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Southeast Asia sensation
  • Wandering WordSmith

Southeast Asia sensation

A 156-day adventure by Wandering WordSmith Read more
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  • Trip start
    February 24, 2017
    Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    Hello Bangkok

    February 24, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    So after some last minute packing and trying to decide what shirt out of the 30+ I own to pack (should a guy own so many? Probably not!) I arrived yesterday in crazy Bangkok and it appears as mad as everyone says. I'm staying near the mecca that is Khaosan Road and it certainly lives up to its backpacker friendly rep. In five minutes of walking down it, I've been offered deep fried scorpion on a stick, Thai massages, five suits, a ping pong show and a wooden musical frog; and in another five I'll be offered them all again! Seems a cool place though and there are some quieter streets just off it to explore too.

    I went with my roommate for a wander and to a couple of temples. A tuk tuk driver amusingly tried to tell us the first temple was closed, this was despite being about ten feet from the entrance with loads of tourists walking in - we opted to decline his kind offer to "go somewhere better" and went in.

    First problem, I couldn't get in because men aren't allowed with shorts in respect for Buddha. I'd considered this in advance and thought I was well prepared - having bought a towel to wrap around me. No such luck, men also can't wear a sarong or a makeshift sarong (note to David Beckham if he fancies a visit) so I along with a load of other guys had to buy a pair of fetching temple pants which to be fair should come in handy as you can't go two minutes without seeing one in Asia! the Grand Palace and Wat Po temples are beautiful and really interesting though and the massive reclining Buddha is very impressive too.

    After this, we got a tuk tuk back towards Khaosan for a bite. The tuk tuk is a mad little motor-cart three-wheeled thing which is an experience to ride itself. The driver weaved in and of traffic for what seemed like a laugh! Health and safety would have a field day if it existed here! 🙄

    That evening I wandered around the area and had an amazing yellow curry for about a pound! Could get used to this! Had a couple of beers and chatted to a guy in the bar for a bit. We listend to a Thai singer murder some Oasis tracks but everyone was still loving it! I reckon a few of the famous whisky buckets they do here probably helped.

    I'm meeting my friend from school this weekend who lives here and we're going to go out of the city a bit - looking forward to what's in store.    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    Off the beaten Bangkok track

    February 26, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    I met up with my old school friend Vicky a couple of days ago who lives here in Bangkok, she took me to an island nearby popular with Thai tourists. They call it Bangkok's 'Green Lung' because of it's open spaces and relatively fresh air compared to the city.

    After messing around with a taxi driver who definitely didn't know where he was going and getting increasingly angry because of this fact, we eventually arrived at the little port that takes you to the island. We hopped on a tiny boat for five minutes and arrived ashore where we hired a bike for the day and went to explore. The island was really nice with friendly locals and pretty scenery. It was good to be able to go somewhere a little off the tourist track too. There was a great little market selling all sorts of odds and ends and a lot of weird looking food. We bought a tasty little savoury snack which was hotter than the sun, and appropriately named them 'mouthburners'.

    I also had some traditional Thai boat noodles (named because a lady cooks them in a boat) which were delicious followed by a massage, which to be honest wasn't the most relaxing thing as they seemed to want to put me in all sorts of odd positions - less massage more workout!

    We cycled a bit further around and came to a tree-house bar and chilled out for a while there. I had some Mango sticky rice which was absolutely amazing, before meandering our way to the exit and jumped on the little boat again to head back to the hustle and bustle of Bangkok.

    We had a swim in Vicky's apartment swimming pool which overlooked the city before going for some dinner - according to the restaurant I had the fifth best Pad Thai dish in the world, slightly odd stat, but it was very tasty - I couldn't tell you where the number one best Pad Thai in the world is though, and neither could they).

    I headed back to my hostel in Bangkok's Uber equivalent taxi, although I wasn't sure if the driver's very loud singing was an included part of the Thai service!    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    Bangkok and onwards

    February 28, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    I visited another temple in Bangkok just across the river; Wat Arun, which was pretty impressive but unfortunately the main pillar had scaffolding on so couldn't get the best pictures. I took a little boat taxi for 15 Baht (about 40p) and weirdly for this price you can either go one stop for five minutes or ten+ stops for over an hour, which didn't seem to make sense economically but hey ho! 

    I stopped off at Chinatown where I had a tasty dish of I don't know what. It was quite crazy with loads of people and no real end of it in sight, there were a few tourists bustling around clearly not knowing where they were going. I hopped back on the boat to the flower market, as expected there were flowers and that was about it, it was pleasant enough but after seeing the first 20 stalls I felt I'd probably seen most of it. It would however be a horticulturists dream and it was interesting to see all the arrangements being hand made. 

    In the evening me and a guy from the hostel attempted to visit Bangkok's ghost tower, it's a massive building that isn't finished and you could supposedly climb up it to experience an eerie atmosphere and see an amazing sunset. No chance! The whole place was bordered up and the security guard waved us off. To be honest the climb looked ridiculously high and it was getting dark anyway so we opted to go for a meal and grab a tuk tuk back to the hostel.

    The next day I milled around the area and did some onward planning, I dodged the usual Khaosan Road vendors trying to sell me the world and found a little park by the river. I'm heading to Phuket to do some Thai boxing for a week, so looking forward to that although quite apprehensive as definitely not as fit as I used to be and not sure what I've let myself in for, plus it appears to be raining on the island. 

    In the evening I met up with a mate from my previous job. He'd been around SE Asia too and was heading home the next day from his travels, so we went for a few beers and some food. A random guy on the table nearby strangely wanted to take a photo of us, so I guess we're now up on a Thai guys Facebook page or something. 🤔    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    Battered, bruised and broken!

    March 3, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Trainer: "Kick, hit harder, power!"
    Dan: "It hurts a bit"
    Trainer : (laughing) "no hurt, kick harder!"
    Dan: "Err, ok"
    Trainer: "Kick higher, punch harder, knee, knee and elbow, yes, yes, jab, hook and uppercut, elbow, faster, faster, faster! 20 push ups, down, and go again"
    Dan: ... 😧
    Trainer: "Jab, jab, hook, yes, elbow, power, knee, elbow knee and elbow, elbow, left kick, higher, right kick, yes, spinning elbow, 3 kicks, harder, 10 punches, and go again ... and stop"
    Dan (...falls over exhausted)
    Trainer (laughing) "And go again"
    Dan ...😩

    It's 30 degree heat, I'm drenched in sweat, my arms and legs feel like they have been hit with a baseball bat, I've done 50+ push ups already and its not even 9.00 AM - and I've willingly paid for a week of this 'experience'.

    I have found myself at 'Sumalee Muay Thai' boxing gym on the island of Phuket, and to say training is hard work is a massive understatement.

    I've never done anything with such prolonged intensity, the above is just a small sample of a three minute round with a trainer. We do two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon of relentless action, whether that's pad work, sparing, clinching, hitting the bag or general fitness. It's great though and I'm really enjoying it, although my body probably less so - I'm completely spent after every session. I thought having done some martial arts before might have helped - not really, techniques are kind of the opposite here and I'm so out of practice anyway, it doesn't really matter.

    The punch bags are ridiculously hard! It's literally like hitting a brick! I'm not even joking, I and most other Westerners can only hit them fairly softly. Watching the Thai's smack them so hard just highlights how tough these guys are. They're slim and lean but their bodies are like steel and they could break even the biggest guys in half. The trainers, although limited with English are really nice guys who have fun whilst pushing you to your limits, and they do really seem to relish testing everyone's limits to the max!

    Muay Thai is a brutal sport with very few rules, the aim is to knock out (or score higher than) the opponent, but it's also very respectful and steeped in history. We were fortunate to also learn the 'Wai Kru' an engaging pattern-like flowing movement fighters do to prepare themselves before combat and to mark respect to their opponent and team.

    Apart from training there is a great group here and I've met some cool people. The food is amazing and there is a pool and yoga studio too. Randomly there is also a massive pig that sort of just roams around the place - apparently one of staff bought him as a piglet and thought he was one of those micro pigs and wouldn't grow, NOPE, it's huge! I can't bring myself to have the bacon on the menu while he's here.

    The camp is set away from the tourist area of Phuket so that people can concentrate on training (it's produced world class fighters - I'm definitely not one of them!) There's a few people here who are staying for months on end to train intensely and fight or get sponsored by the camp. I would perhaps one day like to do similar, although would need a few months before I was ready.

    Trainer: "Kick and jab, jab, knee, elbow, yes, elbow, knee, kick, power, hook and punch, uppercut, 20 push ups"
    (laughing)
    "and go again"
    Dan: ... 😣    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith
    1
    1

    So long Sumalee

    March 7, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    My week of Muay Thai has come to an end, it's gone quickly, but I feel like I have actually learnt quite a bit in such a short space of time. I'm in pain, but a good pain. The pain you get from not having done any exercise for ages. It was tough but I really enjoyed it.

    My bruises will start to heal and I'm looking forward to not having to get up so early in the morning for a while, but hopefully I can keep some semblance of fitness for my remaining travels. I will miss the training I'm sure.

    On Sunday the camp mercifully takes a break, so a few of us decided to take a day trip to Koh Phi Phi and see the location where they filmed The Beach and the surrounding island.

    The day could have started better, we were left standing on the side of the road like lemons as the driver was 40 minutes late. We got to the ship port and attempted to get some food before setting off. It didn't arrive quickly enough though and the boat was waiting, so we had to pack it all in sterifoam boxes at the speed of light and sheepishly eat it on the speedboat (not the easiest task; especially when they neglected to give us cutlery!)

    After I'd finished my eggs with a makeshift spoon I'd fashioned out of a tomato, things improved - the boat pulled up alongside Phi Phi Don and the waters changed from a deep blue to a stunning turquoise. Massive rocks tower over the ocean and look amazing against the blue sky. We jumped in for a bit of snorkeling before heading back on the boat to a small beach island for lunch.

    We headed for Phi Phi Ley and Maya Bay, the films location, and it was very beautiful, (Leonardo Dicaprio was nowhere to be seen). These days there are loads of tourists here, all flocking for the same selfie (me included) so any tranquility is long gone, but the place is still stunning. I decided to swim out to the middle of the bay where it was quieter and admired the surroundings. After exploring the bay a little more and posing for the obligatory shots and selfies, we headed back to the boat.

    We stopped on another island with a nice beach and clear waters for a swim before heading back to the camp. The driver this time decided to drop us on the wrong side of the main road so we played chicken with the traffic to get across.

    We eventually made it back to the camp alive, chilled out for a while and mentally prepared ourselves for the intense training day to come ahead.

    One day break and back on it at 7.00 AM, exhausted! We did some clinching work in the afternoon which is basically stand up grappling - two sweaty people trying to throw each other on the ground. It was so slippery I may as well have been covered in oil 😝. I was however pleased I managed to get my opponent down a few times whilst I stayed standing. I rushed to the shower as soon as we'd finished and passed the resident pig on the way - I thought 'right now, he's probably cleaner than me!'

