South-East Asia

September 2014 - Mac 2015
  • Claire and Karsten
Pengembaraan 182hari oleh Claire Baca lagi
  • Claire and Karsten

Senarai negara

  • New Zealand New Zealand
  • Australia Australia
  • Thailand Thailand
  • Laos Laos
  • Kemboja Kemboja
  • Vietnam Vietnam
  • Singapura Singapura
  • Tunjukkan semua (12)
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  • Road to Thailand

    3 Januari 2015, Laos ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    At the time of writing we are now officially on the way to leave Laos. But we are doing so the Lao way: slow and relaxed! We just embarked on the slow boat up the Mekong which will take us halfway to the Thai border on the first day and to the border on the second day but most probably too late to actually cross it. So we'll spend another night on this side of the border and will then have exercised all 28 days of our Lao visa.

    The landscape along the ride is again stunning and makes the time worthwhile as the boat slowly inches forward. We got baguettes, bananas, cookies and - already causing envy among our fellow travellers - a couple of Beerlao for the afternoon. We came prepared!

    But did we mention that it is pretty cold here in the morning in earlier posts? Boy, it's cold here in the morning!

    Edit: we are actually in Chiang Rai, Thailand right now. Findpenguins can't keep up with us!
    Baca lagi

  • Lao Wrap-up

    3 Januari 2015, Laos ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    - have we mentioned the landscape? Lao is definitely one of the more beautiful countries when it comes to nature! Absolutely worth visiting!

    - however, the cities - with the notable exception of Luang Prabang - lack any charm.

    - everything in Lao is calmer and slower. Busses and boats leave when the driver can be bothered and not by the made up departure time on your ticket. Luckily, this also applies to the dogs! We hardly had any chasing or even just barking after us as it happened all the time in Cambodia.

    - the culture is all about sharing. Beers aren't drunk from the bottle but shared with glasses, food is served one dish after the other because you are expected to share them anyways, bikes don't have a carrier but an extra seat in the back so you can give someone a lift etc.

    - the Lao flag is displayed only in combination with the communist flag. Apparently this wasn't the case some years ago but we don't know what prompted the change.

    - the bombs dropped onto Lao during the Vietnam war are often now used as decoration

    - Lao was more expensive than we expected. The beer costs between 1 and 1,50 EUR, cheap accommodation between 5 in smaller villages and up to 17 in LP on New years and somehow they got the notion that every tuktuk ride should be 2 EUR per person which is grossly overpriced compared to other countries and due to the fact that they often have more than 2 passengers. Transportation was also more expensive than for example in Cambodia or Vietnam. It makes sense for a lot of products to be more expensive as Lao doesn't produce much themselves and has to import a lot processed goods from China or Thailand. But that doesn't apply for everything and especially not for tuktuk rides. There you just feel scammed every single time which takes a bit the fun out of it.

    - but they do know how to make good baguette sandwiches! And in some expensive bakeries you can even get damn good croissants.

    - street food is better than in Cambodia, but the cuisine overall is the least exciting so far. Which doesn't mean it is bad at all. It is still pretty good it just has to deal with fierce competition and the best is yet to come for us: Thailand
    Baca lagi

  • Chiang Rai

    6 Januari 2015, Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Against all odds, the Lao-Thai border was still open when we arrived late with the slow boat in the border town of Houai Xai and once through - we got checked into Thailand by a guy dressed in full cycling gear ready to close shop - there was even a minibus waiting to take us straight to Chiang Rai for a decent price. So after 14 hours on the river/road plus one hour to find a place to stay we finally dropped into our first Thai bed.

    The city of Chiang Rai isn't a real beauty. But there was some sort of flower festival going on which was very nice. One of the major attractions however is definitely worth seeing: the white temple. It is just so WHITE! Built in 1998 it has all elements of a classic Buddhist temple. Yet it is filled with peculiarities like skulls on top of gates, statues of mystical and not so mystical creatures - like one statue of a predator as in alien vs. Predator - and inside apparently statues of superheroes. Unfortunately, the inside was closed to us due to the monthly staff meeting. Damn!

    We inquired a bit about treks up north but most of them included visiting local villages, something we are not too comfortable with. And customized tours get expensive real quick.
    Baca lagi

  • Chiang Mai

    8 Januari 2015, Thailand ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    After 2 nights we left Chiang Rai and headed to Chiang Mai, the place hundreds of expats made their home in Thailand. So did our friend Julian, whom we have first met in Warsaw and now so happens to be here. We obviously met up, explored the city a little, had some good food and took advantage of his scooter to finally go see the Hobbit.

    Yes, the 2 of us went behind the driver on a single scooter which is not really forbidden it seems. Maybe more of a legal gray area. But if we trust someone with riding a motorcycle it is Julian, who rode on a bike from Bremen to Cape Town.

    In the cinema the seats were really comfy with flexible backs. And before each movie the king's anthem is being played with a weird video of people worshipping him and at times even crying. Naturally, everybody has to stand while the anthem plays.

    Pic no. 3 shows the parking garage underneath the mall with the cinema.
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  • Pai

    8 Januari 2015, Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    After just one night, we left Chiang Mai for the time being and headed up north to the alleged hippie heaven that is Pai. And it truly is nice here. We would have liked to stay a little bit longer, but now that time has become a precious resource on our travel, it just isn't possible.

    Pai is embedded in beautiful mountain scenery and has lot's to offer. But the calm retreat that attracted many people years ago is no more. That doesn't necessarily mean it is a bad thing. Along with the tourists came a lot of nice cafes, bars and restaurants and Pai is still a very nice place with an arty vibe. It is just different, we guess. However, we pretty much had our best breakfast pancake in a garden cafe here!

