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Asia Scenic
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  • Начало поездки
    16 февраля 2016 г.
  • Arias JordensAsia ScenicArias Jordens

    Kanchanaburi

    22 февраля 2016 г., Таиланд ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Kanchanburi was my first real taste of jungle, our guesthouse was right on the river Kwai (like quiet without the 't' NOT Koi - translation = big penis) surrounded by vegetation and the birds were merrily chirping away. We took a bike ride the day we arrived to see the bridge of the river Kwai, infamous because of the story behind its construction and the film made about it.

    The following day we went to on a tour and saw the waterfalls inside Erawan National Park. This was the first time in my life that I had ever seen a waterfall and it was beautiful. Seven tiered, with a 2k climb to the top (which Jack somehow managed with a fever), the whole environment was serene and thankfully there were not too many other people around. At one point I climbed up to the precipice of a hidden waterfall with Rach, not another soul in sight, just us surrounded by lush green trees, the squawkings of wildlife and the water running over our feet continuing its journey down. At that moment I felt content. All the years as a kid I spent dreaming of travelling and then the years I spent working to actually make it a reality, all of it, in that moment was encapsulated. For the first time since landing in Bangkok, it finally felt real. After Erawan the tour took us to the death railway which we rode for a section and would have led to the bridge over the river Kwai built by POWs under the Japanese during WW2.

    In the evening, slight change of pace, 10 baht shots (approximately 20p) of what can only be described as spirit flavoured spirit sitting on upturned paint pots followed by buckets of SangSom and coke.    Читать далее

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  • Arias JordensAsia ScenicArias Jordens

    Ayutthaya, Thailand

    24 февраля 2016 г., Таиланд ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Temple ruins from the once capital of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, 12th - 18th century. Absolutely incredible, the remains of a city focused in the historical park but many ruins dotted around which we saw took took tour. On the flip side at the floating market we fed some fish, saw traditional dancing and, well, just look at the picture below, bit nerve racking...Читать далее

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  • Arias JordensAsia ScenicArias Jordens

    Sukhothai

    27 февраля 2016 г., Таиланд ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    The ruins in Sukhothai are impressive to look and wander around with a bicycle as the complex is vast. Probably the best in Thailand, Sukhothai was the short lived capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom from the 13th - 14th century after which the kingdom of Ayutthaya in the south invaded and wrested control. With regards to the ruins Ayutthaya can be seen as Sukhothai's little sister, as with Sukhothai the remains seemed to better preserved and the focal point being a larger surface densely littered with ruins. No photos of the ruins as my phone was indisposed however we did end up gate crashing a wedding in our hotel!Читать далее

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  • Arias JordensAsia ScenicArias Jordens

    The White Temple, Chiang Rai

    14 марта 2016 г., Таиланд ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Wat Rong Khun, otherwise known as the White Temple, is a modern temple built by a prominent Thai architect who, on completion of the complex, would like it to be considered a great such as the Taj Mahal and Angkor Wat. I'm an uncertain of whether this will be the case or not as the inside of the temple depicts planes flying into the twin towers, superheros, fictitious characters, guns, bullets and various other portrayals. Nevertheless the temple is striking with it's architecture and gruesome themes (like teenage mutant ninja turtle head hanging from a tree), well worth a visit if just for the "WTF is happening!?" feeling whilst walking around.Читать далее

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  • Arias JordensAsia ScenicArias Jordens

    Chiang Khong, Thailand

    14 марта 2016 г., Таиланд ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Not much here really, its main purpose for travellers is to serve as the border crossing town from Thailand to Laos. We had our first glimpse of the Mekong river which was to become our travel buddy for the foreseeable future as well as a few Canadians. Went to an epxat pub recommended by friends from home, we saw their stamp on the place!Читать далее

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  • Arias JordensAsia ScenicArias Jordens

    Luang Prabang, Laos

    17 марта 2016 г., Лаос ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Luang Prabang was our first real taste of Laos life and I loved it, the people were great, the atmosphere was great. Walking down the streets it seemed as though there was a fusion of Asian culture and a European city, they make strange bedfellows but work surprisingly well together. As we arrived late we headed straight to the night market for some street food and found that it was full of beautiful fabrics, art and jewellery that all seemed to be hand crafted - a much better night market than any I had visited in Thailand and there was actually room to manoeuvre however if you are tall watch out for low hanging tent rails, they hurt. On a completely unrelated topic the hospital is pretty good there too 😁 If your in the area, make sure to check out Kuang Si waterfalls. In my opinion they were not as serene or beautiful as Erawan but going by the intensity and magnitude of the falls they are stunning, literally, stop and stand still for a time just staring. Definitely worth a trip.Читать далее

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  • Arias JordensAsia ScenicArias Jordens