    I head to Krabi now for a couple of days, I'm about to take my first public bus, wish me luck!    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith
    1

    Krabi and surroundings

    March 11, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ 🌫 26 °C

    I'm sitting on a public bus surrounded by Thai people bound for Krabi. Annoyingly my chair doesn't seem to want to recline back, whilst everyone else's are practically parallel to the floor. I wrestle with this very first world problem for a few moments before accepting the defeat of the situation.

    We trundle along from Phuket to Krabi town. I get off the bus and a lady immediately takes my bag and puts it in a cab jabbering in Thai. I was going to try and check alternative modes of transport but I decide I can't be bothered to remove my bag from the taxi, explain and find another way, so I pay the inflated price which doesn't amount to too much and head the ten minutes or so to the hostel. The place gives free BBQ chicken kebabs so I make use of the saving on that and sample a first beer in ten days.

    Krabi town is pleasant enough, but there isn't much to do in the place itself, it is however a good jumping off point to see some of the surrounding areas.

    The next day I headed to Railay beach with a friend I'd met in the hostel. It was absolutely stunning with two beautiful beaches and some of the best rock surroundings I've seen. The water was like a bath, it was so warm. There are also loads of wild monkeys just roaming about there too. We have lunch of chicken and beef in a pineapple with rice which looks and is delicious, and I have a swim and relax on the beach. There is a very fat old Russian man padding about in the water doing provocative poses for his ridiculously young and attractive girlfriend - it sort of takes the magic of the place away! 🙄

    The following day I check what else there is to do and am recommended a visit to a temple about 20 mins away. I head to the bus stop but what was described as a 'bus' to me turns out to be a weird converted van with netting on the side and a completely open back. I clamber in, much to the amusement of some local school girls who ask for a selfie and enjoy giggling a lot. A women with a massive bag of rice almost as big as her also gets on and decides I need to share my tiny seat with said bag.

    At the temple I wondered about the area a bit before embarking on the 1200+ steps to the top. It's a LONG way up and takes about 40 mins (at least I was doing some exercise!) I passed a few people on the way who had given up half way. The last bit of the climb is so steep it's like climbing a ladder. Heavily breathing, I made it to the top and the view is pretty awesome, you could see all of Krabi and the surroundings and I was lucky to get a clear day. I hung around up there for 20 mins before making the descent. On the way down I passed the four giggling school girls from earlier who were about 3/4 of the way up, I gave them each a high five for encouragement which they seemed to like.

    There were no buses or anything resembling a bus or taxi when I got to the bottom. I waited for a few minutes but the only option was a motorbike taxi with a toothless driver who was beckoning. Slightly apprehensively I jumped on the back and we headed off - it turned out to be fine and I made it back unscathed, even if the driver was trying to use his phone half the time.

    I head to backpacker paradise Koh Phangan next to experience the famous full moon party. I'm not sure if it's my thing but I want to see what all the hype is about anyway. 'When in Rome...'    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    The light of the full moon - P.A.R.T.Y

    March 12, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    Welcome to Koh Phangan, welcome to party central.

    The first night:

    In the jungle, the mighty jungle... the lion is definitely not sleeping tonight!

    Fancy a pre-party before the main one? Well you have come to the right place. In Koh Phangan there seems to be a pre-party almost every night!

    Waterfall party? ...check...
    Blue moon party? ...you bet...
    Half moon party? ...yup...
    Some other party? ... absolutely!

    My visit happens to coincide with the Jungle party, which as it sounds is a party under the canopy of trees - pretty cool, but how many times can I say 'party' in this post!? Probably a few more times.

    After spending some time at the hostel meeting and greeting the various reprobates (people) who have descended on the island for the carnage, we bundle into a taxi on our way to the jungle. As we near the entrance to the forest, the bass reverberates under our feet. The music is heavy; trance and drum & bass, there are psychedelic colours everywhere, the trees are decorated with illuminated paraphernalia and the DJ booth is made to look like a massive golden lion - it all looks pretty awesome. People are in the distance dancing the night away - a few already look worse for wear. One guy is attempting to climb a tree, amusingly to little success.

    We stay for a few hours and I lose my fellow roomies amongst the crowds and darkness. I chat to various others and by about 4.00 AM feel I have had a good primer before tomorrow. I jump on a moped taxi to get back and the guy takes me to the wrong accommodation as it has a similar name. Before he can disappear and leave me stranded at admittedly a very fancy hotel, I hop back on and eventually arrive at the right place. The driver says "Mai Pen Rai" (no worries) and heads off to pick up more stragglers from the jungle.

    The second night:

    The the full moon cometh. The reason we're all packed on this part of the island and why prices have been hiked up for a couple of days.

    History lesson - in about the late 80s it's said that a small group of travellers head to a picturesque, but fairly nondescript beach in Haad Rin, Koh Phangan. They play music, drink, smoke questionable substances and dance the night away under the light of the full moon until the sun rises. The following month they return with more and word spreads of a monthly gathering that all are welcome at. And so began the origin of the now legendary Koh Phangan full moon party, the backpackers rite of passage in Thailand and often attracting over 20,000 party seekers every month.

    Fast forward nearly 30 years and I'm sitting in my hostel having my face and arms painted in various neon colours, tunes are blasting, people are merry from booze and the night is getting started. One guy has covered himself in so much orange paint, he will probably be mistaken for a radioactive version of the actual fruit. We head to another hostel for various boozy games and a chance to meet other revelers before the taxi driver squashes us in to make our way to the beach.

    We arrive and you can hear it a mile away, loads of stalls are set up on the walk down selling the ludicrously strong sprit buckets, we share a first bucket and it may as well all be alcohol with a couple of shots of mixer thrown in for a laugh! As we grimace, the Thai servers chuckle. We finish one on the way down and buy another which seems ever so slightly more tasty to take to the beach.

    There are tons of bars, each with their own music blaring out, and you're free to move between them on the sands as you see fit, picking up drinks on the way through. Some are more mello, others are like a rave, and a few cater to commercial genres - it's a great mix. There's a bar at the bottom of the beach where you can look out over and see all the shenanigans below and there's also a place called the reggae bar which ironically didn't play a single (or even close to) reggae tune! Instead choosing to blast out trance music - call me petty, but the name seemed a little off here.

    I wisely skipped the fire rope, opting to view from a safe distance. It's a ridiculously stupid (albeit intriguing to watch) idea, where you attempt to jump a massive rope that is on FIRE! It's doused in petrol and set alight - and you try not to get hit in the process while it's swung around - madness! Once again, health and safety is well and truly out the window here and a number of people are always burnt attempting this. The combination of drunkenness and fire is probably not the best! 'Stay in school kids' 🤓

    The night continues and you dance on the sands and you dance some more. The crowds are lit up in luminous colours. Regardless of age, class or race everyone dances together and problems are momentarily paused. It's pretty epic, the buckets continue to flow and the music continues to blare.

    As the night draws to a close and the cracks of sunlight begin to appear, the massive crowds slowly start to disperse. The music is still blaring and the hardcore are still out in force dancing like loons on the beach or messing around in the sea, and now in the light of the sun looking a little bit ridiculous.

    Thai volunteers are busy cleaning around the ravers - some who are chatting, sleeping or passed out, some licking their fire wounds and others contemplating their very existence, having probably sampled the more nefarious goods on offer. In a few hours the beach will be like new again, friends and families will come to enjoy, and remarkably they'll be little to no evidence of the craziness that went on just hours before.

    It's around 8.00 AM, I have made it the night, I've lost a couple of people but managed to stick with a few others. As we make our way to the taxi's vying for business, the moon is still visible and full. The sun starts to shine brighter and hotter and the journey back to bed is welcome.

    Next month the moon will once again complete the cycle to reach it's full state and the revelries will begin again... I survived one and I think one is enough! 🌘🌗🌖🌕    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    Koh Phangan to Koh Samui

    March 16, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    You would be forgiven for thinking from the last post that Koh Phangan is all party party party and whilst that is true in the concentrated south of the island - it does have some other calmer options.

    When I finally stirred from my slumber after the full moon degeneracy, I thought I'd spend the last day having a look around the island. Before any of that, it was required that I feed myself in order to stay alive, after which I felt much better.

    A few of my fellow party goers also decided to venture out to explore a bit, so we arranged moped rentals from the hostel and headed up to a waterfall. They dont seem to care if you can ride or not or if you even have a license! But they drive on the left in Thailand which was good for me and the moped was pretty easy to get used to.

    Climbing the falls was a bit of a mission though and I felt slightly older as my younger companions breezed up the hill as if on speed! Knackered, we had a dip in some of the waterfall pools and took in the breathtaking scenery - there's something I love about water, it's calming, life-giving yet unstoppable and flows anywhere. Definitely my favourite natural element. As Bruce Lee said "be like water my friend" I concur. 🤓

    After this, we jumped back on the bikes and headed off to see the sunset before going to a place called Amsterdam Bar on a remote hill. It was billed as a 'chill out bar' overlooking the sea (hmmm, based on the relaxed atmosphere and obvious waft in the air, I wonder what they sell here?! ... 🤔) It was good though and the views were amazing.

    In the evening me and another guy went to watch a Muay Thai event that was being hosted on the island at a training camp - it was brilliant. There were two knockouts and a few westerners were fighting Thai guys (in the ring I might add) not just having a brawl! A Dutch guy and Candian won their matches so it was a good atmosphere all round.

    After the madness of Koh Phangan I headed for Koh Samui, the largest of the three Gulf Islands known for its more relaxed vibe.

    Here I rented another moped and cruised around the island. I went with a couple of guys I met in the hostel to another waterfall (more climbing!) The climb was supposed to only take about 1/2 hr or so, but we took considerably longer because we idiotically climbed directly up the waterfall rocks having missed the clear path! Duh. Still it was a good climb and I got a sense of achievement (even if it was avoidable). We wisely took the path on the way back down.

    The following day I went to Anthong national park on a boat trip. It's a beautiful set of largely uninhabited islands with amazing views across Thailand's Gulf. We did some snorkelling and kayaking, at one stage we went under a cliff and you literally had to limbo in the kayak to get through. This was in pitch black too - I heard several people bump their heads ahead of me so at least I was forewarned.

    The last day in Koh Samui I had the entire day to myself - a bit of rarity so far, no-one was in the hostel so I decided to rent a moped and drive around the island to see the sights. First I went over the top of a massive hill and through the jungle on to a place called Fisherman's Village for lunch (I didn't see any fisherman, mainly shops/restaurants, but still nice). Then I headed for Big Buddha, which as you can imagine is a large Buddha! Not much more to say... it was cool, but after 15 mins I'd exhausted all the angles you can look at it from so hopped back on my bike.