    On the first day we explored the town and in the evening tried to show the folks here how to properly pub quiz. Not so easy though if you are the only team consisting of non-native speakers and only 2 people. Nonetheless we had to be cheated out of one point to finish 4th and not third and thus just shy of a bottle of locally burnt whisky. Damn them! On the other hand, we won't turn blind after drinking that stuff, so we got that going for us, which is nice.

    The second day here we just spent relaxing by the local pool, had some cake, relaxed in hammocks and capped off our stay with great dinner and couple of beers (which are quite expensive here). The weather wasn't so nice anymore and the day of our departure was a rainy on all the way to Chiang Mai.
    Baca lagi

  • Chiang Mai

    13 Januari 2015, Thailand ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    After the Pai footprint sneakily wouldn't upload without telling us you'll now get 2 for the price of one!

    After having ridden the 762 curves that separate Pai and Chiang Mai for the second time we spent most of the rest of Friday in the hotel room cause it was pouring outside. Even when we just went for a quick bite (pic no. 1) we were drenched thoroughly.

    Luckily, the forecasts were wrong for the following days as the weather improved mightily. We started the day with the fabric market that we didn't go to the day before cause Claire couldn't miss the opportunity to buy nice, cheap fabric to use "one day" to sew "something". Karsten spent Saturday mostly at Julians place to write and send his first application to Brussels! Claire in the meantime had herself a nice day ;). She visited around Chiang Mai a bit more, mostly on the back of a scooter and had some great coffee. In the evening we hit the Saturday night market which draws a huge crowd of tourists. But they have some nice stuff, so slowly wading between the masses was only half bad.

    Sunday was some of the same, with the Sunday night market followed by our last beers with Julian. Before Karsten was lucky enough to find a bar showing some American football. Just all those Patriots fans were annoying!

    Monday We had presumably our last cooking class in southeast Asia, finishing our cooking adventures with a class in a beautiful organic farm ambiance - famous for its bathroom facilities. We even got an hour to relax in hammocks after stir frying and devouring some pad thai for lunch.

    Now that we are writing this it is 4 AM in the morning and our plan to save accommodation for a night by taking a night bus spectacularly backfired, leaving us stranded outside Ayutthaya cause we are too scrooge to pay taxi and an additional night. So we decided to make a statement and wait at the bus stop till the minibus service picks up at 6 AM. Yeah, we're that stubborn.... ;).
    Baca lagi

  • Ayutthaya

    14 Januari 2015, Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We staggered out of bed after a 2 hour nap from 6-8 am and after a quick breakfast made for the historical park. Ayutthaya was the capital of Siam till the end of the 18th century, so it had lots of old stupas commissioned by kings along the centuries, starting in the 14th century, to pay tribute to their fathers, brothers or themselves ;) We walked around the ruins for more than 4 hours; the lady at the counter of the furthest was definitely thinking that we are crazy falang (white people) going all the way by foot... The rest of the day we rested and read about the next city where we go to... Bangkok!Baca lagi

  • Bangkok

    17 Januari 2015, Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We made the quick 1.5 hour bus ride to Bangkok the next morning and after we settled into our hostel set out to explore this city.

    The first stop was the infamous backpacker area of khaosan road. Or as the locals call it, falang (= foreigner) road. A really impressive crowd of travelers gathers here in the numerous bars, clubs and hostels. We had really good street food in a side street and then wanted to walk through the old town to the main station to pick up train tickets.

    That's when the ugly side of Bangkok hit us twice. Luckily we were kinda prepared, so all we lost was 50 cents and 30 minutes of our time. One tuktuk driver didn't take us to the agreed destination - the tourist information - but to a grossly overpriced travel agency that had a sign saying tourist information. Apparently not a protected term in Thailand ;). So we feigned some interest and quickly left after hearing the price they demanded. 1850 THB per person! That equals roughly 45 EUR. We paid 1500 THB for both of us at the train station. But not after we barely avoided another scam at the station. When you enter you see another "tourist information" right away, whose personnel brings you to the "only" place to buy the combined train and bus ticket necessary to get to Krabi. Luckily, we were suspicious by now and so Claire stayed in the main hall "to buy water" as soon as we spotted official looking ticket counters. There the combined ticket was roughly 12 EUR cheaper for the same service.

    But we of course wouldn't let this influence our mood! So, the next morning we went to the national museum which offers free guided tours. For real, no scam! And it was really interesting. We learnt a lot about Thai history, Buddhism and the Thai monarchy. Afterwards we had quick looks at the 3 famous temples of Bangkok and later made for 2 impressive shopping districts. We didn't buy anything, but others certainly did. So many opportunities to buy whatever you like.

    On Friday we had an organization day and on Saturday we went to the vast chatuchak market. THE market in Bangkok. You can find about anything there. Just not the specific things we were looking for ;).

    All in all, Bangkok is fascinating, overwhelming and certainly buzzing. But all those scams going on certainly leave a bitter taste in your mouth.
    Baca lagi

  • Surat Thani

    17 Januari 2015, Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Just wanted to show you some pictures from our night journey by train.

    Also, while waiting in the station, at 6PM sharp everyone suddenly stands. Just took us a second to realize that the kings anthem will be played. Fascinating!

    We then got on the train, had our beds made for us and ate in the restaurant car.
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  • Krabi

    18 Januari 2015, Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We chose to go to Krabi, a small city on the mainland, because it is a good starting point to go to different islands and we still haven't decided where we want to go exactly. The town itself has nothing special except for its traffic lights and zebra crossings.Baca lagi