaling us with stories of his travelling past. After eating we wander to his bungalow to see the view he has got. The room doesn't look too pretty, but the view of the mountains along the Mekong is lovely. We chill there for a bit before heading back to our bungalow for some well needed rest. I fall asleep and don't wake up until 6pm! Guess I was more worn out then I thought.
As night sets in, we go out for tea. We are drawn into a restaurant by a very persuasive lady, who tells us to try the local food. We order a curry called suzy which is amazing, and a noodle dish called larp which is also delicious. It is always a risk ordering things you have never heard of, but it paid off tonight.
And so we head back, bellies full and well rested. We go to bed excited to explore more tomorrow, and already falling in love with this small, sleepy town.Leer más
Phonevilai Guesthouse, Muang Ngoi, Day 2
14 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
It's Valentine's day, and I have decided to let my romantic side free, and give Amy the gift of another mountain trek. We scoped a viewpoint out after a short walk yesterday, and after a lovely omelette coated with laughing cow cheese for breakfast with Medi, we head off to the bottom of the mountain.
A friendly local takes some money from us for some tickets, and we are on our way. The early morning chill soon disappears, letting the sweltering sun break through, and the hoodies soon come off as we sweat our way up the steep, challenging climb. It only takes around half an hour to reach the top, but it is half an hour of pretty intense climbing, mostly consisting of rocks that you step up using the rickety handrail next to you.
We reach to the top sweaty and already feeling pretty tired, but the view soon makes you forget all that. I noticed when we signed in at the entrance that we were the first people today, and this is confirmed by the empty platform we walk onto. We take in the view and the shade, sitting down and relaxing as the mist slowly drifts off the mountaintops in front of us. It is a great place, and we could spend hours here.
Around half an hour passes before we are joined by an older guy, who immediately whips off his top. We take this as our cue to leave, and begin the much easier way down. The way up and the way down are two different routes, and this one is more of a path then the climb up. It takes half the effort but about the same length of time to reach the safety of the bottom. At least we thought it was safe. Mountain hikes are always tense because of the poisonous animals that occupy the jungles around us, and yet it is as soon as we step away from the trees and bushes, that we are confronted by some weird giant turkey. The noise that emanates from its beak as it saunters towards us resembles an hangry (a new scientific term for when Amy is hungry, and thus very angry) dinosaur.
The topless man reaches the bottom around the same time as us and steps in between us to get a photo of this monster, which gives us the chance to run around the side, and out of its deadly clutches. That was a close call. Next time we won't be so lucky. On hindsight it was just a really big bird, but at the time it was pretty scary.
As it is Valentine's day we decide to treat ourselves to some afternoon drinks. We find a lovely riverside bar where we have a beer and watch the Mekong lazily flowing past us. It is the same views that we have been blessed with the last week or so, but they never seem to get old. We drink up and go for a small walk down a road we find leading out of town. It ends up taking us past a school in which a class of girls are learning a dance in the playground, and many fields laden with crops and cows and of course the compulsory mountains looming in the distance. It is a boiling hot day, and we head back after a short while and make the most of the hammock on the balcony.
We head out again later and go back to the bar we drank at this afternoon just in time for the sunset. We have a few more beers and watch as the orange glow descends into darkness and the mountains one by one start to disappear. It is an amazing place and the beer Lao tastes great as well.
We head to another bar after that and have another drink and some chips, before grabbing a curry from the restaurant opposite. Fed up of rice, we order chips instead, which doesn't go down so well with the potato curry.
We finally return to the room after a lovely day, and as we get into bed the viewpoint certainly seems a very long time ago. The final Valentine's gift we give each other is the promise of a lie in in the morning, and that is something we are both very much looking forward to!Leer más
Phonevilai Guesthouse, Muang Ngoi, Day 3
15 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ 🌙 17 °C
We allow ourselves the lie in we had promised yesterday, and it feels to not get out of bed until around half ten. We watch a film called seven pounds which Amy cries pretty much the full way through, and don't have to face a half asleep ice cold shower like we have the previous few days.