    I stopped off at a place called Chewang which felt a bit tacky and had a bloke driving around announcing club nights and promoting events in the town. The van drove past at least eight times in just the hour or so I was there, blaring the speaker and stating the exact same garbled phrases over and over - I would have gone insane if I'd stayed here! The poor guy driving must hear it in his dreams! 😲

    For the evening I headed to a hotel called The Jungle Cafe with an incredible view of the Koh Samui, before going to look at Hinyai and Hinta rocks - they look a bit like the nether regions of a man and a woman, and have been providing a source of mirth to tourists for ages - I didn't think they were all that to be honest, but a group of Chinese tourists were loving it. After that I popped into a bar and chatted to a fellow building a silly sounding website for a while before heading for dinner.

    Next stop Cambodia...    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith
    1

    Siem Reap, Angkor Wat and Battembang

    March 21, 2017 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Dan: "But does this bus go to the airport?"
    Thai man: "200 Baht"
    Dan: "Yes, but where is the bus going?"
    Thai man: "200, 200, train station"
    Dan: "So I'm on the wrong bus? I need a bus to the airport"
    Thai man: "Yes, train station, bus station, airport"
    Dan: "Ok thanks" (gets on bus)
    (3 mins later)
    Thai man: "This bus no go to airport"
    Dan: ... 😒 "Ok"
    Thai man: "This bus go train station, for airport, wait there"
    Dan: "Right"
    2nd Thai man: (pulls in new bus) "Airport"
    Dan... (rushes of current bus, just makes it)

    This was the farce that greeted me to get from Koh Samui to Surat Thani airport so I could make my connection to go to Siem Reap, Cambodia. On arrival to Siem Reap there was another delay as we went through immigration, it took ages. They couldn't have gone much slower if they'd tried - chatting between each other while the passengers quietly seethed.

    Anyway Siem Reap, the gateway to Angkor Wat. The world's largest temple. I got up in the morning at 4.00 AM to catch the sunrise over it and persuaded my roomie to join me. There was some slight cloud cover, but it gave it an eery atmosphere, it was very beautiful and the temple coming into view in the morning light is amazing. We then walked around the grounds while a guide explained all about the history and relevance.

    Angkor is a massive old city full of temples with Angkor Wat being the biggest and most significant. We also visited Bayan, a temple that's covered in lots of carved stone faces which was great except the hoards of Chinese tourists making the same pose next to almost all the faces.

    We went to more temples in the city until we were a bit 'templed out', before heading to the last well known one - Ta Pho (also known as the Tomb Raider temple) as it's in the film with Angelina Jolie running through it. It's got a gigantic tree growing out of it for no apparent reason but it looks really cool. Unfortunately it's destroying the temple slowly so the locals keep having to restore it to ensure it doesn't completely collapse.

    Back at the hostel me and a couple of guys went to Pub Street, a slightly tamer version of Khaosan Road where I had a fish foot massage - weird sensation; you put your feet in the water and the fish nibble at them and remove any dead skin - nice image! The small ones were fine and just ticklish but the larger ones nip quite a bit. We then had a few beers and a couple of the notorious bucket beverages. Dancing in the street with locals and tourists alike ensued until the early hours.

    Went to Battembang the following day, it's Cambodia's second largest city but you wouldn't think it. It's a pretty small and relaxed place, not too many tourists. The hostel ran a day trip of the main sights so I opted for that. There was the bamboo train, which may as well been called the sales train! You sit on bamboo cane along a rickety track to a village where they attempt to sell you stuff and annoyingly the train doesn't come back for 20 mins so you're stuck there in a kind of pester purgatory - I bought a cheap bracelet to please one of the kids.

    The tour also stopped at a place where they sold organic rat which they catch in the fields - apparently popular in this part of the country - yummy! They looked revolting but I tried a tiny bit and to be honest it tasted of nothing special, bit like chicken but dry - not a delicacy I'll seek out at home.

    The best thing about Battembang was definitely the bat cave - every evening about six million bats swarm out of this cave to go hunting and feeding. It was quite a sight to see them all fly out at once and snake off into the distance. It was still going after 15 mins with no sign of slowing down.

    In the evening I went to see the Cambodian kids circus, a charitable organisation that helps children gain an education through performance - it was like a mini cirque du soleil - really impressive. There were acrobats, dance, fire, juggling etc, they were very talented.

    I now have a 12 hour night bus down to Sinoukville, so let's see how that goes! 😴    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    Sunny Isles & somber days in Phnom Penh

    March 26, 2017 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    My first experience of a sleeper bus wasn't actually too bad - not something I'd choose as a regular mode of transport mind, but not awful. The only very weird thing is that on this particular bus you had to share the rather small bed space with someone else - if you're alone that means a stranger. If you're lucky, a clean and/or attractive one, if you're unlucky, a smelly one. Fortunately I was with a couple of people from the hostel so just relative strangers, but still odd.

    I arrived in Sinoukville, a beach town in the south of Cambodia and proceeded to get a ferry to Koh Rong Samloem - a small island, for a couple of days. It's beautiful there, similar to the smaller Thai islands but less developed. There are little villages with locals living amongst the tourist accommodation - it's a nice feel, although it's developing fast - I can imagine in a few years it will be unrecognisable. I went snorkelling again and saw many colourful fish and some corals which were thankfully not dead (lots these days are dead unfortunately, and lack the colour they once had) but the tropical fish were great. The skipper caught a massive barracuda too, it was about a meter long, he paraded it around the boat like a trophy.

    It was a quick whistle stop tour of the island before heading back to the capital city of Cambodia; Phnom Penh for a rather depressing account of recent Cambodian history.

    Phnom Penh, incorrectly pronounced by numerous people including probably me, is a busy city, bustling with mopeds, tuk tuks and people - there are no traffic rules here and it's crazy, hundreds of vehicles all weaving in and out of lanes that don't exist - but there's also a strange order in the chaos. Amongst the tooting of horns, constant traffic and mopeds balancing whole families, it just seems to work. No-one gets angry or frustrated and I've yet to see any incidents - if it was the UK or similar, accidents and road rage would sky rocket! Maybe we have too many rules... 🤔

    It's not the prettiest of cities but has a disinct charm and retains a friendly vibe, made more poingant with a visit to 'The Killing Fields' and the 'S21 Prison' museum which are Phnom Penh's main 'tourist attractions'. I say attractions, but there's nothing attractive about what happened here or throughout Cambodia in the late 1970s. Both locations make for a very sobering, but really interesting and totally necessary experience if you visit this country.

    So here's where it gets a bit bleak; in a nutshell, in 1975 just after the Vietnam war, which severely weakened Cambodia, Pol Pot and his ultra communist political party, the Kymer Rouge took over the country and established an atrocious totalitarian regime akin to Nazi Germany. They proceeded to inflict mass genocide on the people for almost four years killing over three million in the most horrific ways including families, children and babies. It's hard to believe that this was going on just 40 years ago. The vast majority of people in Cambodia are quite young as most perished or fled during this time - anybody older than about 40 who is here lived through the era. The Khmer Rouge deemed anyone who was or looked remotely educated a threat and they were subsequently tortured, made to write false confessions against the state and eventually killed. Others were driven out of the cities and forced to work on rice farms in extreme conditions for impossible targets with little to no food and routinely abused, often to death.

    'S21' is one of about 200 prisons where people were held and subjected to all sorts of horrific atrocities. A former school, once filled with laughter and learning, it became an unimaginable place filled with screams, massacre and bloodshed. Out of the estimated 20,000 prisoners (innocent people) held there, just 12 are known to have survived.

    'The Killing Fields' is a key example of many similar sites in Cambodia where prisoners were taken from places like 'S21' to be executed and dumped into mass graves because there was no room left in the prisons. Thousands of people are buried at these sites - human remains, clothes and bones are still being found today as they float to the surface of the graves when it rains.

    The regime was finally toppled in late 1979 and Cambodia could begin to start to rebuild. There's lots more to say and it's a fascinating and deeply moving story, but that's the end of today's history lesson.

    After seeing these places and hearing about the terrible things that went on here, it's amazing to see Cambodia today - sure it's not the most developed country but it's growing fast. The people are friendly yet have seen or can relate to such recent horrors through their families. It's a remarkable testament to how the country has picked itself up from the regime it suffered under. When you witness the history, you see them in a different light - even if they do constantly ask if you want a tuk tuk.

    On a lighter note, I visited the market too!    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    "Goooood morning Vietnam!"

    March 30, 2017 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Motorbikes! Motorbikes and scooters everywhere. As far as the eye can see, on the road, the pavement, the grass... going the right way, the wrong way, whatever way... carrying people, animals (dead and alive), grass, poles, boxes and beds - you get the picture 🛵🛵🛵

    If you thought Cambodia's Phnom Penh was crazy with traffic, the Southern metropolis, Ho Chi Min (Saigon) makes it look like a little village. It's absolutely insane, everywhere you look there are literally hundreds of motorbikes ducking and diving everyone and everything. Apparently out of a population of about 12 million, over seven million use the two-wheeled transport. Crossing the street is a feat in itself, nobody ever stops, so you genuinely have to just do as the locals do and step out into the road (hmm, seems normal...) walk at a steady pace and hope not be hit! The bikes just seem to part like the red sea around you - it's quite surreal and after the first few times, you get kind of used to it, but definitely don't try it at home as you will end up squished the tarmac!

    I went for a walk around the city and quickly realised it was too hot to be walking too far, so jumped on a moped taxi tour - the guy seemed cool, and he was for the day with a solid day of sightseeing and info, but it was definitely slightly soured when he ripped me off at the end saying a different figure than we'd agreed and wouldn't drive me back until I paid - I call kidnap! Nah, more 'annoying dishonesty' as the tour was good and I would have paid a reasonable amount - such a shame as I went back seething.

    Anyway despite that little scam, I visited the main spots around the city, the river, the fancy post office building, the market and the cathedral etc. I sampled the best iced coffee I've ever tasted, and I'm not even much of a coffee connoisseur - but it was absolutely delicious!

    The Independence building was quite interesting as it's where the president coordinated the strategy in the Vietnam war. It had an underground bunker with all the original maps and equipment used. Talking of that, I also visited the War remnants museum that highlighted another pretty sad tale of the USA's involvement in the war between North and South Vietnam - the worst thing is the 'Agent Orange' dioxin which was sprayed across the country; it caused terrible deformities amongst the people and the ramifications are still seen in second and third generations today. It was quite uncomfortable looking at the pictures, and the torture used was also abhorrent. I'm also still not a hundred percent on why it all happened yet, (need to do some research on this one) but it was to do with communism again, so no history lesson today, but it all sounds suitably dire and also wasn't very long ago. I guess It's going to be a bit biased to one side over here mind...you might get a different take in the US.

    The following day I took a tour to the upper Mekong river, where we visited some of the islands along it. One of the islands was like a poor man's Disney Land - it was so bizarre with odd little things to do and was a bit naff to be honest. Some kids were teasing crocodiles with meat tied on string which I thought was a bit cruel and unnecessary - I secretly wanted one to jump up and nearly take the kids arm off to give him a massive scare 😈. It eventually ripped the snack off the string though. I did eat some crocodile the other day which was pretty good so who am I to talk!? But I didn't tease it.