    Vientiane, Laos

    23 марта 2016 г., Лаос ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Me and Rach there early as had enough of Vang Viang
    Again blend of Asian culture with Eurpoean city, french coloniolism themes more apparent here than in Luang Prabang.
    Swiss bakery
    Buddha Park
    Proper glass of milk (heaven)
    Wat Sisaket, only Wat left standing after city was invaded by Thai - original paintings on wall beautiful
    Cinema when the rest of the gang arrived for a chilled night    Читать далее

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  • Arias JordensAsia ScenicArias Jordens

    Konglor Cave, Laos

    26 марта 2016 г., Лаос ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Konglor Cave, was breathtaking, the first ever real cave I've been too and it was huge! Maybe the biggest in Laos? It's filled with water so we got into 3's and hopped in a boat. Minimal lighting whilst on the water so we had head-torches to admire the place, the boat took us through the mountain and out the other side onto a backdrop of sheer mountains covered in greenery whist we're in the middle of a jungle river. Epic. On our way back they set us ashore inside the cave and we wander through looking at the formations, stalactites and stalagmites. The nerd in me was proper geeking out! Would definitely return and do Konglor motorcycle loop so I could explore the surrounding area and lesser caves as well.Читать далее

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  • Arias JordensAsia ScenicArias Jordens

    Pakse, Laos

    27 марта 2016 г., Лаос ⋅ ⛅ -3 °C

    Pakse, what can I say? (that rhymes when Pakse "Pak-say" is said correctly). A town that we had been told by "they" held nothing and was best to skip out. As we arrived at 6am after a night bus Rach and I decided to stay for a day or two just to check it out and then move on.

    Well "they" weren't completely wrong...the town itself didn't offer much in the way of things to do being mainly restaurants and a few Wats. BUT that's the only thing that "they" got right. We rented motorbikes and did a sections of the Bolaven Plateau loop and it was one of the best days I 'd had travelling so far! This was my first proper experience of having a bike and the freedom that comes with it rather than paying extortionist prices for tours.

    On our way to see some waterfalls we passed a local tea factory whose produce was all locally farmed. We went in and were given the tour of a very basic but effective operation, sampled some of their different types of tea and ended up with a couple of bags of it for ourselves! Further down the line, still on the way, we ended up taking a detour down a dusty trackway to a fish farm at the very bottom and having a drink.

    When we reached our first waterfall the "owner" of the land (rents off the government) and general guardian of the waterfall talked to us about how he grows coffee which we got to try both as the classic drink and the plant bean itself before dried (not that great). He also gave us a free shot on the house that he had brewed himself which he described as "medicine". There were bits floating in it and the smell was strong enough to burn your nose hair off, needless to say we both gave it a go although not too much because we were biking...safety first! Tad Yuang, the waterfall itself, was, and still is, on the day that I'm writing this (19/8/2016) the most magical I have been too. Not as beautiful as Erawan or as magnificent as Kuang Si but it had an element to it that was like nothing I'd seen. It was our own little paradise as we were the only ones there, the sun shining on the mist being thrown off creating a rainbow, rocks either side for climbing like the big kid I am. It was wonderful. After we both knew that we'd found somewhere special.

    Tad Fan was the second waterfall we saw which has the longest drop in Laos, 120m. We saw it from the viewing platform at the top and it was pretty spectacular to see such a fall of water (clues in the name I know but still).

    Tad Something was our final adventure of the day. Driving along drit tracks through coffee plantations to get there, we arrived towards closing and so again it was completely deserted, just a guard who left us to it after he'd taken some photos of us together. The height was about 15m which meant that the erosion of the rock, usually too high to reach, had created a cavern behind the water fall which was accessible with a little bit of scrambling, great fun.

    Haters gonna hate...head to Pakse.

    Side note: Really annoyingly, I lost my memory card with my photos on it for Pakse and Chammpasak, only a few uploads and Rach's to go by.    Читать далее

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  • Arias JordensAsia ScenicArias Jordens

    Champassak, Laos

    29 марта 2016 г., Лаос ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    So when in Pakse I'd researched things to do in surrounding area and Wat Phu came up as number one result which I'd never heard of so looked into it and it seemed like some cool ruins so we headed to Champassak, a bit south of Pakse, which was the nearest place to stay.

    The town/village not quite sure where it ranks was lovely, right on the banks of the Mekong, we stayed at a place called Champassak in Love which was a little restaurant with a river view for cheap prices and the BEST ice coffee in the world! We were two of maybe 5 tourists in the town (going with town) that we saw. Very authentic experience of local, rural life in Laos, one I'm grateful for as I would not have experienced it elsewhere on my stops. Simple but Rach and I loved it and so our one or two night stay ended up extending somewhat....