When we do finally move, we head to a lovely restaurant that serves a delicious pad Thai, before taking a long walk out of town. There isn't many paths that you can go down here, and it seems rather impossible to get lost, so we wander pretty aimlessly and take in the scenery as we get further and further into the countryside.
The road is a little dirt track about big enough for one car, and it is wedged inbetween large fields on one side, and tall mountains on the other. On one of the mountains we see some large craters that may be man made, but certainly looks like the result of a bomb exploding. They give a nasty reminder of the danger that lingers here for the workers in the fields, and reiterate the dark history we have so recently learned about. Whether or not what we saw was from a bomb we are unsure, but this is one of the most heavily bombed areas of the country, so it could be.
We keep walking and the views seem to keep surprising us with every turn. The heat has ramped up the last few days (yesterday my phone gave a maybe exaggerated reading of 34 degrees) and it is boiling hot as we slowly trudge down the lane. There aren't many other tourists, and it is lovely and quiet with only a passing motorbike every now and then.
We reach a lovely riverside restaurant and take advantage of the shade it offers to sup a few cold drinks. There is a hammock that we use as we relax listening to the water flowing down the stream. After getting some sugar induced energy we head to the nearby cave. It is very cool, but neither of us are brave enough to enter the dark depths that the path leads to. Our phone lights only brighten up a small segment in front of our face, and the darkness that surrounds us is far too eerie to take the path through the cave. I can't imagine many people do go through, especially if they are alone. The part of the cave we do go to (the part near the entrance that is lit up) is a nice place to stop due to the cool temperature and rock structures that have formed above us. When limestone slowly drips away it leaves a shape like a wave that has been frozen in mid air, hanging from the roof or walls, and despite seeing a lot of them now, they are still interesting.
We leave the cave and keep walking a bit, before turning back and heading home. On the way back Amy sits on a rock and wets her feet and legs in the icy water of the stream, and we see another bamboo bridge that looks like it could fall any minute, but in reality will probably still be standing years from now. Back we head with the sun beating down mercilessly. We take a turn and find ourselves at the bottom of a viewpoint. I ask the ticket seller how far it is to the top, and he replies one hour. With this heat and our already aching legs, we decide to give this one a miss.
We grab some dinner, and I have fried noodles with duck (I am sorry Samwell my feathered friend) before we head back to the room. We spend a productive few hours planning how we will move from here to Bangkok. The prospect of coming home now seems very real as we count the days down to leaving day, working out where we will go and how long we will spend in each place. We plan to visit one more place in Laos before heading back to Thailand, and we will back on the road tomorrow.
After another tiring day, we head out for some tea and end up in the same place we ate the first night. We aren't sure why, but everyone seems to have moved on today, leaving the town completely dead. Apart from a few tourists wandering past in search of a cheap plate of noodles, it is empty. Only the many dogs and cats wander the streets, two of which have a little fight before running after each other into the night.
The food is amazing as always, and we head back to the room full of sticky rice, and not really looking forward to the early start and the long day of travelling that we will wake up to tomorrow.Leer más
Khanking Gueshouse, Luang Namtha, Day 1
16 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ 🌙 22 °C
Well our time in this part of Laos has come to an end. It is the kind of place where you feel like you could stay forever, but with only a short time on our trip and most of the places covered, we feel it is time to move on.
The only way out of Muang Ngoi is on the boat back to Nong Khiaw. We wolf down a big breakfast in anticipation of a long day, and get to the docks nice and early. After the painfully cramped journey, this one doesn't feel too bad. Amy manages to grab herself one of the comfy front seats while I sit behind her on the less comfy bench, but wih space to actually stretch my legs out which feels like a luxury. Our driver isn't messing about this time, and he speeds past the clouded mountains and gets us back in around 45 minutes.
When back in Nong Khiaw, we jump onboard a songthaew that takes around ten of us to the bus station. We weren't sure if we would make it to Luang Namtha today after some internet research, so are delighted when we see a bus heading straight there. We pay the 100000 kip fee (9 pound) and get some good seats nice and early. It is lucky we did, as the bus soon packs full, with even someone sitting on a beer crate inbetween seats.