    On the next island, we sampled snake wine, which was actually pretty tasty (like a good whisky) but freaky nevertheless, I also held a masive python which weighed a tonne, tried fresh honey direct from a behive plus some coconut candy which they made on the island.

    The best part of the tour was paddling along the Mekong river through the jungle on a little boat. It was cool being on that and felt really authentic, especially with the little rowing ladies in their classic triangle hats which I found out are mainly for women. I had to try one on for effect though. All in all, a nice, but bit of a random day.

    I also went to the Chu Chi tunnels, these were the famous underground network that were used to infiltrate the enemy. The original ones are tiny! I know the Vietnamese are kinda small but I could barely fit through these things! There were over ten km of original tunnel and the stories of how they were used was amazing. They used the network as a village and also laid some nasty looking traps to catch soldiers then they'd pop out of the tunnel and ambush the enemy. After that I shot a round on an AK47 which felt pretty bad-ass. I think I hit the target maybe once or twice - it was soooo loud, but easier to use than I expected.- boys and their toys eh! 🔫

    It's absolutely lashing it down as I write this and has been for the past four hours - I've not seen rain like this in a while there is thunder and lightning too. The streets are flooded, but the relentless stream of motorbikes keep coming, they have got their little ponchos but are still just as mental!    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    From hot to cold - Mui Ne to Da Lat

    April 4, 2017 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Mui Ne was the next stop from Ho Chi Min. I'd heard there were some cool sand dunes to visit as well as a nice beach. I got another sleeper bus, this time it was thankfully a single seat but being designed for the tiny Vietnamese I was scrunched up the entire journey, very comfortable and some quality sleep ...not!

    I arrived in Mui Ne, intending to stay one night, see the sand dunes, explore a little and move on. Well the hostel I was in was a delight, it shared facilities with a much fancier hotel so I opted for a day longer to enjoy these. It had three pools and really nice food and sea views - not something usual in a hostel.

    You can race around on a quad bike on the sand dunes which was great - the guy working there drove us down some steep ones and it was like being on a roller coaster without any of the safety bars - good fun. We also visited the red sand dunes which are frankly orange, but that's being pedantic, and the fairy stream - a scenic shallow river you wade through. Plus a fisherman's village with more boats than the eye could see - some of the boats were literally like round bathtubs.

    It was hot in Mui Ne but now it's freezing! Well actually it's not anywhere near freezing, in fact it's still 17 degrees but coming from 30+ is quite a drop. It's the first time I've felt cold in seven weeks. I'm in mountainous Da Lat, a pretty city set in-land from the coast and high in the hills, hence the slight chill. I'm wearing trousers again.

    I hired a moped with a couple of people and ventured into the Da Lat traffic, thankfully no where near as insane as Ho Chi Min. I got used to riding on the right and navigating around the numerous mopeds and feeling slightly like a local. We rode out to the countryside and took a scenic cable car ride over the green spaces before riding around the area a bit more. We wanted to ride up a mountain route but we got to the bottom and were informed by a guy that we had to walk the 12 km instead of ride. As it was late afternoon we opted for a less strenuous activity and had some food instead. 12 km walk? - nah

    Da Lat is famous for canyoning which is basically abseiling down rocks and waterfalls, it was good fun and I picked it up relatively easy. There was a Chinese couple in our group who were a total liability from start to finish, we were all very nervous for them. First the guy fell down abseiling and was dangling upside down from his rope, then he got lost and the guide had to go and find him in the jungle. We all jumped off a cliff edge into the water and his girlfriend jumped and fell flat on her face - ouch! then announced she couldn't swim so waded around in the water struggling to get out until we helped her. It was all pretty cringe-worthy. They both survived however and seemed to enjoy themselves so no harm done I guess.

    The day included trekking through the jungle a couple of dry abseils near a waterfall plus a natural water slide down some smooth rock. It culminated in the 'washing machine' - you abseil down into a waterfall get drenched and then allow the water to push you down to the bottom and back into the shallow, it was crazy but good fun.

    The following day I did a secret tour which was recommended to me by someone I was chatting to in the hostel. The first half of the day was quite nice, we sampled lots of delicious food that I cant remember the name of unfortunately. I tried cooked crickets which wernt bad and could be the future of farming - they are full of protein too and we also visted a silk farm and a coffee plantation.

    The second half of the day was the 'secret' bit and at the request of the guide I'm not allowed to divulge exactly what I saw on a public forum and we wern't permitted to take any photographs. Suffice to say it was pretty interesting and one of the more culturally relevant things I've seen which gave an insight into traditional Vietnamese customs that tourists don't often get to witness which was great. The tour guide was hilarious and made it really enjoyable too, although him and his compadre insisted on singing old pop songs in broken English the entire journey which got a bit stale.

    I'm now on another long night bus journey to Hoi An, the driver is currently spitting out of the window intermittently which is just lovely. That coupled with him tooting the horn every few minutes, the winding road and the tv playing some sort of Vietnamese X-Factor style show should make for more high quality sleep! At least there is three centimetres more leg room on this one (I think). Nighty night 😴    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith
    1

    Hoi An & the Hai Van Pass

    April 12, 2017 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    The pretty city of Hoi An greeted me the next morning after a surprisingly above average 12 hour sleeper bus journey. Hoi An is a small river city known for its relaxed vibe and quaint streets. Think the French Riveria only in Vietnam. It's shrouded in colourful lanterns and ornate decor with winding lanes and boutique restaurants and bars. We took a bike and went around the city exploring, then to a beach. On the way we passed some wild water buffalo in the rice fields too - it's the hottest it's been so far here - the temperature is pushing 39 degrees! I like the heat but even I'm staying in shade today.

    In the evening I went to see a water puppet theatre show - a famous art form in Vietnam. It was nice to see the tradition but to be honest it wasn't all that special, quite talented and skilful etc and kids would probably like it, but after a while I was ready to go. It was only half an hour though.

    Hoi An is for some reason very famous for personalised tailoring - you can get just about anything tailored here, suits, dresses, bags, wallets etc and there are about 100 stores all offering the service. One street is literally just tailors - the choice is pretty overwhelming. I decided to get a suit as personalised stuff is so expensive in the UK. I don't wear one much though, so in hindsight it's probably quite the 'nice to have' extravagance 💸💸💸

    I picked a place based on a couple of recommendations from other people. The process and choosing the style, materials etc is quite fun although it does involve going backwards and forwards to the same shop again and again for tweaks. It was like popping to a second home after a while. The suit looked nice, my tailor even wanted a photo, hopefully I don't get fat before I get a few chances to wear it . There was a guy who bought ten suits in one go for work, so he better not get fat either otherwise he'll be pretty gutted. On the last day I went in the store, someone was genuinely having a tailored pineapple suit made - as in the whole suit just had images of pineapples on - like a fancy dress outfit. Seemed pretty unnecessary to have that tailored even if it was cheap-ish. I can't imagine he'll be wearing it more than once or twice, how many fancy dress parties does this guy attend?! - whatever floats your boat I suppose.

    Whilst in Hoi An, I also undertook a Vietnamese cooking class; it was great. I learned four simple dishes which theoretically should be easy enough to replicate... I emphasise the word theoretically. The food was delicious; fresh spring roles, Vietnamese pancakes, with a tasty dipping sauce, meat fry and papaya shrimp salad with homemade dressing. Gordon Ramsey eat your heart out!

    I also happened to be in Hoi An for the monthly lantern festival and was looking forward to seeing hundreds of lanterns floating on the river and in the sky, setting the town alight with an amber glow. The reality, rather disappointingly was about 20 tiny lanterns in the river and about a hundred people trying to sell one to you to put in said river - lantern 'festival' it was not. The town still looked great but it really wasn't that different than any other night there.

    The next day I embarked on The Hai Van Pass, the crossing made famous by Top Gear. Known for it's 180 degree twists and turns and beautiful scenery - it's said to be a fantastic route. We hired a bike and decided to undertake the journey to Hue; the next major city. The day was sunny and we set off on the 140km drive up, stopping at a few choice spots on the way. We looked for some food and could literally only find a fish restaurant where the 'menu' was a bunch of large washing up bowls with live fish in. You just had to point and hope you got what you wanted as nobody spoke a word of English. We managed to establish ordering shrimp and something else unidentifiable - tasted alright though.

    The actual Hai Van Pass is only about 25km with its twists and turns, but the journey most of the way is also quite picturesque. The pass was great but seemed so short, it was over just as I was starting to get used to the bends. Arriving in Hue we rode alongside the locals weaving in and out of the traffic almost flowing as one...almost! If you drive how they do here in the West you'd be arrested.

    Hue was nice enough, there is a giant historic Citidal in the middle which is quite interesting to see and the city is pleasant to wonder about. A guy kept trying to get me to ride on his weird cyclo thing. Honestly it was quicker to walk.

    I've been persuaded from talking to a few people that Phong Nha is a good place to go from Hue, so I've booked on the bus for that next.    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    Scrapes & japes in Phong Nha

    April 17, 2017 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    I have become an unrecorded statistic, it's happened - I fell off the damn bike and scraped myself up. Annoyingly it wasn't even my fault; a car came round the corner too fast and I had to swerve to avoid it hitting me, so ended up in a heap on the tarmac and a smashed phone. It was a country lane too so it was unfortunate that the car was even on it - I saw about three in a couple of days- typical. You'd think it would be on a main road but no, the quietest road there. The bastard didn't even stop! Anyway I was lucky, I'm absolutely fine, just a few cuts in the arms and legs and will probably sport a small scar or two which makes a story. That's that, it happened, it was painful and annoying, but I'm still alive so onwards!

    On to more interesting things - Phong Nha is stunning, I'd go as far as to say it's one the most picturesque places I've been in Vietnam. Apparently it's where they are filming some of the new King Kong movie - I can see why, it's all lush green jungle and high cliffs encompassing caves and taverns. It's really enjoyable just riding around the area (when you're upright 😶). The weather was overcast but it didn't really matter and gave it an eerie atmosphere.

    There's a number of caves in Phong Nha, some that have only been discovered fairly recently. On the first day I went to the boringly named but beautiful Phong Nha cave. We had to join the locals on a little boat. It was me and one other Westerner - the locals loved it and insisted on taking photos of us with them. The little boat goes along the river then makes its way into the cave for about 20 mins. The cave was huge with loads of interesting rock formations and caverns. We got out for another 20 mins and wandered around it a bit before heading back for lunch.

    In the afternoon, we went to the more creatively named Paradise Cave, previously the largest cave in Asia. It was massive and you could walk 1.5 km within it. Apparently the cave is actually over 30 km long and you can do special tours to see more if you wish. The scale is ridiculous, I'd have been there all week! Paradise Cave was breathtaking though with massive stalagmites and rock formations that looked like frozen waterfalls, it was like walking on an alien planet. People used to think Paradise Cave was the biggest but they have recently found an even bigger one. The catch is you have to pay over $3000 to visit it and trek for miles - I passed on that particular tourist activity.