    We went to Wat Phu with another couple we'd met and I was blown away by it. Wasn't really sure what to expect but definitely not what we found. On arrival we get taken to the outermost point of the complex where there are with 2 huge water features, which would have likely been reservoirs, through which running in between is a paved walkway, flanked by unbudded lotus flower statues, towards the ruins ahead. In front of us are two crumbling buildings at the end of the parade and either side of it, dwarfed by an ancient, staircase that leads up to a temple on top of a terraced hill. It is the single, mot impressive man-made ancient monument I have been able to view in its full majesty at any one point. And because of that it is also my favourite ruin I have had the pleasure of travelling too as of yet. So we walked the parade, explored the buildings, climbed the stairs - which were not easy and extremely uneven! Reached the summit and that point turned around. Just wow. The hilltop backs onto the face of a mountain which completely dominates the landscape, I can see for miles along the flat land and see the same ruins I'd just walked through from a birds-eye view, absolutely spectacular. The temple itself was smaller than I'd imagined, just large enough for 2-3 people to pray at a time at the shrine. Fresh water was being captured that was dripping through the mountain and carvings of an elephant, crocodile and a Buddha foot. The site itself is a World Heritage Site and was the capital city of the Champa Kingdom, afterwards part of the Khmer empire. The temple is therefore a mix of Hinduism, which it was originally - believed to be the home of Shiva due to a geological formation on top of the mountain, and Buddhism which it remains today. History lesson over.

    A trip to the island in the middle of the Mekong, Don Daeng, saw us renting completely unsuitable road bikes for dirt tracks, playing around on the beach and relaxing by a pool.

    Champassak and Paske I think are my favourite places in Laos and are not on considered to be stop off points, usually just pass on through. Undeniably one of my greater choices whilst travelling was to stop off, especially with someone who I cared about deeply and could share the intimate experiences with as we were the lone tourists the majority of the time.

    Side note: Really annoyingly, I lost my memory card with my photos on it for Pakse and Chammpasak, only a few uploads and Rach's to go by.    Читать далее

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  • Arias JordensAsia ScenicArias Jordens

    Don Khong, Laos

    1 апреля 2016 г., Лаос ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    Biggest island in Si Phan Don aka the 4000 islands. We were the only people that got off the bus at the stop and rode in a tuk tuk filled with boxes of water which I then proceeded to help unload at some random shop on the way. We met a really cool guy from the US of A (the only three letters you need to know in the alphabet *Texan accent*) and went for a 45km bike ride round the island and managed to catch the sunset whilst I ate the best soup I've had in Laos. We rode back for 5 miles in the dark admiring the stars and rewarded ourselves by getting drunk with some French guys 😉Читать далее

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  • Arias JordensAsia ScenicArias Jordens

    Don Det, Laos

    3 апреля 2016 г., Лаос ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    Happy Bar
    Arrival - Manny's day off; head through the wall
    Birthday - Space cake, BBQ on the beach, Laos Laos, games, rolling around on the floor hugging jack, falling asleep on an ants nest
    RnR from past 2 months, days spent on eating, swimming, watching films
    Lots of whiskey and card games
    Tubing
    Song Kran - water fights
    Don Khon - largest water volume waterfall in the world
    Lloyd's foot!    Читать далее

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  • Arias JordensAsia ScenicArias Jordens

    Siem Reap, Cambodia

    14 апреля 2016 г., Камбоджа ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    So Siem Reap is the city you stay in when visiting the Angkor Archaeological Park and I wasn't really sure what to expect however I was definitely not ready for what it actually was. On arrival we were hit by neon lights strung up all along the highway with an extremely built up environment lining either side. It may have been because it was the new year but the city felt buzzing and when we arrived at our hostel Garden Village, that image was only enhanced. A 24/7 swimming pool with food and drinks,Читать далее

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  • Arias JordensAsia ScenicArias Jordens

    Battambang, Cambodia

    22 апреля 2016 г., Камбоджа ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    So Battambang was a Spats only stop (me and Rach) and again was a really incredible place. We treated ourselves to a deluxe luxury room or something along those lines for cheap dollar as there were no hostels open during the peak of the dry season....temperatures hitting 40 easily!!

    We met our tuktuk driver, Mr Lim, at the bus station who ended up being our guide for our time there. Such a lovely, humble man who showed us so many cool, random places unique or symbolic to Battambang and gifted us with his knowledge of local tradition, Cambodian culture and history.

    The places we visited....ready??

    Bamboo train.

    Phnom Sampeau.

    We also saw....

    Rice Paper Factory; Khmer Sticky Rice Cake Stall; Mrs Bun's Ancient House; Fruit Bat Trees; Fish Market; Swing "San Francisco" Bridge; Mushroom Farm; Vineyard; The Well of Shadows; Wat Phnom Ek; Wat Banan.

    Maybe I'll finish the descriptions for all of them one day but for now that'll do....Basically I went all over this very special place and one day will return to see Mr Lim and his family during the wet season when it's not so hot!    Читать далее

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