After a brief food stop in which we are given a blatanly fake 2000 kip note that we weren't sure enough about to contend, we drive on. The roads are bumpy and the bus is busy, resulting in a very uncomfortable 6 hour drive that leaves most people feeling queazy. It didn't seem far on the maps, but the constant turns and bends in the road mean the driver can't go fast, and the drive drags on and on. It is too bumpy to read or watch something on our phones, so the beautiful scenery passing by the window is the only entertainment we get.
Finally the bus pulls to a stop, and we climb out into the fresh air. It has been a long day and everyone is ready to get settled in a hotel room. Unfortunately, we have been dropped 10km from the town, so another songthaew ride to the centre is needed, at an additional cost of 20000 kip. When we do finally get into Luang Namtha, it is starting to get dark and we settle for the first gueshouse we see. It turns out it is a surprisingly nice place, and for 70000 kip (around 6 quid) a night, we can't complain.
Another problem with travelling days is the infrequent toilet breaks, so we get some fluids into us before realising we haven't eaten since breakfast. We head to a restaurant and order a large meal, before going to the food market where I buy some delicious pork. Crackling tastes amazing after so long without a roast. Thank God I ate it in the room, or else I would have spent a lot more eating tonight!
After eating we head back to the room. We left our old room at 8 this morning, and the day has exhausted us, so it won't take us long to get to sleep tonight.Leer más
Khanking Guesthouse, Luang Namtha, Day 2
17 de febrero de 2018, Laos ⋅ ⛅ 1 °C
After falling asleep pretty early last night, we are up nice and early today and ready for an explore of Luang Namtha. The main attraction of here is trekking, but the only way to do that is to book onto a 2 or 3 day tour, and we can't be bothered to do that, so we wander around the small and empty town. It isn't empty in terms of shops and restaurants, but the roads are completely empty. It is an odd, slow place, and this is exemplified by our breakfast.
We find a nice looking restaurant and stop by for some food. Amy orders fried rice with a fried egg which takes half an hour to come. After another twenty minutes of waiting, I am told they can't make the omelette I ordered. This after sitting waiting with no-one else in the restaurant. I end up getting fried rice and egg after about an hour wait, and we eventually head off, after waiting another five minutes for change.
I aim to get a haircut, but there doesn't seem to be many places. We stumble upon a market in which we hunt for a beer lao shirt for Amy, but we don't find anything. There isn't much else we want so we soon move off and head for a valley trail that we saw on a map. It is another sweltering day and the couple of mile walk we take up a long and winding path takes it out of us. We gradually keep walking uphill until we pass a temple and a stupor. The views over Luang Namtha are great, and the initial worry we had about this place soon ebbs away as we become quite enamoured with the tiny town nestled inbetween the fields. We head back feeling pretty worn out and rest in the room for a bit.
After an hour out of the heat, we head out for a delicious burrito in a restaurant called bamboo house that is set up to fund many projects in Luang Namtha. It is a nice place and the free tea and water goes down a treat. We go for another little wander but there really isn't too much to see without delving into a day long trek in the jungle, so we wander back to the room, picking up a bus ticket to the Thai border on the way.
It is our last night in Laos. It is a country that has shocked us with it's natural beauty and laid back attitude. A place you could spend a week and see most of the major sights, but also spend a year and not get bored. Sitting in a hammock seems just as natural here as taking a 5 mile trek up a mountain. Without heading South due to the excruciatingly long bus journeys, we feel we have seen a great side to this amazing country.
Our final meal is spent at the food market. I eat more of the delicious pork which is 60p a helping, while Amy eats noodles and spring rolls. It is a a very greasy but very tasty meal. As it is our last night in Laos, it would be rude to not have one last beer Lao to toast the three weeks we have spent here. As we sit in a nice bar that plays some rather dreary music, we witness another motorbike crash. Both of the drivers seem fine despite one bike flying across the road. Riding mopeds is one thing I certainly won't miss when returning to England.