    The following day apart from my little incident, I also visited the Dark Cave - aptly named becuase it's pitch black inside. This was more of an activity-based visit and included ziplining and venturing down into the cave where there was loads of liquid mud. We were given hard-hats that resembled a childs toy and a headtorch which gave off about as much illumination as a lighter - the group was large though, so the combination of light showed the way. As we descended into the mud, everyone covered themselves and we looked like a bunch of swamp monsters in the dimly lit cavern. It was quite weird and you could float in it strangely - it looked like melted chocolate but I wouldn't reccomend tasting it - it definitely wasn't Wonka's chocolate factory! The way it just naturally occurred in the cave was cool though. After getting outside, we messed around on some climbing frames in the water to clean off a bit before driving back through the breathtaking Phong Nha scenery.

    The amusingly named Tam Coc was next - a tiny picturesque town near Ninh Bin. Arriving at 4 AM from the sleeper bus - we waited for an hour before being transferred to the hostel. The waiting room was half finished and looked more like a crack den than a bus office - somebody get the builders in! Once in Tam Coc we went on a boat ride which was pleasant despite the nagging for tips. Loads of Asian tourists on the passing boats kept taking sly photos of us. They love it - I must be in so many random photos. If I did it the other way round I'm not sure it would go down too well. 🤔

    We had to drive to Ninh Bin town to find an ATM. It was like a pilgrimage for the elusive cash machine, we finally found one tucked away on the side of a small road. I thought Ninh Bin town was a bit rubbish so was glad to get back to the beauty of Tam Coc. In the afternoon we rode to a massive Pagoda, it was awesome, relatively new and very ornate. There were hundreds of Buddha statues there and a couple of huge golden ones that rivalled Bangkok. It was also much less touristy and the views at the top were brilliant - worth the ride.

    Back on another bus to Hanoi next.    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith
    1

    Hanoi, Ha Long and Sa Pa

    April 24, 2017 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    I'm not the biggest fan of Hanoi. It's the big bustling capital of Vietnam but I think it lacks a bit of character and there didn't seem to be that much to do. I visited an old prison which was ok and had an egg coffee by the lake - yes you read that right; egg coffee. Although it sounds like something you wouldn't give your worst enemy, this coffee is famous here and it was actually very good - I don't think I'll try and replicate it mind.

    I wanted to go to go the Musaliam to see a mummified king, but it was closed so couldn't see that. I tried again another day and was greeted with a queue as long as the whole of Vietnam and hundreds of school kids saying hello to me - plus the place opened for only a couple of hours. I gave up on the Musaliam. The hostel I stayed in was however very nice with an amazing rain shower! I don't know what it was doing in a backpackers hostel, but I wasn't complaining - so every cloud! The evening was better, we went for dinner and drinks and to a few clubs before chomping down on a Bahn Mi, a delicious French style bread roll with loads of filling - not exactly the most cultural couple of days though.

    Ah, Ha Long Bay, the natural wonder of the world. I was looking forward to seeing it but of course the weather had other ideas. The day we sailed around the bay, it was so foggy you had to get up close to the cliff before they came into view. It was still beautiful but was unlucky not to see it more clearly (A reason to return). We kayaked around a bit before heading to an island as part of the tour. Now, I've not been annoyed much at all on this trip, but this 'island' was a literal construction site, with unfinished buildings everywhere and a rubbish-strewn beach with five wicker chairs that looked like something from a jumble sale for about 30 people! It was pretty shocking and the room and food was also naff. We were paying a considerable amount for this 'island' so we were understandably a bit vexed.

    The next day the weather was a lot better and we trekked to the top of the island for a nice view after breakfast. That was it though - for the rest of the day we were left alone on the 'beautiful' (crap) beach. It's a paid tour - I'd expect some sort of organised activity. I don't want to sound petty but if I wanted to laze around on the beach I could do that for next to nothing and on a much nicer one! At 4 PM the 'tour' re-commenced and we trekked again to the other side of the island - this was waaaay better, the beach was actually decent - why not come here earlier?! 😡 In the evening, back on camp construction we had a meal and drinks and managed to get ourselves transferred to a marginally better room that didn't resemble a cell block - result.

    The final day was definitely the best (probably because we left the island). We went to Cat Ba island and trekked to the top in a national park - the views were amazing. I wish I'd just took a tour to the main bay from there - nevermind, you win some, you lose some. The group was nice and it was a fun experience just not particularly good value for money. I feel a Trip Advisor review and a strongly worded letter brewing... 📝

    Following Ha Long Bay, we took a night bus up to Sa Pa in the far North of the country. Arriving in terrible weather, my mood remained slightly sour. We met our hill tribe guide and started to trek in the rain - annoyingly we could see precisely nothing because the mist was so thick. As we descended down the hill the scenery finally came into view and it was amazing. Rice fields as far as the eye could see dotted with little villages and water buffalo - definitely worth the slog. We walked around for another hour or so before stopping at our guides house for a tasty home cooked lunch and trying on some of the hill tribe clothing for no obvious reason. After this we trekked a bit more to our homestay and on the way we passed what must have been a six year old child leading a massive water buffalo up a hill - standard!

    I woke up freezing the following day - it's really cold in the mountains and the weather was still unfortunately still very bleak. Our final trek was tough but good fun - we slipped and slided our way through ridiculously muddy tracks, a bamboo forest and wet rice paddies. I managed to not fall over despite having a couple of close shaves much to the guides' amusement. We also went through a little village where a two year old was messing around with a large machete totally unsupervised - standard again I guess!

    After making it down the slopes with the ludicrously strong tribes women leading the way and embarrassing our pathetic efforts, we headed back to the homestay for a hot shower before getting back on the bus for the long drive back to Hanoi.

    My time in Vietnam comes to an end now - a month has gone so quickly but it's been great with a lot of highlights - Laos beckons next.    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith
    1

    Landlocked Laos - Vientiane & Vang Vieng

    April 30, 2017 in Laos ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    I landed in Vientiane, Laos and the sun was shining which was great after the overcast weather in North Vietnam. There is an eerie silence here - oh, no there isn't, it's just because no-one toots their horn every two seconds! What a relief after Vietnam's mental roads - too bad there is very little to do. Vientiane is actually the capital of Laos, but it's about the size of a small town in the UK, so I wandered round it in pretty quickly. It's a pleasant place but there's not a lot going on. I cycled to a temple and a sort of Asian Arc de Triomphe which was also quite nice. One of the main things, Buddha Park, is ironically about 20 miles away from the city. It's basically a football pitch-sized field with lots of different Buddha statues. Apparently a monk one day just went a bit rougue and started building them all; must have taken him a while as there are about 100 and some are massive.

    The following day I boarded the bus to Vang Vieng, and an uncomfortable and bumpy ride later we arrived. What a contrast - although less mad than it used to be, it's still definitely a party town. It was once famous for it's insanity with drugs, booze and tubing on the river, but when about 30 backpackers died one year, the government shut a lot of the madness down - understable, death probably isn't the best tourist attraction.☠ You can still go tubing i.e. floating down the river to a few bars which was good fun and a nod to the towns history, plus you can still find drug menus in some of the cafes which is quite weird to see so blatantly promoted alongside pizza. The tubing was cool but less floating and more bar-crawl. I would have liked to stay in the tube for a bit longer as no sooner did you get in and settled you got out again.

    Vang Veing is also really beautiful with massive karst rocks and a selection of caves and stunning mountains - riding around it was really nice and I can't not mention the sandwiches. Yes that's right sandwiches - unbelievable! Vietnam's were good but these were something else - massive rolls filled to the brim with meat, salad, cheese, sauces etc. They are some of the best sandwiches I've ever had and for about £1.50, I must have had about ten in the few days I was there.

    On one day we cycled to a cave based on a sign that suggested you could swim in clear water at the bottom, the cave was ridiculously dark and narrow and the swimming 'lake' was actually a tiny muddy puddle so we passed. False advertising me thinks! There's also a few lagoons in Vang Vieng. Arriving at the first one, we were greeted with literally hundreds of Asian tourists, many wearing a full set of clothes to avoid the sun - one guy was genuinely swimming in jeans! There was a big jump you could do into the water about eight meters high so we did that then watched the other tourists clumsily jumping in. A girl took hold of a rope swing and two seconds later fell flat on her face in the water. 😂 She was fine and repeated the fall again almost immediately.

    The next day we rented mopeds and went to the third lagoon - apparently the better one. It took ages and was a very laborious journey as the roads are poor with rocks and potholes everywhere, so you could only go very slowly - moped scooters are definitely not made for off-roading. The lagoon was nice though, and a little less busy with just a smattering of fully clothed Asian tourists this time, although one man was wearing a thick hoody, it was 38 degrees! 😩 There was a cool rope swing into the water and a raft that might as well have been made out if bricks it was so badly tied together - still a nice place to spend the day.

    I nipped out in the evening for my obligatory sandwich and on the way back a mother was attempting to hit her misbehaving child with a broom - she kept missing him and he cheekily taunted her untiil she managed to whack him on the head pretty hard, he cried the entire street down - I could still hear him as I walked back around the corner, poor fella.

    Another (likely) uncomfortable bus journey awaits to Luang Phra Bang now.    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    Luang Phrabang & a very slow boat

    May 5, 2017 in Laos ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Dan: (to fellow backpacker on bus) "What's your plans in Luang Phrabang?"
    Backpacker: (Looks confused) "Luang Phrabang?"
    Dan: "Yes, how long are you staying?"
    Backpacker: "Does this bus go to Luang Phrabang?"
    Dan: ... "Errr hope so"
    Backpacker: "I thought it goes to Vientiane"
    Dan: "I just came from there a few days ago..."
    Dan: (to driver): "Is this to Luang Phrabang"
    Driver: (silence)
    Dan: "Luang Phrabang?"
    Driver "Vientenee"
    Dan: "Vientiane, wrong bus" (shit 😲) "can you stop please?"
    Driver  (silence)
    Dan and backpacker in unison: "Hello stop please"
    Driver (finally stops, confused)
    Dan: (gets off bus, hauls backpack through bemused Chinese tourists, apologies, thanks fellow backpacker and trudges back to hostel) - luckily we only went a couple of blocks.

    After nearly ending up where I started in Laos the man at the hostel was very apologetic and says he thought the bus was for Luang Phrabang - he arranges another bus for the following morning and I spend the rest of the day hanging around. I head down to the river and lie in hammock - after a while a heavy rainshower occurs for an hour or so, I wait it out - a strange (possibly high) woman is frolicking about in the river dancing, spinning around and talking to herself. I watch her amused for a while before the rains cease, weirdly she sits down quietly when the sun returns.

    I'm on a bus again, well it's actually a rather cramped mini van but at least it's going the right way. Had I not chatted to that backpacker I'd be back in the capital 😕. The journey to Luang Phrabang is very steep and the roads are quite windy, but it's also very beautiful reaching high up into the Laotian hills. Luang Phrabang is a quaint little city in Northern Laos known for a relaxed vibe. I spend the first day around the hostel and make use of the pool. It's 38 degrees here and without the sea air it feels above 45. The simple act of laying still produces a river of sweat.

    I venture out for lunch and they have sandwiches again. But what's this?... avocado! I've not had avocado for the past two and half months (first world problems) I gobble down a sandwich layered in the stuff. A bunch of other backpackers are also crowding around the stall - avocado is obviously a real draw.🥑

    Unlike Vang Vieng, Luang Phrabang is quite a sleepy place and as such isn't big on nightlife. There are a couple of bars but they close early and the only place that serves alcohol any later is oddly a bowling alley (as it's considered a 'sporting venue'). Many travellers congregate here - where there's booze, there's backpackers. I had a couple of games and managed a score of 136 on one which wasn't bad.

    The next day I did the main tourist activity in Luang Phrabang which is again miles out of the city but totally worth it. Kuang Si Falls is an absolutely stunning waterfall with bright pools turned turquoise by the natural limestone - it's one of the best waterfalls I've seen. You can swim there (cold, but refreshing in the heat) and also hike to the top for a great view. Brilliant day. In the evening we went to a vegetarian buffet, it was delicious, you could basically fill a bowl to the brim. I didn't even know what half of it was but it was very tasty.

    I had another pool day before a few people I'd met decided to take the slow boat out of Laos to the border of North Thailand. The slow boat is a popular journey from Thailand to Laos and there were also a few backpackers going our reverse way. It takes two days but the scenery is lovely and the journey very pleasant. Time to think, read, listen to music etc or just watch the world go by. You get off the boat and go to a guest house for the night halfway through and then jump back on in the morning for the rest of the journey. The only issue was the food I.e the boat didn't have any unless you count instant noodles as such - they were revolting. I wisely picked up a sandwich for the following day.

    We got to the Thai border in the evening and it couldn't have been easier. They didn't even bother scanning the cases at this one - I could have have had a small child in there! The guy was so lax, unusual as normally they have been pretty strict so far in my experience - it was nearly 8 PM so I guess he wanted to get off to eat his Pad Thai or something.

    So I'm back in Thailand and plan to explore the popular Chiang Mai. I'm on a rickety local bus which stops every few minutes to squeeze a few more locals on, hopefully we'll arrive sometime today.    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith
    11

    Chiang Mai and controversial visits

    May 12, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Before I arrived in Chiang Mai we stopped in smaller Chiang Rai to see the White Temple. Pretty awesome, it looks like it could be something out of the ice age or maybe more likely Disney's 'Frozen' movie - it was definitely not frozen temperature however! The temple is shaped almost in a gothic style and glistend in the sun. Like many temples it depicts both good and evil themes, this one had skulls and bones at the front to represent evil. After that I took the three hour ride to Chiang Mai - this time it was a coach rather than a local bus (a bit more pleasant).

    Arriving there, for some unknown reason I was greeted with the warble of Celine Dion's 'My heart will go on'. Why? It seemed so out of place amongst the typical chart hits that dominate SE Asia. It wouldn't be the last time I heard that here either... odd.

    The next day I got my bearings and wandered around the city a bit. It's a nice place with the main area surrounded by a large moat, the people here seem more friendly too. The North is also famous for a great dish called Khao Soi; a soup with a chilli flavour and soft and crispy noodles - it was very tasty. In the evening I wondered around the night market and tried not to buy anything much to all the vendors' annoyance.

    So, the controversial part: I was slightly conflicted about going to the Tiger Kingdom. I'd read a few things and heard a few differing opinions but knew a number of people who had visited. I'd spoke to people previously who recommended it too and a couple of backpackers I'd met on the boat from Laos were also keen to see it. So much to my mother's probable horror (I imagine), we decided to go and see it for ourselves and play with tigers. 🐯

    Verdict: it was actually pretty cool, I was pleased to see the tigers wern't drugged, some were running around and two of them were play fighting each other quite aggressively. The place and pens could have been a little larger ideally and obviously they were quite tame - for tigers! When it came time to step into the cage with one I was slightly anxious but I'd watched a few other people do it and emerge unscathed so we headed in and had our photo with a couple of massive tigers and stayed in their presence for a while. One was asleep but woke up and looked at me, it wasn't bothered but it's pretty freaky being face to face with one. The trainer said to pet it firmly on its back as otherwise they might think you are a fly and swat you which probably isn't the best outcome for a successful visit. I petted as hard as you'd pat a large dog. It behaved like my cat, just a giant one - it was yawning and rolling around and occasionally it would take interest in something else - at least it didn't scratch! It was amazing to be so close to it.

    Obviously the conflicting part is they aren't in the wild and are bred in captivity as unfortunately they are poached relentlessly. They seemed relatively happy - I guess they are used to relying on humans for everything but it's a shame for them. We also went into a small lions pen and had a few pics there. This was a young lion and it was pretty lively - it was probably about the size of a big dog but way more powerful. I got the best selfie with it. I'd wanted to see the baby tigers too but they wernt being bred during this season so unfortunately there was none there, we did see a baby lion being played with by the staff though - it ran around like a puppy. All in all I was ok with the visit - whilst it was awesome to be in the animals presence, ultimately they should be wild and free, but they are in danger so I guess this is one way to keep the species going - definitely wouldn't be allowed in the UK - once again health and safety is Asia's top priority... not! 🙄

    The next day I attended a Thai cooking class, it was excellent. I made a Pad Thai, a Tom Yom soup and a Massaman curry - delicious. We got a cook book too which was great so maybe I can actually recreate a couple of things if I can get hold of the ingredients. Good luck finding a kaffir lime Dan! I think mine may have to substituted a little, and I reckon not quite so spicy! 😰

    One of the most popular activities to do in Chiang Mai is to go to an elephant sanctuary. I mean they call them sanctuaries but you can never be sure. There's literally dozens and they all seem to offer a similar formula. I was keen to go to one where you don't ride them, as the ones that are ridden are very often really abused. I picked a camp (Elephant Jungle Sanctuary) based on chatting to a few people and good ol Trip Advisor. I chose a half day experience - we fed the elephants (you had to wear this odd outfit so they recognised you had food) surely holding the food would have been enough...? We also had a mud bath with them and then washed them off in the river - it was great. They are cheeky animals always attempting to steal food. A baby elephant stood on my foot the little bugger (At least it wasn't his mum, otherwise I wouldn't have a foot anymore!) The elephants seemed happy enough here too. The trainers said that some had been rescued from riding. I don't know, like the tigers, elephants are wild animals and really ought to stay as such but they looked healthy and were certainly getting plenty to eat. I swear every one of them went through about ten big bunches of bananas and they were still hungry. 🍌🍌🍌

    I got back to the hostel and went to the pool for a while. I got involved with a game of water volleyball with a ridiculously competitive American - he might as well have been in the Olympics the way he was behaving (it's just a game man).

    Went for dinner and what do you know... Celine Dion's playing again... perplexing.    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    Pai and attempting to reach Nirvana

    May 17, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    "Go to Pai, it's really cool", "have you been to Pai? it's awesome", "Man you should check out Pai", "Dude you gotta head out to Pai, it's great". Numerous sentences to that effect flowed from quite a few people I'd met, so Pai, as well as sounding delicious, seemed a popular place, so I decided it was worth a look. Worth a look it was, although getting there was a bit mad - to say the road had a few twists and turns would be the understatement of the year. It's literally just 180 u-bend after u-bend for about three hours 🤢. It was like being on a roller-coaster that didn't go upside down.

    There's really nothing much to do in this hippy town, just a lot of good vibes and a chilled atmosphere with beautiful surroundings. I rented a moped and visited a couple of waterfalls but I've been spoiled by the one in Laos so they wern't quite as stunning - still pleasant though. Pai does have a large canyon which is pretty cool and randomly there's also a land split (basically a big hole that cuts the land in half). It just appeared one day so it's become a place of interest - anything for a tourist attraction. The other thing Pai had is a couple of hot springs, you could visit. I went to one and the water looks freezing but when you step in it's pretty warm which is unusual for a what is effectively a small brook.

    I took the roller-coaster journey back to Chiang Mai. It decided to rain heavily on the way so the road was even more precarious. It continued to rain hard in Chiang Mai for 24 solid hours - I ended up playing quite a few games of cards that day! ♠♥♣♦

    Whilst I was in Chiang Mai I decided I'd try something a little different to the typical backpacker activity. I embarked on a taster Buddhist meditation retreat for two days. Basically it was an introduction to Buddhism and meditation run by Thai monks. It consisted of learning a little about Buddhism in Thailand and around the world and practising different meditation techniques. It was also a silent retreat so you weren't allowed to speak while you were there (except when you were chanting). It was strange being silent for that length of time and this was just a taster, the full retreats are for a minimum of ten days! They are supposed to be really good for you though so maybe I can progress to it one day. Shhhhhhhh. 🤐

    Anyway, despite the constant rain, it was really good. Buddhism is a fascinating and admirable philosophy (it's not a religion either, so whatever you do/dont believe, you can still practice). Like myself, most people in the group hadn't really done much meditation so we all learned it together. It's a simple concept but it is quite hard to keep focus. We did sitting meditation initially for ten minutes, by the end I could just about do a half hour although I still can't sit in the full lotus position, I'm not flexible enough, so it was more the school assembly crossed legs look for me!

    We also did walking meditation which is as ridiculous as it sounds, but surprisingly calming - you have to walk stupidly slowly and concentrate on your placing. It focuses your mind on just one thing - you definitely look like an idiot but there's something to it. Finally we did lay down meditation, it's quite difficult as you find yourself falling asleep which isn't the objective.

    The retreat was held in purpose-built centre, with simple meals and accommodation. It was run by a young guy who for a monk was very cool. He was calm (naturally) but also really engaging to listen to. On the second day we had an hour's break where we were allowed to ask him questions.

    When we finished the retreat it was slightly odd to start chatting again. Getting back to the hostel I was greeted with a wall of sound which was a bit much initially but got used to it again pretty quick. I'll definitely try and incorporate some of the meditation in day to day life though as I feel it could have some benefits. Might struggle to reach enlightenment mind! We spend a lot of time taking care of our bodies but not our mind. As the monk said "meditation is the medication of the mind"... food for thought!
    Ohm☮☯    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith
    1

    Birthday and Bans scuba diving resort

    May 21, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Happy birthday to me 🎂🎉, I decided to head back down south to Koh Tao, I'd missed out the popular island when visiting the Thai islands before and was keen to do my open water Padi diving certification, so what better time than around my birthday.