We head back to bed after one last crepe from he market and get some sleep, ready for another six hours on a bus tomorrow, as we head to Thailand again and begin to slowly make our way down to Bangkok. The days keep ticking away as the flight home gets closer and closer!Leer más
North Hotel, Chiang Rai, Day 1
18 de febrero de 2018, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
The plan today is a simple one. The first step is getting on the bus we have already booked to the border at midday. We have heard there is a bus to Chiang Rai from there at 9am and 4.30pm every day, so due to the 4 hour ride we feel the 9am is undoable. Hopefully the midday bus bus which we are told takes 3.5 hours will get us there with plenty of time to jump on the Chiang Rai bus and go over the border and to the bus station that is 100m from our hotel. Sounds simple, right?
The first leg of the journey goes well, as we get to the bus station an hour early so as to get good seats. This turns out to be a wise move, as half an hour before the departure time the bus is crammed full. Everywhere a seat could go there is one. The aisle has been filled with fold out chairs and the conductor sits on a camping chair in the doorway. The row in front of us which is only really three seats has five people sat along it. Our bags are fastened to the roof, and ten minutes before midday, we are off.
The air conditioning isn't on but luckily the windows open nice and wide so it's not too bad. The road isn't as bad as most have been in Laos, but it is very hilly, and it some becomes apparent this bus wasn't made to climb hills. As soon as we get to the bottom of an incline we immediately slow down, trudging up it with the speed of a knackered cyclist. It is at these moments that the breeze from the window stops and the sun starts to feel so more hotter. We sweat up along with the van, which would be dripping if it had pores, and slowly tick away the 200 kilometres.
We only have one brief stop, but it soon becomes apparent it is gonna be very tight to catch the bus.
We drive past 2 or 3 car crashes, including two cars both pretty trashed and one car upturned on the side of the road. Thankfully there didn't look to be anyone seriously hurt. It certainly makes us wince a bit more every time a car overtakes us on a blind corner on the side of a mountain (which is much more frequent then you would imagine).
As we get within 10km we are very short on time, and unfortunately this is when everyone decides to get off one by one. It wouldn't be so bad, but the driver has to climb onto the roof and unpack their bags. When we finally get there it is around quarter past 4, and we don't see any buses in the parking area.
A quick look tells us the bus was at 4. We missed it by quarter of an hour. With a hotel already booked in Thailand and not much around here, we start to wonder what to do. Luckily a tuk tuk driver is going to the border, which it turns out is a few miles away from the station, so we hop in with him. The border is pretty empty and we soon check out of Laos and jump onto a shuttle bus which rides us over the bridge and back into Thailand. Border control goes pretty well and soon enough are tickets are stamped with another 30 day visa for nothing. Now all that the is left to do is get to Chiang Rai.
We ask the woman at the desk who tells us we have missed the last bus. Oh dear. This border seems even more deserted then the last one. We are called over again though, and she tells us she can us on the last minibus to Chiang Rai, on the last two seats going. This is great news, but the feeling of joy disappears again when the cash machine isn't working and we don't have enough money to pay. I end up jumping in a tuk tuk heading out and getting out at the nearest cash machine. I get money as the clock ticks towards 5.30, the time the mini bus is scheduled to leave. I make a run for it, which isn't easy in flip flops, and get there just in time to pay. The bus driver is waiting for us and we walk over and unload our bags. It is a boiling hot day, and not a good day to go running, resulting in me being rather sweaty. It doesn't help that I am pushed inbetween a local man and everyone's luggage on the back seat. We share what is around 1 and a half seats worth of space while Amy sits in the front seat with all the space in the world.
The journey to Chiang Rai takes around 90 minutes, and we get dropped off at the wrong bus station for our hotel. We end up grabbing a tuk tuk to take us the five miles to where we need to be, and finally the journey is over. Who said travelling was easy!
Thankfully, the hotel we have booked is lovely. After dropping off our bags we head out for some well needed food. There is a giant food market with dancers and singers performing on a stage and we load up on spring rolls and noodles before heading back to the room and relaxing. What a day!
These days aren't the most fun when you are on them, but they are certainly good when the journey is over. It didn't exactly go to plan (two buses was the plan, instead it was a bus, a tuk tuk, another bus, a mini bus, and another tuk tuk) but it certainly makes it a better story to tell, and all's well that ends well I guess. It worked out about 8 hours of travelling, and we have already booked our bus to Chiang Mai tomorrow (3.5 hours). Hopefully that one will go a bit better then today!Leer más
9 Hostel, Chiang Mai, Day 1
19 de febrero de 2018, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
With a bus booked back to Chiang Mai at 3.45, we don't have long to spend in Chiang Rai. The plan is to do a bit of exploring, a bit of shopping, and get me a haircut. It is handy staying right near the bus station as we can leave our bags in the hotel and don't have to carry them around with us all day. The new position of the hotel compared to where we stayed last time has given us a different outlook on the city. Where as before we thought it was a bit dead, we realised last night that is not the case. We were just looking in the wrong places!
Our first stop is for food, and we go to a restaurant we ate at a lot last time we were here. It is run by a lovely old woman who has an infectious smile. Her husband is here today helping, and he is just as generous and nice as her, giving us free soup and filling up our water bottle before we go. Add there kindness to the fact the food is great and very cheap and we're onto a winner. We were wondering if she would recognise us, and we weren't sure in the end if she did, or if she os just so friendly with everyone.
With full bellies we head off and Amy looks through a few shops. We then finally find a hairdesser who will cut my hair after a few unsuccessful attempts. Maybe the language barrier puts them off, or maybe it's the look of my far too long hair. The woman who cuts my hair does a good job, and it feels great to get the long hair off the sides. It will be much needed as we head South and the temperature jumps up.
We look around a few more shops and Amy finds a pair of black shorts. Like the haircut, these have been hard to find, and she is chuffed to get a pair that fit. Her delight at getting the shorts is nothing though compared to when we enter cat n a cup cafe. As the name suggests, you eat or drink while cats wander around freely. There is loads of them, ranging from big to small and black to white, and we spend about an hour relaxing and watching them sleeping or fighting. To be honest, the most enjoyable part is watching people try to eat whilst fending off a pack of hungry cats. One guy gets his full slice of cake snatched from his plate in one quick swoop of a paw, and another girl takes about half an hour to eat her sandwich due to her hand being used as a shield. She did order tuna sandwich though, so it is kinda her fault.
After the cat cafe we head to a book shop that we saw some flyers for. It is pretty cool but the selection isn't great and I'm not sure about paying over a fiver for used books. We leave empty handed before going for a little wander around the town and heading back to the hotel. It is another boiling day and it is nice to sit on the comfy seats inside and relax a bit before the bus.
I would normally be dreading a bus ride today, but we have used the green buses that seem to own the route between Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai before, and they are very nice. That is the case again this time as we relax in the comfort of a big chair and some air con. The 3.5 hour drive goes pretty quickly and painlessly.
We are back in Chiang Mai! The place we have spent the most time and the place we find the most homely. We know it now, which is very nice. It feels great as we see the walls around the old square and drive past the old bars and restaurants we have been in before. Our hostel is nice, despite the room being a bit on the warm side, but for 9 pound a night we don't mind.
We head out for some lovely food. I get a sweet and sour and Amy gets a green curry, before we head back and get some rest.
We love this place, and are so glad to be back!Leer más
9 Hostel, Chiang Mai, Day 2
20 de febrero de 2018, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
It feels good to be back here, and the room wasn't too cold last night despite the fan being too loud to have on during the night. We get up pretty slowly before heading out for some breakfast.
After we have eaten and enjoyed a nice fruit shake, we head off wandering, not really knowing where we are heading. Chiang Mai is so good as round every corner there seems to be something cool. Whether it is a coffee shop, or a cool clothes shop or graffiti, there is always something to keep you occupied. We walk about and take it all in, but I am feeling pretty tired so after a while we stop for a cup of coffee to give us a boost. I have missed the Thai coffee, choosing the tea in Laos instead, so it is great to have another one. There are tons of things to do in Chiang Mai, but sitting with a coffee down one of the many streets in the old town and watching the world go by is one of my favourites.
After the coffee and feeling revitalised we head off walking again. We head to the walls and watch eveyone feeding the pigeons right in front of a massive 'do not feed the animals' sign. After that we notice a park that we haven't visited for on a map, so make our way towards that. It is on the other side of the town so we wander past the many beautiful temples and stores and slowly get there. It is very nice, and after finding some shade it is lovely to watch the massive fish being fed and the pigeons trying to steal the food. Laying on the grass, it feels like we are miles out of the town, and we feel we could stay here for hours. We buy some food and feed the fish (and the pigeons) before taking a long route around the walls back to our hotel.