    Getting there wasn't the most pleasent of journeys - I grabbed a flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok then an overnight coach and boat to the island. The coach looked lovely, however unlike the Vietnamese night buses, it wasn't exactly a bed you could lay on, just a standard reclining chair, not great for nine hours. I managed about one hour of sleep. 😪

    Finally arrived on Koh Tao and settled into a hostel. The island is very beautiful and really small so easy to get around. On my birthday I visited Koh Nanhgum (an even smaller island with an amazing view and crystal clear water). In the evening a bunch of us went on the Koh Tao pub crawl (apparently it's pretty well known). It was a laugh and a good way to celebrate my ripening age. The locals were spinning and throwing fire sticks. Some tricks were pretty good but one guy in particular kept dropping his... #embarrassing

    Although I guess this trip is sort of one big present to myself - I decided to do my Padi diving course here. Koh Tao is very famous for diving (and also reasonably priced) so I signed up with one of the many centres on the island, there is at least 100, so I went with a recommended and well known place (Bans). The following day we started the course - the first day was just a couple of hours of intro and cheesy videos, then the next day we got in the swimming pool and learned the ropes. There's a lot to take in. You learn about how air is affected underwater, nitrogen levels, hand signals, equalising etc but everyone did well and the instructor was satisfied we were ready to enter the sea and not all immediately start drowning.

    Up at 6.30 AM for a spot of breakfast then straight onto the boat; we'd be in the water by 9.00 AM. The first sea dive was understandably a little nervy, but as time went on we all got used to the feeling. We had to do a few skills in the water to pass the course then continued the dive. We did another dive an hour later in similar conditions and it was a bit easier.

    The following day we went down to 18 metres (the max on this course) again much easier for the third dive. We did a few more skills including an emergency ascent and some breathing techniques to ensure you stay level in the water. The final dive was just a recreational dive and most enjoyable as there were no skills and we were just going around the area. Loads of fish and coral plus some unusual creatures. Upon surfacing, we signed the paper work and were officially certified open water divers. 👌

    I'd enjoyed the diving a lot and there was an opportunity to do the advanced course at a discount with the same instructor who I thought was excellent. I therefore decided to take it. This time there are five dives including a 30 metre one plus a navigation and night dive as mandatory. I also opted for a shipwreck dive.

    30 metres is quite a scary thought as it's a long way down, but it didn't seem too bad as the visability was good. I may have got a touch of the gas narcosis (a common condition at deeper levels) where you you feel slightly high underwater - I couldn't do the simple math problem that they use to test it, so either I had it or I'm just an idiot (maths isn't my strong suit to be fair).

    The deep dive happened to be in the shipwreck too - it was very cool. As you decended suddenly this large blurry outline started to appear and as we went lower the shipwreck comes into view. We swam around the wreck site - there are still guns on the top of it too. After that we did the navigation dive. We had to plan where to enter and exit and navigate underwater with a compass - it's quite hard but I managed the basics. I won't be steering any teams around dive sites yet though. We went over a colourful coral garden too which was pretty cool.

    The next day I had to complete three more dives, two standard ones and one night dive. The standard ones were great and by now I was a little more used to the feeling of diving. On one we swam through literally hundreds of small fish and they surrounded you. When it came to do the night dive everyone was slightly more apprehensive. There were a few special procedures to follow and obviously we had to have some lights down there. If you don't it's completely pitch black. It was one of the best dives though - you see a few different things and it's really freaky being in the water in the dark. We saw some big barracuda hunting smaller fish, a couple of purple spotted rays and various other things.

    So after that, I'm now an Advanced Open Water diver which means I can dive to 30 metres, dive shipwrecks and dive at night. Hopefully I can squeeze one more in on this trip.

    I'm heading to Myanmar next - I've heard it's definitely more challenging to travel than the typical backpacker route and it's technically the start of rainy season there, but lots of people have said positive things about it despite that - so lets see how it goes.    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    Yangon and the crazy circular train

    June 2, 2017 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    I'm in Myanmar or Burma if you prefer (it changes every so often based on the political situation) but the local people seem to favour Myanmar. I arrived in Yangon after the bus to Bangkok. Firstly the airport was impossibly pristine - not what I was expecting at all. The friendly lady checked my passport and waved me through - so far so good. I managed to grab a taxi with a guy who I met at the ATM heading the same direction too.

    Yangon is a very busy city with a lot of British Colonial influence to the buildings. Compared to the well trodden path I've been in SE Asia so far there are very few tourists here, so the feel is quite different. I can walk for an hour or so and I'm unilkey to see a Western face - it makes it feel far more authentic. The locals are very curious too and many will stop and talk to you without always trying to sell you something - unbelievable!

    On the first day I visited Shwedagon Pagoda, a beautiful temple that defines Yangon and can be seen from most areas of the city. It's made of thousands of gold leaves and carved into intricate shapes. I had to wear a longyi - basically a sort of long skirt: all the men wear them here for some reason - not many people wear anything else. Many people also like to sport tannika, a kind of sunscreen slash make-up that's bright yellow made from a certain tree bark. They just slather it on their faces. It looks a bit silly and clown-like to be honest but it works here as everyone has it. It's weirder to see the people without it.

    On the second day I went with a few people on the local circle train around the city - it's basically a three-hour train ride that circles the entire vicinity and shows you a real local insight. Well, what an experience... firstly we had to locate where the platform for tickets was - that took about half an hour of backwards and forwards with the station staff. We eventually got them and waited for another half hour. When the train pulled up it might as well of been something out of the eighteenth century. It was hilarious - decrepid, smelly, busy, noisy and slow - but it cost about 30p for the whole trip so can't really complain.

    We clamboured abroad and set off - a friendly local man decided to chat to us for ages. He was very knowledgeable about lot of things and it was nice to talk to him - he gave us all various history lessons on Myanmar and other countries and also seemed fascinated by James Bond for whatever reason. The journey itself was fairly eventful too. At every stop literally dozens of people rushed on the train shouting all sorts and yelling to sell stuff; food, toys, toiletries - you name it they sold it. It was so bizarre, it was like a market on the train. At each stop people would just throw stuff out of the window and new people would board the train balancing things on their heads or carrying various items that really didn't belong on a train. Dead crickets, grapes, lottery tickets, rice, party poppers were all on offer. Others would rush down the carriage handing items out and peddling their wares. If you were to try that in London or another Western subway system they would probably get stuck on the train due to the amount of people squashed in - it would be anarchy. We all bought some corn on the cob from a guy and sat and munched it along with the locals feeling amused and watching the city role by.

    The next day I wandered around the city a bit more and went to the market - zero foreigners again and a lot of colourful textiles and materials - mother would have loved it. I then ate some tasty noodles and headed back. On the way I stopped at Sule Pagoda, basically a temple in the middle of a roundabout. I also passed a lady who had loads of seeds and was surrounded by hundreds of pigeons - she waved and chucked a load of them into the air laughing - the birds went mental for it - I wouldn't want to be caught in that swarm.

    I'm heading back on the road to Bagan now, the ancient city with thousands of temples. Getting to the Yangon bus stop was ridiculous though - it was two hours away from the city, what kind of nonsense is that? Eventually got there and registered for the bus. Nearly ended up on the wrong one again thanks to a guy that directed us to a similar service. I booked the VIP bus for an extra four dollars and what a dream - it's probably the best bus experience I've had on the whole trip. The Burmese know how to manage night buses. Firstly you check in like an airport, then there is a little bus stewardess that directs you to your seat and announced the bus itinery in Burmese and broken English (not sure the need as there were no Burmese on the bus, but whatever). She then brings a little snack around for you and a towel - absolutely quality, the roads however not quite the same experience. Bumpy, twisty, loud - typical SE Asia.    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    Just a few temples in Bagan & trek pt 1

    June 11, 2017 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Bagan - a definite highlight. It's absolutely stunning. An ancient city with thousands of pagodas and temples dotted around the landscape. Small ones, medium ones and large ones as far as the eye can see - incredible. Despite having seen numerous temples on this trip (if you didn't know, they are quite common in SE Asia 🤓), Bagan is still a site to behold. I arrived just in time for sunrise so the taxi took us to a viewing temple - the sun was just about up when we got there but the view was still great. I got to the hostel and for a lot of the rest of the day caught up on some sleep. In the evening they organised a boat tour on the river to watch the sunset.

    I signed up for the hostel tour around Bagan the following morning. You had to rent an e-bike, basically an electronic moped that was practically silent (I want one, they are great for buzzing around!) and follow the group. It was excellent. The guide took us to a few of the main temples and explained a lot about the history of Bagan - he was pretty amusing. He also took us to a school for young monks (more like misbehaving monks based on our experience). About a hundred kids were shouting, play-fighting, throwing stuff etc - just being kids, it was quite funny. The guide was trying to teach them English and they eventually calmed down a bit and came to chat to us for a while. Their English was actually pretty good and they were well versed in basic phrases. They also knew a fair bit about football too, but after ten minutes or so they lost concentration and it all decended into chaos again and they just wanted to wrestle and take selfies. I ended up with two trying to arm-wrestle me at once while another would violently smack his mate with a plastic fan - less 'ohm', more arrgh! 🤣

    After that energy, we went back on the bikes to a little restaurant before winding our way through the temple grounds back to the hostel. In the evening we went for another sunset tour, this time to the pagoda area. You could climb up and see all around Bagan. Unfortunately clouds got in the way of an amazing sunset - a recurring problem in Myanmar but definitely a nicer 'problem' to have.

    On my final day in Bagan, I went to Mount Popa, a large temple situated on top of a hill that's an extinct volcano. It looks very impressive from afar, but when I got to the top it's a bit of a standard affair. The view of the surroundings however was really nice and there are loads of wild monkeys running about. One stole this man's cigarette much to his irritation and my amusement. On the way back we stopped at a palm sugar making place and tried a few flavours - very tasty but probably a quick route to diabetes if regularly consumed.

    Got the night bus to Kalaw (the jumping off point for treks to Inle Lake) we arrived annoyingly at 3.00AM it was supposed to be 5.30 AM. So we wandered to our hotel and slept until the morning. The following day we walked around the town and compared trekking companies. Our group settled on one due to start the next day and for the rest of the day we pottered about, had some noodles and got ready for the trek.

    Day one:

    It's tipping down with torrential rain and I'm about to start a three day trekking experience - current mood: unamused. 😒 We're in the office of the trekking company awaiting our start and eventually set off sporting our much needed rain ponchos up the hill and into the Kalaw countryside. The rain is lashing down as we ascend into the surrounding areas. We stop for lunch at a viewpoint where we can see precisely nothing owing to the cloud. After a while it clears a bit and the view is better. A woman dressed in traditional tribe clothing is having a photo shoot too on the mountain which is cool to see.

    After lunch we set off walking again, thankfully the rain has subsided and we're able to enjoy the trek. The surroundings are very scenic and our guide is hilarious. He has this weird laugh he does when you ask him a question, then sort of nervously runs away grinning slightly maniacally. Endearing and strange at the same time. We continued walking and reached our guesthouse for the night. A giant spider decided to appear in our room and we spent the next 20 minutes trying to catch it, eventually we managed to put it outside much to everyone's relief - rather not have that fall on you in the middle of the night 🕷. We ate some great homemade food and played a few games before retiring for bed and getting set for day two.

    ...to be continued    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    Trek pt 2 & Inle Lake and Mandalay

    June 15, 2017 in Myanmar ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    ...Day two:

    I'm awoken from slumber by bashing pots and pans, surprisingly slept well despite the potential for hazarddess spiders and the like. After breakfast we continue the trek across the fields pausing so often to admire the views. We walk down a railway track and I feel like I'm in the film 'Stand by me' - children pass us, holding hands and delicately balancing on the track beams - looks like something out of the 1930s. We reach our second village and have a bucket shower which has a ludicrously low wall - it may as well not be there as leaves little to the imagination.

    The following day we set off for the final walk to Inle Lake, it comes into view as we're walking across rich and thick red soil with farmers toiling in the fields. We say goodbye to our crazy tour guide. He gives us his cursory mad laugh and rides off. The rest of the day is spent on a boat tour around Inle Lake. It's a town on water - instead of walking or driving, children paddle in boats to school, old women sit in wooden rafts and motorised boats ferry folk to their respective destinations. The entire place is filled with buildings on large stilts with canals everywhere - bizarre but really cool at the same time. 🚣

    We stop off at various highlights including the silk factory where they weave intricate patterned material in what looks like the most painstaking process - very talented but pretty laborious. We also watch the fisherman in the middle of the lake. They cleverly paddle their boats with one foot while simultaneously managing to fish in the water with a large net. It's an awesome site against the surrounding scenery.

    The following day a few of us hire a bicycle and explore the surroundings. We go for a tofu tour, which sounds boring but was genuinely really interesting. The guy took us around a local village and we learned how it's made, turns out there are like 40 different varieties, who'd of thought?! He gives us some tofu at the end and it's absolutely delicious - I need to figure out how to make it properly as it's alway pretty tasteless at home. He also gives us a pure sugar candy ring. More than one or two and you'd be bouncing off the walls like a hyper kid on e-numbers.

    In the evening we head to Inle winery for a few tasters of Burmese wine (not the best) and a great view. It's really windy and the sample promptly falls over. The lady brings over another chucking and we head inside for a few of the preferred glasses. The place is supposed to shut at 6.00 PM, we finally head back at around 7.30 PM in bike convoy as it's now pitch black.

    I'm off on the road to Mandalay, pretty sure that's a film or a book... anyway I arrive at around 5.00 AM and immediately we decide to go to Ubein Bridge to try and catch the sunrise. Clouds once again have other ideas but it's a nice spot nevertheless - apparently it's the longest wooden bridge in the world. We pass lots of monks on it and a few people exercising in the morning light. We potter through a couple of very local markets and the sellers look like they have seen a load of ghosts. We catch a boat across the river and wander around some temples and a few other interesting bits before heading back.

    My final day in Mandalay starts off fine. A few of us hire bicycles and cycle around the city. We go to a gold leaf making shop which unfortunately is quite underwhelming - it's just people hitting the gold to make it flat. After that we head towards the jade market. On the way my bike breaks and we spend the next 20 mins trying to fix it. I set off again and literally within ten minutes someone else's bike breaks! Hmm pattern emerging here...? Again we fiddle around and some locals come and help us. They fix the bike and it breaks again within five minutes. A couple of our group have to leave so we say goodbye and send them off with the two knackered bikes and three of us continue on to the jade market.

    Interesting fact, Myanmar is apparently responsible for producing around 90% of the world's jade. Pretty awesome, the market is mad with people buzzing about selling and bartering for jade. We watch it being, cut, cleaned and poished. It's a hive of activity. We then set off towards Mandalay hill for a sprawling view of the city. A bike breaks yet again on the way but we manage to get to to the top with a lift in a truck. The view is fantastic. We stay a while then aim to ride back down the hill. Surprise, surprise... a bike breaks! 😲 you couldn't make it up! The pedal is bent and the breaks are shot. We make it to the bottom alive and toss the bikes in the van, we give them back to the guy and tell him they're all crap, he pretends not to understand - classic get out technique. We leave it but mention the place to the hostel.    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    Train to Hsipaw & welcome to the jungle

    June 20, 2017 in Myanmar ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    This driver literally thinks he's Lewis Hamilton! We are tearing up the hill on the way to a place called Pwi Oo Lin in a car definitely not designed to take corners at this speed. The driver is grinning and you can see his red teeth from all the chewing of beetlenut tobacco he does - it's a massive thing here to chew it, so many people have very stained teeth, my dentist would have a fit! They look like vampires, It's that obvious and they spit it out on the floor everywhere - delightful! 😝

    Thankfully we make it in one piece. We check in and decide to hire bikes for a quick explore of the town - it tips with rain so we abandon said exploring and see if we can find a pool table, instead we end up at a really local joint where we play snooker with the patrons much to their amusement, before getting soaked again on the ride back.

    We stopped in Pwi Oo Lin to catch the train to Hsipaw, my last spot in Myanmar. It's a seven hour train journey so I opt for the first class seats which turn out to be about two pounds extra - worth it! The train is great, there are the usual people jumping on and off selling stuff and a few backpackers scattered around. We go over a famous (and very steep bridge) which is a little nervy, but the scenery is stunning. It's like what you'd imagine a rickety pass to be...rickety.

    We arrive in Hsipaw and transfer to the hostel. I hire a bike with a couple of people and explore around a little - there's the various temples and things to check out plus a wooden monastery. The main thing to do here though is trekking again. I'd heard of a very well reviewed tour run by a guy who calls himself Mr Bike for whatever reason. Everyone is a 'Mr Something' here, I saw signs for Mr Charles, Mr Book, Mr Shake etc. We manage to sign up to go with him the next day.

    Mr Bike is quite a character, very fun and informative. This is a much tougher trek than before though so it's good he kept us entertained. On day one we walked uphill for what seemed like hours. The scenery is some of the best I've seen here mind but it's bloody hot! We arrive in the middle of the forest and get to spend the night in a tree house under the stars. It's pitch black so you can see loads which is really nice. In the morning we set off again, this time attempting to go down the hill, most of us fall over as it's ridiculously slippery. Covered in mud, we head deep into the jungle which is really cool. No-one else is around and we're surrounded by the sights and sounds and the canopy of trees. After the walk we arrive near a river and jump in for a refreshing wash. Mr Bike informs us that we'll be sleeping in hammocks strung up between the trees. They are actually super comfy although we are quite exposed to our lovely mosquito friends. Unfortunately it rains later in the night and we all have to transfer to a large tent - shame, I was enjoying the hammock.

    The final morning, we walk for half hour to a calmer part of the river, annoyingly my flip flop breaks on the way. They've done a good turn to be fair - RIP. We're going tubing down the river, I'm pleased as I barely tubed in Laos, more got a bit wet and went to a bar, so this makes up for it. We all float leisurely down the river. Occasionally it turns quite rapid and it's no longer calm but more like a water park ride - good fun. The river calms again and we reach our final destination for lunch - speciality Shan noodles. We just appear to be in this women's house as there are kids running around and loads of family pictures on the wall. Inexplicably there is also a large picture of the popstar Avril Lavigne! It's just randomly there inserted next to the family photos - so weird! 🤔

    I spent the last day in Hsipaw sorting a few bits out and chatting to people in the hostel - I then took a 14 hour bus from Hsipaw back to Yangon and I'm the only foreigner on it, they are playing a terrible movie really loudly. After the dinner stop they thankfully turn off the TV and I manage to sleep a bit, except the guy in front reclines his chair almost perpendicular squashing my long 'non Asian' legs. The chair goes back stupidly far, it's practically a bed! 🛌 I recline mine too and attempt some more limited shut eye.

    So it's goodbye to Myanmar for now, I really liked it and am glad I could see it while it remains relatively authentic and before it gets too popular. It's only going to get more touristy as there is lots to see and do here.

    Now to West Malaysia for a quick look around...    Read more

  • Wandering WordSmithSoutheast Asia sensationWandering WordSmith

    Kuala Lumpur - back to slight normality

    June 26, 2017 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    I feel like I've landed into civilisation again. Kuala Lumpur or as the cool kids call it 'KL' is an awesome fusion of East meets West. After Myanmar it's quite shocking to see huge high rise buildings, well maintained roads and more advanced infrastructures, as well as some actual traffic rules.🚦 KL has a really strong Indian presence too; my hostel was located next to an Indian temple which always seemed to be a hive of activity. I also ate Indian food most evenings as that's what I could mainly find in the vicinity - a little taste of another place on the to-go-to list.

    In the morning I wandered around the city, Chinatown area and an old colonial district with a cricket field - I'm not sure the Malaysians even know what cricket is do they? In the afternoon I went to see the famous Petronas Towers. They are really cool. The tallest twin towers in the world - extremely futuristic and impressive.

    The following day I went to Batu Cave, situated a little out of town. It's a big cave with an enormous Hindu statue outside it (one of the tallest in the world) and a massive staircase that you climb to get to it. The cave was alright but it was clearly under construction or being renovated which took away the awe a bit. There were loads of monkeys here again too getting in the way of the workmen and climbing over the cement. I also went into a smaller Hindu cave that had some pretty poorly designed statues and an inexplicable staircase climb that offered literally nothing at the top. Nothing at all! I, and others were looking around trying to see if we missed something but no - totally pointless unless you count the exercise. Although a few people still took pictures up there in front of what?... I don't know. Anything for a selfie.🤳

    In the evening I went back to the Petronas Towers to check them out in the dark. They are even more impressive against the night sky - like two giant silver rockets awaiting launch. After that I went with a few others to a place called the Heli Pad, it's a helicopter landing site in the day but they turn it into a bar overlooking the city at night - stunning, you can see the twin towers as well as the KL tower which changes colour and flashes every half hour or so.

    After KL, I took a bus to the Cameron Highlands - a beautiful green hill station famous for producing tea. It's not unlike parts of the English countryside to be honest but perhaps higher than most parts and a bit hotter. My hostel was literally staffed by volunteers one girl was there for just two days then left - anyone could wander in, it was a bit of a shambles but pleasant enough. I tried some of the famous tea too, it was pretty good. The guy doing the tour did not look like someone who was interested in tea and nature. He looked more like a guy that would kill you if you so much lightly brushed passed him, but turns out he was just a gentle giant passionate about flowers - never judge a book by its cover right!

    The tour took us to a mossy forest too where the big scary man explained all about the plants and fauna in great detail - like a weird gardening programme. We then went to a strawberry farm (told you it was like England) and had some fresh juice which was very tasty. In the afternoon I went for a hike through the forest. There's about ten trails here but I've no idea which one I did as the signage wasn't exactly helpful. In the evening I went to what appeared to be the only bar in town and played a bit of pool. A drunk Canadian guy challenged me, I lost unfortunately and he made me down a horrible shot as a forfeit.

    An early bus to the city of Penang now awaits in the morning.    Read more

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