There are many animal shops selling everything from rats to turtles, and they offer us some entertainment and some shade on the way back. It takes around half an hour and we grab some food before going back to the room and having a few hours away from the sun.
After a rest we head out for some food. It is nice to know some of the restaurants now, and we head to one that we have been in several times before and have always had lovely meals (especially a pizza on Christmas Eve). I get the khao soi, which is a lovely curry dish which has noodles (soft and crispy) in it. It is delightful, and as it is native to only Northen Thailand I think, it seems like a must as we are soon to leave.
After eating we head to the reggae bar for one last beer. Unfortunately there is no band on at the moment, and it isn't very busy due to it being low season, but it is nice to be back in a place we have had some really good times. We head back after one beer and get some rest. The room is hot which isn't the best, but hopefully we will be able to get some sleep!Leer más
9 Hostel, Chiang Mai, Day 3
21 de febrero de 2018, Tailandia ⋅ 🌙 28 °C
As we are booked onto a cooking class tonight, we decide to take the morning and early afternoon pretty easily. I take it so easily in fact that I sleep for most of the afternoon, waking an hour before we are to be picked up. Apart from a meal for dinner we don't leave the room, and 4 o clock soon rolld round. We wait outside as the clock ticks slowly past the 4 to 4.30 pick up time we had, but we are eventually picked up and packed into a very busy songthaew.
The course is advertised as 2 to 8 people, so we are rather surprised when there is 11 of us. What is more surprising is I am the only male in the group. There is me and Amy and a solo traveller named Kathie from Germany, and the rest are a group of 8 Danish girls, which means I am the sole representative for men's culinary skills. No pressure!
We start with a tour of a big food market that definitely gets our stomachs rumbling. There is food everywhere. Fresh fruit is packed high and sold very cheaply, and the giant, colourful bags of curry paste make us very excited to cook a curry. We don't head into the meat section which resembles a warehouse with steel tables covered in all kinds of unrecognisable animals. Not the place to take a vegetarian. After a short time with our very excitable and funny host Mam, in which she buys some ingredients with us, we are back in the songthaew for a 5 minute drive to her house.
It is a lovely place, and after a short gap where they prepare and we eat sticky rice, we are at a table ready to go.
First on the menu is spring rolls. The filling is already chopped up and ready to go, which saves a lot of time and only really leaves us the wrapping and frying to do. These all go pretty well and leave us thinking it is actually pretty easy. We have the same feeling after cooking pad thai. This is the one that everyone who visits Thailand wants to learn how to cook. After prepping the ingredients we are shown how to make it. It is a quick, frantic dash as we mix and stir all the ingredients in a wok, but the end results are delicious. It all seems so simple, and also rather healthy (if you forget about the frying part). We manage to make it through without any disasters, and enjoy the meal we have just cooked.
After eating we head back down to cook our next dishes. We start by pounding our curry paste together. We have been shown the ingredients that go in (there is a lot) and are left to slice and grind them down. It is a hot and labourious task but the smells it creates really gets the belly rumbling. We then make dessert. Sticky rice has already been made so we just watch as the simple task of cooking the coconut milk and sugar sauce that the rice soaks up is made. It tastes lovely.
Now we are back at the hobs making curries and soups that we have chosen. They are both rather similar to make, and involve a lot of taste-testig and stirring, but the flavours that are created from the assortment of leaves and spice that we use are great.
Once everything is made, we enjoy what we can eat of our second meal, and it is again delicious.
It all seemed easy, but it always is when someone is taking you through it step by step. We are given a cook book to take home so hopefully we can find all the ingredients and recreate some of these dishes for ourselves.
All in all it was a very fun and very informative night. Mam, our host, was a great teacher and certainly kept us entertained by laughing wildly at her own jokes or stroking her pet squirrel (not sure that would past the food hygiene laws in England). It is a great way to spend our last day in Chiang Mai, and we fall asleep with bellies uncomfortably full of food we somehow managed to cook.Leer más